Subjectivity, transitivity and agentivity in Japanese written discourse: a corpus analysis

• Thesis title in Czech: Subjektivita, tranzitivita a agentivita v japonském psaném diskuzu: korpusová analýza
• Thesis title in English: Subjectivity, transitivity and agentivity in Japanese written discourse: a corpus analysis
• Key words: subjektivita|tranzitivita|agentivita|kognitivní lingvistika|analýza korpusu
• English key words: subjectivity|transitivity|agentivity|cognitive linguistics|corpus analysis
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2022/2023
• Thesis type: diploma thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Institute of Asian Studies (21-UAS)
• Supervisor: Mgr. Petra Kanasugi, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 20.02.2023
• Date of assignment: 20.02.2023
• Administrator's approval: approved
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 13.03.2023
• Date and time of defence: 12.09.2023 09:00
• Date of electronic submission: 31.07.2023
• Date of proceeded defence: 12.09.2023
• Submitted/finalized: committed by student and finalized
• Opponents: Mgr. Martin Tirala, Ph.D.
• Award: Thesis was put forward for an award

Guidelines

Ikegami’s (1981, 1991) typology classifies languages as either a DO-language or a BECOME-language, based on their degree of subjectivity. A DO-language is a type of language which tends to single out an individuum and place the focus on it; a BECOME-language tends to focus on anevent as a whole, withthe individuum submerged in it. English and Japanese respectively are given as examples of such languages. In addition, Ikegami (2008) notes a correlation between DO andBECOME-languagesand their tendency towards objective and subjective construal, respectively, as defined byLangacker(2002, 2011). This preference for subjective or objective mode of expression is thought tobe reflected in a range of linguistic phenomena, including transitivity, which relates to linguistic representation of the agent. (Ikegami 1991;Hopper& Thompson1980)
Previousstudiesinvestigating subjectivity in Japanese and other languages(e.g.,Uehara 2011, Nishijima 2010)havebeenlargely limitedto the examples provided in Ikegami's seminal study, or to a comparison of a singular discourse type,predominantly translatedliterature.Thishoweverraises the question of whether the degree of subjectivity varies acrossdifferent typesof discourse.
The present thesis aimstoexplore the manifestation of subjectivity acrossvarious typesof written discourse.The study aims todeterminewhether subjectivity in Japanese varies across discourse and toidentifyany observable trends in context. It also aims to contextualize the manifestation of subjectivity in Japanese in comparison with English texts, focusing on preferences based on text type and context.
The theoretical partprovidesan overview of the concept of subjectivity in linguistics, including Ikegami's language typology,Langacker’sview of subjectivity as well as his fivesubjectivity configurationsand the relationship between subjectivity,agentivity, and transitivity (Langacker1985, 2011; Ikegami 1991; Hopper & Thompson 1980). The types of discourse in Japanese according to Maynard (1993) andpreviousstudies on the analysis of subjectivity in Japanese and other languages will also be introduced.
The practical partcomprisestwo analyses - a quantitative and qualitative corpus analysis. The Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese will be used to examine the manifestation of transitivity andagentivityindifferent typesof discourse.The results of the first analysis will then be contextualized and tested through a qualitative analysis of selected texts in Japanese and English from various genres, including literary prose, news articles, magazine articles, and blog posts.
Universal Dependencies will beutilizedas a tool to illustrate thedifferent levelsof subjective and objective expressions, as well as construal schemas based on cognitive linguistics approach.
The final part of the thesis will summarize the results and interpret them in the given frame of Ikegami’s typology.

References

Ikegami, Y. (2008). “Subjective construal as a ‘fashion of speaking’ in Japanese.” In Current Trends in Contrastive Linguistics: Functional and Cognitive Perspectives, p 227–250. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Hopper, P. & Thompson, S. (1980). Transitivity in Grammar and Discourse. In: Language, p. 56.
Kitagawa, Y., &Tamaoka, K. (2007). A comparative study of the transitivity systems of Japanese and English. In M.Shiosaka, & K.Tamaoka(Eds.), Japanese-English Contrasts
Langacker, R. (2002). Deixis and subjectivity. In FrankBrisard(ed.), Grounding: The epistemic footing of deixis and reference, p. 1–28. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Langacker, R. (2008) Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lanacker, R. (2011). Subjectification,grammaticization, and conceptual archetypes. In A.Athanasiadou, C.Canakis& B.Cornillie(Ed.), Subjectification: Various Paths to Subjectivity, p. 17-40. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
Langacker, R. W. (1985). Observations and speculations on subjectivity. In J. Haiman (Ed.), Iconicity in syntax. p. 109-150. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Maynard, S. (1993).Discourse Modality: Subjectivity, Emotion and Voice in the Japanese Language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing
Maynard, S. (2007). Linguistic Creativity in Japanese Discourse. John Benjamins Publishing, Netherlands
Nishijima, Y. (2010). Perspective in routine formulas: A contrastive analysis of Japanese and German. Intercultural Communication Studies (ICS), 19(2), 55-63.
Tsunoda, T. (1985). Remarks on Transitivity. Journal of Linguistics, 21(2), 385–396.
Uehara, S. (2011). Toward a typology of linguistic subjectivity: A cognitive and cross-linguistic approach to grammaticalized deixis. In A.Athanasiadou, C.Canakis& B.Cornillie(Ed.), Subjectification: Various Paths to Subjectivity (pp. 75-118). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
守屋三千代(2018)「事態の主観的把握と「ナル」表現」『日本語日本文学』28, 27-38.
尾野治彦(2018)『「視点」の違いから見る日英語の表現と文化の比較』開拓社