Corpus analysis of the collocations of the transitive verbs owaru and oeru

Abstract

The transitivity of Japanese verbs is a topic which had been widely discussed in Japan even before the beginning of the Meiji period. This paper focuses on the transitivity of the verbs owaru 終わる (to end [trans./intrans.]) and oeru 終える (to end [trans.]). It encompasses the analysis of collocations of the two verbs and examines their objects in the pattern ‘N wo owaru’ and ‘N wo oeru’. The aim of this research is to shed new light on the usage of the two verbs. The analysis of collocations and verbal forms that accompany them gives a picture that shows collocations grouping into individual semantic categories as well as verbal forms that co-occur in each category.