「このＸのＹ」– What does この refer to?


I was reading about the upcoming movie
[この[世界]{せかい}の[片隅]{かたすみ}に](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_This_Corner_of_the_World)
- and I thought about what the title might mean. I quickly arrived at " **In a
corner of this world** " (which some sources also seem to list it as). But...
the official localization is " **In this corner of the world** ". That's when
I realized, there might be two possible ways the phrase works:

  * ［この世界］の片隅に – "In a corner of this world", or...

  * この［世界の片隅］に – "In this corner of the world"

So the questions I'd like answered are:

  * Which one is correct?
  * Does この refer to 世界 or the entire phrase "世界の片隅"?
  * Would saying something like "世界のこの片隅に" be correct (despite sounding _very_ wrong)?
  * And whichever of the translations is correct, how would you say the other one?

It might get even more complicated with longer の chains... So I'd also like to
know:

  * In general, is there a way to specify which noun in a の series a demonstrative (この, その, あの...) refers to? Or do you have to rephrase the sentence somehow?




Both interpretations are technically possible, but when I read this firstly, I
thought この only modifies 世界 (i.e., "this world"). That is, if I were to
translate the Japanese title literally, I would choose "In a corner of this
world." (Note that I don't know much about the movie. And I wouldn't say "In
this corner of the world" is a bad translation, either. There may be a
reason.)

片隅 is a word that vaguely refers to an inconspicuous place. Specifying it as
"この/あの片隅" or counting 片隅 (like 2つの片隅) is not common. On the other hand, この世界
is a phrase I have heard hundreds of times. For the same reason, 世界のこの片隅に
sounds a bit weird to me, although it is perfectly grammatical and possible as
an eye-catching movie title. Something like 世界のこの場所で sounds more "normal" to
me.

> In general, is there a way to specify which noun in a の series a
> demonstrative (この, その, あの...) refers to?

I doubt it. I think we are choosing "the most sane interpretation" almost
unconsciously, case by case. When I hear この熊のぬいぐるみ, I would definitely
interpret it as "this stuffed bear" but not "a stuffed bear modeled on this
bear."




Both interpretations are technically possible, but when I read this firstly, I
thought この only modifies 世界 (i.e., "this world"). That is, if I were to
translate the Japanese title literally, I would choose "In a corner of this
world." (Note that I don't know much about the movie. And I wouldn't say "In
this corner of the world" is a bad translation, either. There may be a
reason.)

片隅 is a word that vaguely refers to an inconspicuous place. Specifying it as
"この/あの片隅" or counting 片隅 (like 2つの片隅) is not common. On the other hand, この世界
is a phrase I have heard hundreds of times. For the same reason, 世界のこの片隅に
sounds a bit weird to me, although it is perfectly grammatical and possible as
an eye-catching movie title. Something like 世界のこの場所で sounds more "normal" to
me.

> In general, is there a way to specify which noun in a の series a
> demonstrative (この, その, あの...) refers to?

I doubt it. I think we are choosing "the most sane interpretation" almost
unconsciously, case by case. When I hear この熊のぬいぐるみ, I would definitely
interpret it as "this stuffed bear" but not "a stuffed bear modeled on this
bear."

