明治 20년대 落語의 2인칭대명사

Abstract

This study attempts to examine the characteristics of the Japanese language with a focus on 2nd personal pronouns used in the Meiji 20’s Rakugo(落語). The following facts were identified in this study. Firstly, a lot more types of 2nd personal pronouns were used in the Meiji 20’s, compared to the present-day use of them. Secondly, the Japanese language used in the Meiji 20’s is marked by a transitional phase from Edogo(江戶語) to the contemporary language and there remain some elements of Edo(江戶) period in it. Therefore, there is room for reconsideration about a classification of the Meiji period into the Contemporary Age on the basis of a socio-political perspective. Thirdly, in light of the history of the Japanese language, it seems more resonable to conceptualize the periods from 1868 to 1945 as ‘the Modern Age(近代)’ and the periods from 1945 to the present as ‘the Contemporary Age(現代)’. Finally, this study identified some 2nd personal pronouns and their variations that were not presented in Tsujimura(辻村 1968). This finding is attributable to the characteristics of the data that were investigated in this study. The data source for the study came from ‘Rakugo’(落語) which rather faithfully reflects the features of spoken language. This study reaffirms the value of Rakugo as data for Tokyogo(東京語) which forms a prototype of contemporary Japanese.