Research questions

This article examines how Japanese speakers are mainly characterized as been indecisive.
Epistemic markers indicate indecision by being added primarily to express doubt. In the
Japanese language, there are some sentence particles like kana, which means uncertain
attitude, and in English is translated as maybe or I wonder. The article also compares other
Japanese expressions like Darou ka and (n) Janai ka.

Data

Decisions are made instantly and constantly when communicating, whether we convey our
beliefs, knowledge, and judgments. Attitude towards expertise is expressed in numerous cross-
linguistic ways. In some languages, evidential markers belong to the homogeneous
morphological classes, and other languages have more elaborate systems like English.
Wierzbicka (2006) states that modern English is unique in its wealth of epistemic markers.
English speakers are expected to be accurate and cautious in conveying information by clearly
distinguishing between their judgment and knowledge. It has been observed that in cross-
cultural settings, Japanese people are generally more 'indecisive,' 'indirect,' 'ambiguous,' and
'vague' than speakers of other languages when conveying information, their judgment, or their
opinion.

Conclusion

Japanese is considered the only language whose expression is more likely to be indecisive than
the other languages. The most used word by Japanese people which display indecisiveness is
Goroka, kana, (n)Janai ka, whereby kana is a sentence-final particle. This expression of one's
utagai 'doubt' indicates that one is indecisive or uncertain and is generally translated as I
wonder, or maybe in English. However, darou ka and (n) Janai ka also have a similar function
(Nitta 1997, Miyazaki 2001, 2005). In most modern bilingual language and dictionaries
textbooks, I wonder if it is equivalent to kana and Darou ka and (n) Janai ka. Also, in translated
texts, Darou ka and (n) Janai ka are usually rendered as I wonder or maybe. Kana, Darou ka, and
(n) Janai ka share a similar meaning.

Supporting evidence for their findings

This study employs the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach to clarify the meanings
of these three Japanese epistemic markers. The main idea of this framework is that the
definition of a linguistic expression can be explained intelligibly based on ordinary and
straightforward language, known as semantic primes. One may argue that the meaning of these
markers is different in spoken data and written data. The importance of intonation cannot be
ignored, and also, note that intonation carries a particular meaning, and it is distinguished from
the core meaning represented by the expression. For instance, compare the following: Itai. hurt
'It hurts.'Itai? (With rising intonation) hurt 'Does it hurt?' In, the intonation carries a specific
meaning of asking a question to the listener, but not itai. The invariant purpose of itai itself
should be the same in (ii) and (iii). The fuller study of intonation lies outside the scope of this
paper. The current research focuses on the meaning of three expressions that can be used
without a listener and which do not carry rising intonation.

Weakness/limitation of the methodology

Many attempts have been made to identify the meanings and differences between epistemic
markers by Japanese scholar sentiments. Although these endeavors have provided valuable
insights, there are unresolved problems associated with the actual meaning. For instance, kana
represents one's utagai, 'doubt,' and is considered to express one's futashikasa, 'uncertainty'
(Miyazaki 2005). However, the same terms are repeatedly used to explain the meaning of (n)
Janai ka, Darou ka, and other epistemic markers among researchers. Although the explanations
are convenient and very necessary, they are not descriptively accurate as they do not pinpoint
the exact semantic differences between these synonyms. One question is, what does utagai or
futashikasa exactly mean? Usagi can be translated as 'doubt,' 'question,' or 'dubitative mood' in
English. However, whether the Japanese word utagai means precisely the same as 'doubt,'
'question,' or 'dubitative mood' is questionable.

References

Ameka, Felix. 1994. Ewe. In Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), Semantic and lexical
universals:

Theory and empirical findings, 57–86. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

DOI:

10.1075/slcs.25.07ame.

Chafe, Wallace & Johanna Nichols (eds.). 1986. Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of
epistemology. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Research question(s)
Deictic and anaphoric uses of the Japanese demonstratives ko-so-a

This study describes the Japanese demonstrative system, and section 2 explains my data
collection method. In section 3, it is demonstrated that in monologue, the Japanese deixite
system consists of a two-way opposite a-(distal) vs. viz. ko- (proximal); it is argued that in
soliloquy, ko- and a- are always deictic. Adopting Chafe's (1994) theory of consciousness, it is
hypothesized that (i) a- is used deictically when the referent is in the speaker's peripheral
consciousness, i.e., in a semi-active mental state, and (ii) ko- is used to refer deictically to an
entity if it is already focused and thus in an active state at the moment of speech. Also, in
section 4, it is discussed the notions of anaphora and deixis and also difficulties associated with
dichotomizing them. In the end, section 5 demonstrates that so- and a- exhibit the attributive-
referential distinction, discussed by Donnellan (1966).

Data

Japanese demonstratives describe conventional grammars as encoding a three-way distinction

known as the ko-, so- and a-series. When the addressee and the speaker face each other, the
ko-series refers to entities near the speaker, whereas the so-series is used for entities near the
addressee and the a-series for those at a distance from both of them. This analysis is called the
Territory Model. The utility of the Distance and Territory Models has been widely recognized.
However, it challenges models by claiming that ko-so-a does not form a triplet but, instead, a
double binary: i.e., ko- vs. so- on the one hand, and ko- vs. a- on the other. He provides, as
supporting evidence, linguistic patterns and fixed phrases. There are phrases combining a- and
ko- as well as so- and ko-, but never so- and a-.

Findings / Conclusions

After the examination, the use of ko-so-a in (constructed) soliloquy and found cases that
counter-exemplify Kuno's generalizations. He questions language used should be accounted for
in terms of communication, in which the presence of the addressee is always presumed. If we
subscribe to a communicative explanation, Kuroda cautions, we need to be aware that some
characteristics of language use are likely derived from the communicative setting itself rather
than from the properties of the expressions under consideration, for us to examine the use of
ko-so-a in (constructed) soliloquy and found cases that counter-exemplify Kuno's
generalizations. To explore the functions of ko-so-a in the soliloquy in Japanese, an experiment
was conducted. Twenty-four subjects (16 females and eight males, all native speakers of
Japanese) participated, each speaking their thoughts for 10-15 minutes while alone in an
isolated room. The subjects were instructed to talk not to an imaginary person but, instead, to
verbalize whatever came into their minds. Also, as a pre-theoretical notion, soliloquy can be
defined in three ways: situational, intentional, or heuristic in terms of form and content.
Situationally, the term soliloquy refers to any utterance when no person other than the speaker
is present in the situation in the speech.

Supporting evidence for their findings

No matter how soliloquy is defined, experimentally and spontaneous solicited data may be
deemed equally valid and equally problematic. One might argue that the real issue here is the
subjects' awareness of their being recorded, which undoubtedly restricts the content of their
speech. Chafe perceives consciousness to be like vision, constantly in motion and focusing on a
minimal amount of information at one time. Like foveal (i.e., sharp, central) vision, there is focal
consciousness, and like peripheral vision, there is peripheral consciousness, providing a context
for that which is focused. A vast amount of information lies beyond peripheral consciousness,
which is not attended to at any given moment. Data in the focal, peripheral, or unconscious
state is referred to as active, semiactive, or inactive, respectively.

Weakness/limitation of the methodology

The study examined that in soliloquy, ko- and a- are consistently deictic, freely pointing to a
mental construct regardless of continuation or renewal of a topic of discourse. On the other
hand, so- is an anaphor par excellence, always accompanied by an antecedent. It is
understandable that to carry a conversation, one needs to evoke in the interlocutor's mind
specific mental imagery that they want to talk about. This evocation can be accomplished by
identifying the entity employing an antecedent. In terms of Donnellan's preferentiality, and e
'those pictures' can be analyzed as referential, pointing to a mental image in a semi-active
state. By contrast, sore is considered attributive, whatever fits the description tsukaenai e
'unusable pictures.'

References

Chafe, Wallace. 1994. Discourse, consciousness, and time: The flow and displacement of
conscious experience in speaking and writing. Chicago: University of Chicago

Press.

Donnellan, Keith. 1966. Reference and definite descriptions. Philosophical Review 75:

281-304.

Kuno, Susumu. 1973/1992. Kosoa [Ko-so-a]. In: Kinsui, Satoshi and Takubo, Yukinori

(eds.), Shijishi [Demonstratives], 69-73. Tokyo: Hituzi Syobo.

Research question(s)

How is loanword prosody related to native prosody? Where do the prosodic patterns of
loanwords come from? What do loanwords tell us about the prosodic structure of the host
language? These are the main questions discussed in this paper. We will solve these questions
by analyzing the accentuation of loanwords compared to that of native and Sino-Japanese (SJ)
words in Tokyo Japanese.

Data (or the target for the observations)

In Japanese, content words in Japanese, whether nouns, verbs, or adjectives, fall into two
accent classes generally called 'accented' and 'unaccented.' In Tokyo Japanese, accented words
involve an abrupt pitch fall. In contrast, their unaccented counterparts are pronounced with a
rather flat pitch, even when followed by a particle like the nominative particle /ga/. Typical
examples are given for the three types of lexical words native, SJ, and foreign (loanwords).In
accented words, the pitch falls immediately after the accented vowel. Unaccented words are
represented without any diacritic throughout this paper, although this does not mean
'unmarked' or default. Dots indicate syllable boundaries.

Findings / Conclusions

While this prediction seems to squire well with native speakers' intuition, it has been unclear
whether the phonological generalization proposed by Kubozono can be extended to ordinary
loanwords. It also remains unclear why loanwords tend to become unaccented when they fulfill
the phonological conditions regarding phonological length and syllable structure, much less
how the unaccented pattern in loanwords is related to the same accent pattern in native words.

Supporting evidence for their findings

In the preceding section, we have seen that the antepenultimate accent rule in general accent
rule applies to accented Japanese nouns as a whole on the one hand and is strikingly similar to
the accent rule of Latin and English on the other. As can be seen from this table, four-mora
loanwords show a much higher percentage of the unaccented pattern than their three-mora
and five-mora counterparts. An analysis of NHK Accent Dictionary (1998) shows a similar
difference, with the unaccentedness ratio for four-mora words going up to 29.

Weakness/limitation of the methodology

This can be confirmed by Sibata (1994) data, who looked at the differences between loanwords
and non-loanwords, i.e., native and SJ words combined. According to this study, 66% of four-
mora non-loanwords are unaccented. In contrast, the same accent pattern only accounts for
53% and 30% of three-mora and five-mora nouns of the same linguistic types, respectively. In
the syllabus structure, it is clear that syllable structure re favored by different word types.
Loanwords consisting of four light syllables,i.e., #LLLL#, show the highest percentage of the
unaccented pattern; in fact, a majority of loanwords in this class take the unaccented design in
preference to the accented one. This is followed by #HLL#, of which nearly a half takes the
unaccented pattern.

References

Akinaga, K., 1985. Kyootuugo no akusento (Accent of Standard Japanese). In the appendix to
NHK (ed.),

NHK Pronunciation and Accent Dictionary. Nihon Hoso Shuppan Kyokai, Tokyo.

Katayama, M., 1998. Optimality Theory and Japanese Loanword Phonology. Ph.D. dissertation,

University of California at Santa Cruz.

Kubozono, H., 1994. Syllable and accent in Japanese: evidence from loanword phonology. Paper

Presented at the Trilateral Phonology Weekend (Trend) 3, UC Berkeley and Stanford,

October 1994.

The paper I found most interesting is which discusses being indecisive in Japanese.

I found this paper and section more interesting because it explains and examines how the use
of some words in Japanese has reduced the confidence and knowledge of understanding
among the Japanese languages. It also describes how English speakers are expected to be
accurate and cautious in conveying information by making a clear distinction between their
judgment and their knowledge as compared to the Japanese language, which its cross-cultural
settings, people are generally more 'indecisive,' 'indirect,' 'ambiguous,' and 'vague,' than
speakers of other languages.