I generalized the problem of deriving wa-phrases to the problem of deriving phrases accompanied by the quantifier-like particles mo, demo, sae as well as wa. I was interested in the light that Chomsky'S new theory could shed on the understanding of Japanese sentence structure. My primary concern there was transformational genera tive syntax.
I devoted Chapter 2 of my dissertation to the problem of wa. The problem of the so-called topic marker wa is a perennial problem in Japanese linguistics. These two themes can be traced back to my 1965 MIT dissertation. Two main themes connect the papers on Japanese syntax collected in this volume: movements of noun phrases and case marking, although each in turn relates to other issues in syntax and semantics.