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Verb repetition as a template for reactive tokens in Japanese everyday talk

  • Ryoko Suzuki EMAIL logo , Tsuyoshi Ono und Saori Daiju
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 4. Mai 2023
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Abstract

A systematic investigation into the first large scale Japanese conversation corpus reveals that repeated verbs (RVs) occurring in the response position tend to involve frequently used verbs such as aru ‘to exist’ and chigau ‘to differ’ (e.g., aru aru aru). Further, longer RVs, those involving more repetition, are even more likely to occur with frequent verbs. In RVs, we find the verb having lost some of its lexical meaning and phonological substance (e.g., chigau > chiga). RVs in fact behave more like pragmatic particles functioning as reactive tokens, i.e., short responses interjected by non-main speakers. RVs as reactive tokens are most clearly observed when they are used together with standard reactive tokens such as hai hai hai hai ‘yes, yes, yes, yes’, so(o) so(o) so(o) ‘yes, yes, yes’, and (i)ya (i)ya (i)ya ‘no, no, no’, which also exhibit repetition and phonological reduction. Verb repetition is thus better understood as a template to turn verbs into reactive tokens.


Corresponding author: Ryoko Suzuki, Faculty of Economics, Keio University, 4-1-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8521, Japan, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mike Ewing, Ruth Fallon and Reijirou Shibasaki for their insightful comments on the earlier versions, and the audience in our presentations for their invaluable input in the process of writing this paper. This study has been supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research 17KT0061) and the Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Fellowship, awarded to Suzuki and Ono respectively. All remaining errors are our responsibility.

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Received: 2021-10-11
Accepted: 2022-04-02
Published Online: 2023-05-04
Published in Print: 2023-05-25

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 28.11.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jjl-2023-2008/html
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