程度の大きさを表す形容詞に関する一考察‒「すごい」･「ひどい」･「はげしい」を中心に‒

Abstract

In the present article, I analyse the meanings and actual usages of three degree-denoting adjectives, sugoi, hidoi, and hageshii, for the purpose of advancing the vocabulary teaching of Japanese adjectives for Korean learners. All of the three adjectives combine with a motion-denoting expression and signify that the degree of some sort is unusually and significantly high. On the other hand, they exhibit several differences as well. First, due to its etymological nature, hidoi conveys a speaker’s negative evaluation, but sugoi, which expresses a horrified surprise or fear, may be used for both positive and negative evaluations. Hageshii itself is neutral to the types of evaluation, but it may indirectly convey a negative evaluation when it is concerned with a motion. Second, hageshii combines with a motion-denoting verb and takes on an actional meaning concerning an oscillating motion, a continuous stimulus, or an incessant change. Third, stylistically speaking, sugoi is frequently used in conversation and regarded as a colloquial expression, as in the case of hidoi. Finally, the degree-modiying adjectives sugoi and hidoi have adverbial forms, sugoku and hidoku, and these forms have been widely established as degree-denoting adverbials; they have entries in dictionaries. In particular, when hidoi is used for a state-of-affairs with a gradually elevating degree of some sort, it only conveys that the degree is significant and no longer expresses a negative evaluation that is inherently associated with hidoi.