Formation and structure of lexical network of native-Japanese words, Sino-Japanese words and foreign words: A new lexical theory for solving language problems

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18514
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 2:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: Meiji University
• Principal Investigator: Tanaka Makiro 明治大学, 国際日本学部, 専任教授 (90217076)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 語種 / 和語 / 漢語 / 外来語 / 翻訳語 / 言語問題 / 語彙教育 / 語彙史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

I have clarified the process of formation concerning the lexical network consisting of native Japanese words, Sino-Japanese words, and foreign words, which embody the distinctive characteristics of the Japanese vocabulary. I analyzed synonym groups in late Heian period and early Meiji period, and also conducted quantitative and qualitative studies from a diachronic perspective from ancient times to the present based on corpus of historical Japanese. Moreover, I have indicated the presence of the lexical network as the cause of the language problems in the realm of Japanese vocabulary and have embarked upon a discussion concerning the framework of lexical theory, aimed at facilitating the resolution of language problems.

Free Research Field

日本語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本語学の中に蓄積されてきた、語種論の知見と、語の意味・用法や語彙の体系の研究の知見を結びつけ、近年開発された歴史コーパスに基づくデータ分析を踏まえて、日本語の語彙の特質についていくつかの新見を提示できたところに学術的な意義がある。その語彙ネットワークの構造に起因する現代の語彙の言語問題のありようを整理し、その問題への対処法について議論を行ったところに社会的な意義がある。