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This is the sentence I have just read:

> 外国へ行くとしたら、ただの旅行ではなく、勉強を 目的として 行きたい。 If I ever have a chance to go abroad
> then I would like to go to study rather than just travel.

The は feels intuitively correct but what purpose does it serve? There are a
number of expressions without the は:

> ～だけでなく…によっても広められている be popularized not only by ~ but also by
>
> ～が必要でなくとも although not in need of
>
> [愛]{あい}でなくてなんだろう if it is not love, what is it? (possibly 愛ではなく、なんだろう？）

I can't explain why は is/is not necessary in these expressions (apart from
"these are 決まり文句" but I wanted to get a better understanding than that if
possible).

I should be very grateful for any insights.
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2012-10-30T16:15:32.213
8280
2017-12-05T00:31:36.003
2014-03-03T06:59:16.500
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question
grammar
What is the difference between でなくand ではなく？
As you may already know は is considered the topic marker. Adding は puts
emphasis on the denial aspect and what becomes before ではなく is generally the
topic of the sentence, omitting は makes _what comes after_ でなく the focus of
the sentence.

A more literal translation of your sentence would be:

> If I ever go abroad, I don't want to travel for just pleasure, I would like
> to go to study.

The emphasis is on the denial aspect.
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2012-10-31T00:48:40.960
8283
2012-11-03T22:05:59.730
2012-11-03T22:05:59.730
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answer
Wa is not just used as a topic marker, but also to suggest alternatives among
many other options that might be possible. When ga is used, the emphasis is on
limiting the options and making a declarative statement about the particular
subject matter.

In your examples, the only real difference is a matter of distality, in which
case the de[wa]naku drops the wa when the conversion is less formal, such as a
conversation between close friends.

Dakedenaku is one of many "pattern" phrases in Japanese, where it is almost
exclusively used to convey a certain emotion. As such, it has undergone a lot
of changes over the years and rather than base it on formalities, it is a
result of colloquialism amongst the newer generations of Japanese speakers.
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answer