著者

藤原 与一

出版者

広島大学文学部

雑誌

広島大学文学部紀要 (ISSN:04375564)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.9, pp.189-214, 1956-03-31

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Colloquial Japanese has a remarkable usage of putting, after a whole of expression, some specific particle, by which the whole expression is bundled. The word-order of an assertive sentence of Japanese is as follows : 1, a subject (a noun or a pronoun), which often remains unexpressed and to which is added one (or more) auxiliary word ; 2, a predicate (a verb, to which may be added one or more auxiliary verbs, or an adjective or an ad jectival-verb). Thus the structure of subject-predicate relation is, for a while, completed. Last of all, however, without any relation to the preceding sentence structure, a particle of appeal is added ; for example, Watashi-wa shirimase-n yo. (= I don't know ! ), Notice the last word 'yo', which is the above said specific particle. The Japanese language has developed this kind of particles as the important element at the end of colloquial expression, and there has naturally been rise and fall of their usage, some having gone out of usage, while other new forms successively coming into use. The expression of colloquial Japanese is, on every occasion, exquisitely tinged with nuance by these particles. The emotion in variously treating the spoken-to is expressed intensively by these particles. The present writer chose, as examples of particles of the sentence-tertninaton, the particle 'na-moshi' and its kind. Japanese has had, since former times, a sentence of appeal, 'moshi', to which the inter jective particle 'na' or 'no' was joined, and there have been brought about the particle of sentence-termination 'na-moshi' and others. 'Moshi' itself has become a particle of sentence-termination, and its abbreviated forms 'mo' and 'shi' do also exist. 'Na-moshi' and 'no-moshi', too, have yielded their respective abbreviated forms. I have tried to describe accurately the actual distribution and functions of these forms. I should be happy if readers will, by this article, apprehend one of the most characteristic features of Japanese expession, i. e. the expression with 'sentence-termination'.