もくろみ動詞「してみる」の文法的な意味 - 平叙文․終止の場合 -

Abstract

Generally, the grammatical meaning of sitemiru, one of the conative verbs in contemporary Japanese, is known as ‘expressing an action as an attempt or execution for something’. In this study, the grammatical meaning of sitemiru is newly defined by observing the form of sitemiru which functions as a predicate of a declarative sentence at the textual level. In the analysis, the following points of view are taken; What is the situation in which sentences that use sitemiru as a predicate are used? What is the purpose of the agent performing the action indicated by the form of sitemiru? What significance does the action represented by the form of sitemiru indicate to the agent? In other words, we observe how reality and the agent are engaged in the use of sitemiru. By examining the engagement between reality and the agent when sitemiru is used, the following features can be confirmed. First, the attitude of the agent who identifies reality as an object to be changed. Second, a causal relationship in which the agent predicts that his/her action will bring about desired results. Third, the agent selects a specific action that can be an opportunity to create a desired result in the situation where he/she is. Combining these features, we can conclude that the grammatical meaning of sitemiru may be defined as ‘choice of an action that can serve as an opportunity to change the present reality into a desirable reality for the agent’.