추량표현 「そうだ․ようだ․みたいだ ․らしい」의 사용양상에 관한 연구 - 『日本語日常会話コーパス(CEJC)』를 분석 대상으로 -

Abstract

In this article, I analyse the usages of the presumptive expressions sooda, yooda, mitaida, and rashii, as used in spoken language by Japanese native speakers. The results are summarised as follows. Firstly, the usage rate of mitaida exceeds 70 percent, followed by yooda, sooda, and rashii. Secondly, sooda frequently exhibits a “manner” use, whilst yooda and mitaida frequently exhibit a “presumptive” use. Thirdly, the syntactic category of the preceding item is primarily a verb in the case of the “presumptive” usage of sooda and an adjective in the case of its “manner” usage. For yooda, the syntactic category of the preceding item is primarily a verb in the case of the “presumptive” usage, a verb or a noun in the case of the “illustration” usage, and a noun in the case of the “metaphor” usage. For mitaida, the syntactic category of the preceding item is a verb or a noun in the case of the “presumptive” and the “illustration” usages, and a noun in the case of the “metaphor” usage. For rashii, the syntactic category of the preceding item is a verb or a noun in the case of the “presumptive” usage. Fourthly, use of these presumptive expressions is not particularly associated with a certain syntactic position, irrespective of what semantic function they have. Sooda and rashii are primarily used as a predicate, whereas yooda and mitaida are not. Fifthly, the females use presumptive expressions more than the males by about 15 percent. Only yooda is used more frequently by the males than by the females, and the other three forms are used more frequently by the females than by the males. Finally, people in their twenties or thirties use presumptive expressions more than people in their forties or fifties.