Comparative Study of Discourse Structures in Japanese and American Debating

本研究项目重新审视并提出了分析“学术辩论”——日本和美国实践的教育/竞争性辩论——话语结构的尝试性模型。它还包括对这些辩论进行录音/录象记录和抄录。暂定模型已应用于对这些已记录的辩论的分析。数据收集工作取得了成功，日本与会者按照原计划的辩论次数用日语和英语进行辩论。由于有针对性的辩论赛的参赛人数意外减少，因此收集的辩论演讲数量比原计划的美国选手用英语辩论的数量要少。研究的分析框架之一是基于论证的逻辑结构（图尔敏模型）。在辩论演讲中出现的论点编码元素中，决定是基于演讲者的意图，由包括首席调查员在内的目标演讲社区（“辩论社区”）成员判断。根据构成参数的元素的线性时间顺序进行了初步比较。为了对话语结构进行更细致的分析，人们尝试将话语分析的“语言学方法”应用到辩论演讲中。对辩论演讲进行分析，以确定辩论中话语结构的具体特征“动作”和“行为”。这些分析包括辩论演讲中话语单位的时间和层次关系的确定。它们还包括它们之间的相互作用（例如，提出论点、证明、问题、回应、反论点）。研究项目的结果将作为会议论文和期刊论文提交，目前正在编写中。

This research project has reexamined and proposed tentative models of analyzing discourse structures of "Academic Debate"-educational/competitive debate practiced in Japan and the United States. It also involves audio/video recording of those debates as well as transcribing them. The tentative models have been applied to the analysis of those transcribed debates.The data collection was successful in Japanese participants debating in Japanese and English in line with the originally planned number of debates. The number of collected debate speeches was smaller than the original plan for American participants debating in English due to unexpected decline in the participants in targeted debate tournaments.One of the examined frames of analysis is based on the logical structure of arguments (Toulmin's Model). In coding elements of arguments that appear in debate speeches, the decision was based on the intention of the speaker judged by members of the target speech community ("debate community") including the head investigator. A tentative comparison was conducted based on the linear time order of the elements that consist of arguments.In order to pursue more detailed analysis of discourse structures, attempts have been made to apply "Linguistic Approach" of Discourse Analysis to debate speeches. Debate speeches were analyzed in order to establish "moves" and "acts" that specifically characterize discourse structures in debate. These analyses involve determination of temporal and hierarchical relationship of the discourse units in debate speeches. They also involve their interaction (e.g., presentation of argument, proof, question, response, counterargument).Results of the research project will be submitted as conference papers and journal papers, which are currently under preparation.