Bounded uses of unbounded adjectives in Japanese : The role of subjectivity

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Other Title
  • 日本語における非有界形容詞の有界的使用に関して : 主観性の役割を中心に
  • ニホンゴ　ニ　オケル　ヒユウカイ　ケイヨウシ　ノ　ユウカイテキ　シヨウ　ニ　カンシテ　シュカンセイ　ノ　ヤクワリ　ヲ　チュウシン　ニ
  • ニホンゴ ニ オケル ヒユウカイ ケイヨウシ ノ ユウカイテキ シヨウ ニ カンシテ : シュカンセイ ノ ヤクワリ オ チュウシン ニ

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Abstract

Articles

This paper analyses the unmarked and marked uses of unbounded adjectives in Japanese, drawing a distinction between the traditionally established classes of property adjectives and emotion adjectives. In Japanese, unbounded adjectives such as takai (‘tall’) or ureshii (‘happy’) can appear in structures such as kanpeki ni takai (‘perfectly tall’) or kanzen ni ureshii (‘completely happy’), which suggest the realization of a bounded scale and should, thus, be regarded as marked in terms of gradability. Drawing on previous research, this paper explains such marked uses by demonstrating the role of subjectivity, interpreted as the intervention of the speaker in establishing the reference value and the standard value involved in the selection of each adjective in speech. In unmarked contexts, both property adjectives and emotion adjectives are selected based on a standard value set through subjectivity. However, they are differentiated when it comes to the nature of their reference value. Adjectives such as takai refer to an objective property of the object they co-occur with and, thus, have an objective reference value, while adjectives such as ureshii describe the speaker’s emotions and have a reference value dependent upon subjectivity. In marked contexts, property adjectives allow a bounded interpretation when the context including the object projects an objective boundary on the scale, but also when the intervention of the speaker establishes a subjective boundary. In the case of emotion adjectives, the bounded interpretations involve only a subjective boundary set through the intervention of the speaker. By basing the analysis on real examples produced by native speakers, this paper demonstrates that the gradability features of unbounded adjectives in Japanese are not arbitrary. It is concluded that the role played by subjectivity in the selection of property adjectives and emotion adjectives in unmarked contexts motivates the type of marked bounded uses that both classes allow.

Journal

  • 間谷論集

    間谷論集 15 89-110, 2021-03-31

    The Center for Japanese Language and Culture, Osaka University

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