Dissertation Research: Honorifics as an Aspect of Japanese Speech Styles

日语长期以来一直以其精心设计的敬语词缀系统而闻名，这些词缀表示对谈话对象或正在谈论的人的尊重。研究人员将调查敬语用法如何随着情景特征的变化而变化，以及敬语用法的变化是否与其他文体标记的变化相关。西方语言的传统分析通常认为文体涉及形式的单一方面的变化。已经假设存在同现规则，使得在一个维度(例如，词序)上是正式的语音在另一个维度(例如，词语选择)将是正式的。虽然日语敬语显然与礼仪有关，但这位研究者假设敬语与其他礼仪标志无关。因此，日本人可能会同时对一种文体标记表示尊重，同时对另一种文体标记表示亲密。这一点重要地表明，形式不是一个单一的维度，而是涉及几个不同的分析特征，这些特征影响着语言系统的不同层面。

Japanese has long been known for its elaborate system of honorific affixes which show respect for the person to whom or about whom one is speaking. The researcher will investigate how honorific use varies in response to situational features and whether variation in honorific use correlates with variation in other stylistic markers. Conventional analyses of Western languages have generally treated style as involving variation along a single dimension of formality. It has been assumed that co- occurrence rules exist such that speech which is formal in one dimension (e.g., word order) will be formal in another (e.g., word choice). While Japanese honorifics are clearly related to formality, this investigator hypothesizes that honorifics are unrelated to other markers of formality. Therefore, it is possible that Japanese simultaneously show respect with one stylistic marker while showing intimacy with another. This importantly suggests that formality is not a single dimension, but rather involves several analytically distinct features which influence different levels of the linguistic system.