Grammaticalization and lexicalization: The verb suru in Japanese

This paper discusses the meaning and function of one of the most general, and widely employed verbs in Japanese, suru. After a short overview of definitions of grammaticalization and lexicalization in general linguistics, some Japanese grammarians and their treatment of the verb suru, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century, are described. The main part of the paper introduces the usages of the verb suru in the first years of learning Japanese as a second language. This verb suru, of which the first and the most representative meaning is “to do”, appears in various ways, grammaticalized or lexicalized. Finally, the uses of the verb are compared with similar verbs in some European languages and their related expressions.