Tag: (E) rashii らしい

(2017) Japanese, Korean – Evidentiality

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.

More information:

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

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(2011) Japanese – Evidentials

Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko, & Cavanagh, Rob (2011). Semantic invariance and variance in linguistic analyses. In Jan Wright (Ed.), Researching across boundaries: AARE International Research in Education Conference proceedings. Hobart: Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE). http://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php. PDF (open access)

This paper was written for a symposium on invariance (The Invariance Condition in Educational Research: Invariance Between Groups, Instruments, Language and Across Time). The philosophical genre of hermeneutical phenomenology provided a perspective for examination of invariance in scientific research and linguistic analysis that applies the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) Approach. In both instances, a medium (theory and instruments) is constructed a priori on the assumption it will display invariance when taken out of the laboratory. The real world then inscribes the medium in accordance with qualitative differences (variance) in the phenomenon of interest. In this study, the medium is the Natural Semantic Metalanguage Approach and the phenomenon of interest are three Japanese ʻhearsayʼ markers: らしい rashii, そうだ sooda and って tte.

The raw data for this study are the meanings of らしい rashii, そうだ sooda and って tte as expressed in a corpus of eight novels written in Japanese and with English translations. Using the NSM Approachʼs syntactic rules, a combination of primes was used to define each marker. Reductive paraphrases that are simpler than the original words were identified by a process of semantic reduction. The resulting definitions comprised discrete components that defined the respective markers.

This NSM Approach analysis illustrates how explicating the differences between similar terms in one language and across more than one language needs a common medium with specific attributes. The medium requires that meaning be reduced to a level beyond which further simplification is not possible. This medium also limits the number of semantic primes to 64. It is the invariant nature of the NSM Approach that provides definitions that can accurately and consistently reveal qualitative differences between the terms – linguistic variance.


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2010) Japanese – Evidentials

Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko (2010). Semantic analysis of evidential markers in Japanese: Rashii, yooda and sooda. Functions of Language, 17(2), 153-180. DOI: 10.1075/fol.17.2.01asa

This paper investigates the semantics of three Japanese evidential markers: らしい rashii, ようだ yooda and そうだ sooda. These three words are often used in similar situations and interpreted in English as ‘it seems’, ‘it appears’, or ‘it looks like’. The expressions are semantically closely related, but sometimes they are not interchangeable. Thus the question arises how to articulate the subtle differences between them. Previous studies have attempted to explicate the differences by using explanatory terms such as ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’ to describe the content of information, and ‘objective’ or ‘subjective’ to describe the attitude towards the information. While these terms are convenient to capture the meaning simplistically, they illustrate only part of the words’ usage, and the definitions apply equally well to other evidential markers.

This study is the first explication of the meanings of these markers using the framework of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory. By analysing the deficiencies of previously presented definitions, and examining actual usage examples drawn from modern Japanese literature, the article applies NSM methodology to explicate the meanings of らしい rashii, ようだ yooda and そうだ sooda. The meanings of each expression are illustrated by cognitive scenarios such as ‘I think I can say something like this about X’, or ‘I think this about X at the moment’. The resulting semantic formulas clarify the differences between the three expressions. They also have potential for assisting second language learners in decisions about how to use the three terms.


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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