On the characteristics of Japanese reported discourse

This chapter aims to deepen the understanding of Japanese reported discourse by directing particular attention to the phenomenon in which the predicate of communication or attitude is elided (quotative predicate ellipsis, ‘QPE’). We will taxonomize and examine varieties of the QPE, and demonstrate that its proper understanding leads to straightforward accounts of two issues that have been taken to evidence the ‘idiosyncracy’ of Japanese reported discourse: namely (i) why a quotative phrase may co-occur with a nominal direct object under the same predicate, and (ii) why a quotative phrase may occur under a predicate that is not a predicate of communication or attitude.