The sentences in Japanese are classified into four types according to their functions : (1) perception-referring sentences (知覚表明文), (2) reminiscence-volition- referring sentences (回想・意志表明文), (3) cognition-referring sentences (認識表明文), (4) non-directly-perceived-information-conveying sentences (非眼前情報伝達文). These four types differ from each other in terms of what are being referred to and of where the speaker locates herself as her vantage point.

As unmarked sentences (1) and (4) start with “N ga”, while (2) and (3) start with “N wa”. Because “ga” indicates an external thing what the speaker is looking at and to what she wants listener’s joint-attention. And “ha” indicates the thing what the speaker takes out from her mind and wants to say something about it.

But as marked sentences (1) and (4) start with “N wa”, while (2) and (3) start with “N ga”, in reverse. Kuno (1973) ’s and are the marked usage and and are the unmarked usage.

In old Japanese we had kakari-particles for marked sentences, but the only kakari-particle still alive now is “wa”. This results in little complex situation today.

I’d like to graph the relationship between four types of Japanese sentences and vantage point(視座), besides those four types and Kuno (1973)’s four usage of “wa” and “ga” in this presentation.