On the nominal-internal distributive interpretation in Japanese

This paper examines one type of distributive interpretation in Japanese available only in sentences containing a numeral quantifier (NQ) with the distributive affix zutsu in a pre-nominal position. I propose that what appears to be the simple complex of an NQ with the distributive affix actually turns out to be a relative clause, which must appear within the NP. I further show that simple NQs can also be located inside the NP. The fundamental premise of my proposal is the predicative nature of NQs in Japanese (Miyagawa in structure and case marking in Japanese, 1989; Ueda in Oriental linguistics, 1986). The property of NQs in point allows us to account for the availability of the interpretation in question in Japanese.