Asano-Cavagh, Yuko & Lee, Duck-Young (2017). NSM Approach による類義語の意味分析: 日韓の伝達表現を中心に [NSM-based approach to meanings of synonyms: Focusing on hearsay markers in Japanese and Korean]. 日本語學硏究 [Japanese Language Association of Korea], 54, 87-106.

DOI: 10.14817/jlak.2017.54.87 / Open access

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to analyse the evidential markers そうだ souda, らしい rashii and って tte in Japanese and 대 tay and 니까 nikka in Korean from an NSM perspective. そうだ souda, らしい rashii and って tte are used in similar situations and are often translated in English as ‘he/she says’, or ‘I heard’. Although these hearsay markers are considered synonyms, they are not necessarily interchangeable. There are subtle differences that cannot be captured by a dictionary or conventional semantic analysis. The current study shows that the NSM approach is more beneficial than previous research in that it can describe the (dis)similarities of synonyms in a simple and accurate fashion. The study then analyses the Korean markers 대 tay and 니까 nikka, and compares the results with those obtained for the Japanese evidentials. It is demonstrated that the NSM approach is capable of dealing with the semantic properties of markers/expressions in different languages, and that definitions facilitate the understanding of each expression and enable the comparison of meanings cross-linguistically.

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Written in Japanese. The first authors’ name is reported here as per the (incorrect) spelling used in the paper.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners