A cross-linguistic study of the pragmatic functions of suspended clauses: With special attention to the contrast between attributive/nominalized clauses and adverbial clauses

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02624
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Horie Kaoru 名古屋大学, 人文学研究科, 教授 (70181526)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 中断節 / 非従属化 / 語用論的機能 / 言いさし / 連体節 / 準体節 / 副詞節 / 文法化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study is a cross-linguistic study of "suspended clauses", i.e. subordinate clauses which have come to be used as main clauses and have acquired speciic pragmatic functions, which have been traditionally referred to as "iisasi" in Japanese linguistics and Japanese pedagogy.This study pays parcular attention to suspended clauses in Asian languages like Japanese and Korean and in European languages like English and Finnish. The main objective of this study was to explore pragmatic differences (if any) between suspended clauses derived from noun modification/nominalization and those derived from adverbial clauses.

Free Research Field

言語類型論

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまでの日本語学・日本語教育、また言語類型論分野においては、副詞節由来の「連用」タイプの中断節（例：～ば、～から、～けど, if, because等で終結する節）に研究の焦点が置かれていたが、本課題によって、特に日本語や韓国語において種類が多く、使用頻度も高い「連体・準体」タイプ（例：～こと、～わけ、～のといった形式名詞・準体助詞あるいは語彙的な名詞を主要部とする独立連体修飾節）が非常に重要な語用論的な機能を担っていることが明らかになった。その結果、「連用」タイプと「連体・準体」タイプの中断節の語用論的な機能の相違も明らかになり、中断節のタイポロジーの再構成に貢献することができた。