| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research is to clarify differences between speech level shift of Japanese native speakers and that of Japanese learners. The data consists of dialogues based on polite style by 12 native speakers and 20 learners interviewed by 3 native speakers(283 minutes in total). The results of the investigation are :
1. The Japanese learners tend to use more utterances (hatsuwa) with non-polite ending forms than the native speakers do.
2. More than half of the utterances of the native speakers end with the polite forms followed by particles "ne" or "yo", while less than 30 % of the learners' utterances have such ending forms.
3. The learners' dialogues include some non-polite ending forms with "ne" or "yo", which are not found in the native speakers' dialogues.
4. 8 primary factors of speech level shift are observed ; a) typical abbreviation, b) avoidance of repetition, c) halfway closing, d) discontinuance, e) response, f) confirmation, g) soliloquy, h) search for the proper expression.
5. Speech level shifts caused by factors a), c), or g) are relatively conspicuous in the native speakers' dialogues. While level shifts of the learners are characterized by factors f) and h).
6. Nearly half the cases of the learners' level shift have no relation to the above mentioned 8 factors. Most utterances in such cases end with an independent word(jiritsugo) or a quotation.
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