Formal and informal language used by tohru honda in fruits basket anime = cách nói trang trọng và thân mật Được sử dụng bởi tohru honda trong anime fruits basket
INTRODUCTION
The reason for choosing the topic
The reason why I choose the topic “FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE USED
BY TOHRU HONDA IN FRUITS BASKET ANIME” is because in my experience, watching Anime is a common and effective way for a foreigner to study Japanese in a joyful and motivational way However, there are many opinions saying that the language used in Anime is “not real Japanese” and cannot be used in real life, and it is not a good source to learn a formal language like Keigo Therefore, in this research, the writer will prove that learning Japanese speaking through Anime is actually a joyful and extremely useful way.
Objectives of the study
Because young people use formal and polite speech a lot in life and the workplace because of their ranking in society, this research’s objective is to help young people, especially non-Japanese students studying this language like myself, to know how to speak Japanese appropriately and naturally.
Research question
There are two research questions needed to be discussed in this paper The first one is the prosodic properties of the formal conversational speech, compared to the less formal speech The second one is situations to use formal/ informal speech in conversation.
Research scope
This study will mainly analyze episodes 1, 2, and 3 of the Anime Fruits Basket and focus on the lines of Tohru, and the other 3 characters (Yuki, Shiruge, Kyo).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Scientific basis
Formality consists of formal speech and informal speech More recently, researchers have found that formal speech “can be defined as speech which is rigidly structured in terms of both what can be said and how it must be said, often occurs informal social situations (such as meetings or presentations)” (Sherr-Ziarko, 2019) Different levels of formality in Japanese are shown in various ways, such as verb endings, copular structure, selection of formal vs informal conjunctions, honorific and non-honorific…
Table 1: Lexical marks of formality in Japanese
Verb endings そこに行きました
そこに行った
日本語が上手です
日本語が上手だ
Also, another example in law or written language:
この憲法は、かかる原理
に基くものである。
1 Refer to these examples and divisions from study (Sherr-Ziarko, 2019)
2 A copula is essentially a verb meaning "to be" While forms of "be" in English include "is", "am", "are", "was",
"were", "been", and "being", Japanese copula includes the plain form だ "da" and the polite form です "desu"
Kono kenpoo ha, kakaru genri ni motoduku mono dearu
Honorific including sonkeigo (尊敬語), respectful language; kenjōgo (謙譲語),[note 1] humble language (or
"modest language"); and teineigo (丁寧語), polite language
拝見する haiken suru respectful (sonkeigo):
ご覧になる go-ran ni naru
見る miru polite (teineigo):
Form of address 鈴木氏
鈴木さん、鈴木
Conjunctions したがって、よって
ってことで
であるにもかかわらず、
Politeness consists of polite speech and impolite/ plain speech After referencing the example in the previous study (Brown, 1978), I consume that polite speech is the speech using
“masu”, “desu” form while in plain speech, the plain form, also known as the dictionary form, is often used (for example “u” verb, “ru” verb, “da”)
Examples from Anime Fruits Basket:
Tohru: とてもかわいいです
Tohru: でもやっぱり猫はいないんですね
Tohru : de mo yappari neko wa inai n desu ne
Yuki: 僕のいとこが失礼なまねしなかった？
Yuki : boku no itoko ga shitsureina maneshinakatta?
Yuki: 近く？ここの？
2.1.3 The difference between “Politeness” and “Formality”
From the definitions of the two concepts, The writer can tell the basic difference between these two concepts is that, while “politeness” is about whether it is polite or plain/ dictionary form and only focus on the end of the sentence, “formality” is about the way of choosing which word to use in any places in the sentence not only the ending part
According to earlier research, the concepts of FORMALITY and POLITENESS are often be misunderstood to be equivalent and interchangeable; and it is considered an overriding rule that speakers should ‘Be polite in a formal setting’ (Ide, 1982) This means whenever the speaker needs to speak formally he/ she needs to speak politely (which means using the “masu”,
“desu” form) too But that’s not entirely true in every case in reality, because there are "formal but not polite" situations, and "polite but not formal" situations in reality
For example, a "formal but not polite situation" might be a judge addressing the observers of a court case Like:「判決は私の責任である」(hanketsu wa watashi no sekinin de aru, meaning: Judgment is my responsibility) Or a teacher instructing students in class Like:「牛は哺乳類である」(Ushi wa honyūruidearu, meaning: Cows are mammals) 3
3 Refer examples from: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/36338/what-is-the-difference-between- formal-and-polite-verb-forms
Another example is found in the LDP Governor's Election Findings Speech by Mr Ishiba Shigeru, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), held on September 8, 2020 (SankeiNews, 2020) Mr Ishiba uses a lot of plain speech even though the speech is in a formal context
[6:01] 100年前に何があったか。 1914年から 18年まで、第一次世界大戦でありまし
た。世界で1億人の人が命を落としたといわれるスペインかぜ。 1918年から1920年 まで、世界で大流行いたしました。。。1939年から 45年まで第2次世界大戦。それ
が 100 年前の出来事であります。 我々は戦争絶対に起こしてはならない。ウイルス でございの人たちが命を落とすような、そのようなことがあってはならない。経済
が破壊されるような事は絶対に塞がねばならない。そういう認識でおります。。。
100-Nen mae ni nani ga atta ka 1914-nen kara 18-nen made, Daiichijisekaitaisen dearimashita Sekai de 1 oku-ri no hito ga inochi o otoshita to iwa reru supein kaze 1918-nen kara 1920-nen made, sekai de ōhayari itashimashita 1929-Nen 1939-nen kara 45-nen made dai 2-ji sekai taisen Sore ga 100-nen mae no dekigotodearimasu Wareware wa sensō zettai ni okoshite wa naranai Uirusu de gozai no hito-tachi ga inochi o otosu yōna, sono yōna koto ga atte wa naranai Keizai ga hakai sa reru yōna koto wa zettai ni fusaganeba naranai Sōiu ninshiki de orimasu
What happened 100 years ago? From 1914 to 18 there was the First World War The Spanish flu is said to have killed 100 million people in the world From 1918 to 1920, flu outbreaks were everywhere From 1939 to 1945, there was Second World War That was what happened
100 years ago We must never wage war There should be no such thing as a virus that would kill people Things that would destroy the economy must be closed We are aware of that
Mr.Ishida’s use of formal speech is marked by “dearimashita”, “dearimasu” (which is polite form of “dearu”, therefore, this phrase is both polite and formal); “ōhayari itashimashita” (“o…itashimashita” is Kenjougo) etc Meanwhile, he also uses a lot of plain speech such as
“atta ka”, “dai 2-ji sekai taisen” (omission of copular verb “desu” or “dearimasu”);
“tewanaranai” This is the evidence to prove that not all formal speech must be spoken in polite form
In general, the term “politeness” is different from the term “formality” Acknowledging this will provide readers deeper understanding of the meaning that the writer wants to convey when the writer uses the concept “polite” and “formal” from now on in this research paper.
Review of studies
Previous research was primarily concerned with the issue that the concepts of FORMALITY and POLITENESS are often conflated, or treated as roughly equivalent in Japanese (Sherr-Ziarko, 2019), while “it is not immediately obvious that it is justifiable to do so, as there is nothing, in particular, stopping formal speech from being either polite or impolite in many languages” (Brown, 1978) Ide (1982) proposes a rule which states that formal speech is always polite, meanwhile, Ethan Sherr-Ziarko proposes that informal speech can be either polite or ‘plain’ depending on context and lemma selection (Sherr-Ziarko, 2019) However, Ethan Sherr-Ziarko also states that: “this rule applies only to CONVERSATIONAL Japanese, and not strictly to written or scripted forms where informal and formal registers can sometimes combine in polite language” Based on examples that I found in real life which are listed in part 2.1.3
There is a research paper which has similar research topic and similar research method by analyzing Japanese language through Anime It is “Formal and Informal Language used by Hana Miyakoshi in www.working!! Anime Episode 1” written by Rahmad Novianto A This study analyzed formal and informal variations in another anime film to show how formal and informal speech is spoken However, after analyzing the difference between the two concepts politeness and formality as above, I realize that this research paper is using these two concepts simultaneously and interchangeably, which may cause confusion for the research readers The writer considers "honorific" as a scale of formality, which is insufficient and debatable In fact, as demonstrated above, formality is expressed by miscellaneous factors, and honorific is only one factor to assess the level of formality of the speech
Therefore, the writer of this paper will not use the same data analysis method as previous research, i.e by not restricting the classification of the data to three-type honorific but instead, will divide the data into 2 levels formal levels, basically includes of more formal and less formal level, when necessary, there will be neutral formal level See Appendix A for more detailed classifications of the three degrees of formal language used in these three anime episodes.
RESEARCH METHOD
Presenting the research context
Fruits Basket is a Japanese anime illustrated by Natsuki Takaya It focuses on the life of a high school girl, specifically revolving around a school setting with her classmates and two upper-class sisters and a home setting where Tohru lives with three boys, in which there are two boys the same age and one older boy
Fruits Basket is about the life of Tohru Honda, a kind-hearted and sincere orphan girl Despite always being positive and cheerful, Tohru has a quite hard life when her mother died in a car accident, and left her life with her grandfather However, family members at her grandfather’s house are so unsupportive, and unkind that she had to move out of her grandfather's house temporarily Tohru declines the offer to stay with one of her two close friends as she does not want to bother them Since she has nowhere else to go, Tohru begins living in a tent in the forest by herself and works hard to earn a living
One day, she met Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, and found out that they are members of the Sohma family who are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac They are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are touched by normal people of the opposite sex As time passed by, Tohru found out about the hardships and pain faced by the 3 members of the Sohma family, and by her generous and loving heart, she helps heal their emotional wounds Also, Tohru learns more about herself and how much others care for her
There are 16 characters in this anime In the first 3 episodes of the series, there are 4 main characters appearing mainly, they are Tohru Honda, Yuki Sohma, Kyo Sohma, and Shigure Sohma This research will focus on the speech produced by these 4 main characters because while Tohru produces mostly formal and polite Japanese forms, the other three characters produce more informal forms Thereby by researching this field, the author can give a description of the difference between the usage of formal and informal language produced by characters from different classes
Tohru is special not only because of her optimistic, extremely kind, and selfless personality but also for “her use of super-polite language” according to Natsuki Takaya – creator of the anime - in interviews (Natsuki Takaya Written Interview : , 2007) This polite manner is actually a trait of her character Based on my research, Tohru speaks formally and politely as an imitation of her father While Tohru’s father apparently used this form of language very often, more than might be necessary - as a result, Tohru also speaks formally every time and this became her trait
The Japanese language has a very in-depth, detailed, and particular form of polite language, that includes word choice, grammatical structure, etc., and social knowledge of when to use what forms in what situations with what people When the anime is voiceover in English, Tohru’s formality is not the same anymore, because according to Laura Bailey - the English voice actor for Tohru - in an interview, English does not have the same kind of speech formality as Japanese.
Data collection methods
There are several data collection methods in this research The first method is collecting data from references such as anime, earlier research papers, forums…, and writing methods The writer will first watch the anime and at the same time take notes what is the utterance used by Tohru and other characters The data will be labeled with numbers, such as data 1, data 2, and so on Each data include a formal variant and a less formal variant The writer will search for a less formal version of the formal variant chosen, if there are none of these formal versions, that part will be “Cannot find any in the anime”, but in necessary cases, the writer will search for less formal version in other sources.
Methods of data analysis
This study will mainly analyze the lines of the character Tohru, and only take the lines of the remaining 3 characters (Yuki, Shiruge, Kyo) to compare and contrast the difference between the formal and informal forms
Methods of data analysis for research question 1 (Prosodic properties of the formal conversational speech, and how it compares to the less formal speech), the writer conduct data analysis into 2 types: More formal speech and less formal speech Tohru’s character in this anime almost entirely uses polite (desu, masu form) and more formal-level conversational speech, because her conversation partners are usually older than her, and also speaking formally, is her trait Therefore, The writer will use Tohru's lines as data for the more formal speech In addition, The writer uses the lines of other characters to see what the differences between more formal speech and less formal (and often not polite) language are By analyzing these data, The writer can find out how formally should I speak, and which particular words, and phrases should
I choose to speak in reality
Methods of data analysis for research question 2 (Situations to use polite/ impolite speech in conversation), the writer collects Tohru's lines when she speaks the impolite language Since Tohru mainly uses polite language, the impolite lines will indicate when impolite language can be used in a conversation
The analysis procedure in this research will be to (1) categorize the data found within the less formal, neutral formal, and more formal category, (2) provide each data with transcription and English translation, (3) analyze the context situation, and (4) give conclusions.
RESEARCH CONTENT AND RESULTS
Learning and language use status of students in Faculty of Japanese Linguistics
The survey was conducted on 23 students in the Faculty of Japanese Linguistics and Culture, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU, with 5 short questions to find out about the current formal speech learning situation of students and the demand of using formal speech in the labor market The students participating in the survey are university gradians and most of them have been exposed to the working environment in general and the working environment of Japanese companies in particular, and are oriented to do jobs using Japanese The survey is presented using the Jotform form builder with multiple choice questions The survey data obtained are as follows:
Figure 1 Number of students who have used honorifics in actual communication
According to the obtained data, more than 91% of the surveyed students have ever used honorifics in actual communication This means that even before graduating, students have the opportunity as well as the expectation that they are capable of using polite language
Figure 2 Types of work in which students use honorifics the most
According to the survey, the professions that often use Japanese honorifics the most are Customer care, Sales staff These are some industries that have direct contact with Japanese customers, while in other industries (such as legal advice, newcomers to the company will mainly only interact with Vietnamese documents and administrative agencies, not contact with Japanese customers)
Figure 3 The importance of studying honorifics and formal speech in order to work
The survey shows that the majority of students agree that learning honorifics is extremely important, because it is very necessary in their work
Figure 4 Number of learners misjudging about the use of polite speech and the use of formal speech
When being asked, more than 80% of people surveyed made an misleading statement that Japanese people always use “masu” and “desu” forms in formal communication situations, which the writer has proven as above This indicates that students have not been exposed to some situations where the speaker can completely change from polite form (“masu”, “desu” form) to plain form (“u”, “ru” form) even though it is still a formal situation and the speaker still shows respect for the opponent
Figure 5 The main method of studying honorifics and formal speech by students
Among several methods such as studying through classroom, through book, through Anime and through other methods, studying formal language and honorifics through Anime is the least chosen method According to the writer, the reason people do not choose anime to learn formal language is because they think that the language in anime is not real Japanese, but through this research, the writer wants to prove the opposite
From the above data, the writer can draw the students' learning status and use of formal and honorific language as follows: Currently, Japanese language students have many opportunities to speak formally when going to work, however, most of them do not really understand how to use formal language in actual communication Although students are clearly aware of the importance of learning honorifics and formal language, instead of just learning through books and teachers by passively absorbing knowledge, the writer suggests students should try the method of learning honorifics, formal language by watching anime.
Prosodic properties of the formal conversational speech, comparing to the less
Tohru: ああ！すみません勝手に見せていただいてました
Tohru: Ā! Sumimasen katte ni misete itadaitemashita
Tohru: Oh! I'm sorry I saw it without permission
Context: This is when Tohru accidently wanders into Shiruge’s house and was caught watching Shiruge’s stuff without his permission The meaning of this sentence is “I am sorry
I saw your stuff without your permission”
Analysis: Tohru uses the phrase “seteitadakimasu” which is the form of Kenjougo of
“mimasu” Also, “miseteitadaku” and “misaseteitadaku” are both forms of Kenjougo of
“mimasu” The way she uses Kenjougo here is special and should be noticed because basically, she can just say “Katteni mimashita” and the meaning is not changed
According to previous research [Noguchi, 2013], there are two main uses for
"saseteitadakimasu " The first is to use it with the feeling, "I'm sorry to be impudent, but I'm grateful that you allowed it." When describing an act that has not yet been approved, it is in the form of a desire or question, "Can you let me do it?" The other is to unilaterally declare
"I will" without considering the intentions of the other party There is a big gap between expression and action because the wording is polite but selfish Therefore, the using
“seteitadakimasu” of Tohru here has meant more inclined towards the second meaning It means that she doesn’t ask for approval but she has already done it (seen the stuff) without permission
It is also said that using “saseteitadakimasu" if the speaker does not receive the permission, request, or benefit of the other party is not appropriate According to research from a book (Kabaya, 2014), “saseteitadakimasu” should be used in circumstances that have those 3 elements: (1) The speaker - “I” - is the one who takes action (2) the speaker needs permission from the higher-ranking/ superior to take action, and (3) the speaker feels thankful about doing that action If the situation doesn’t have these elements, using
“saseteitadakimasu” may cause an uncomfortable feeling 4
For example, the speaker doesn’t need or shouldn't use " saseteitadakimasu" when giving something to someone else (for their sake) or introducing oneself when coming to a new company, etc Because the speaker doesn’t receive any benefit for himself Instead, in these cases, the speaker should use “itashimasu” which is the Kenjougo of “suru”
（When give money to a fund raising organization）:
「少額ですが送金させていただきました」NG
Shōgakudesuga sōkin sa sete itadakimashita
It's a small amount, but I sent it
-> 「送金いたしました」OK
（Self-introduction of new employees）:
「この春、A大学を卒業させていただきました」NG
Kono haru, A daigaku o sotsugyō sa sete itadakimashita
I graduated from University A this spring
“（1）「自分」がすることを、（2）「高めようとする人」の許可をもらって行い、（3）そこに「あ りがたい」という気持ちがある。実際にこれらの要素がある場合には「～（さ）せていただく」を使 ったほうがよく、そうでない場合には「～（さ）せていただく」を使うことに違和感を持たれるおそ れがある”
5 Refer examples from: https://tabi-labo.com/216833/keigo2
-> 「卒業いたしました」OK
In this case, Tohru uses “seteitadakimasu” even when she didn’t ask for approval, also it is not in the form of a desire or question However, the context is that she receives the permission, request, or benefit from Shiruge to see his stuff, so if she does not use this
“seteitadakimasu” phrase, she won’t express the nuance that she “receives the benefit” Therefore, it is understandable to use “seteitadakimasu” in this situation
Informal variant: Cannot find any in the anime
Tohru: 忘れてしまうのはやっぱり寂しいけれど, でもテント暮らしの私を無条件で
迎え入れてくれたこともとてもうれしかったから…我慢です
Tohru: Wasurete shimau no wa yappari sabishīkeredo, demo tento kurashi no watashi o mujōken de mukaeirete kureta koto mo totemo ureshikattakara… gamandesu
Tohru: I'm sad to forget, but I'm glad that I - the one who lived in a tent - was unconditionally welcomed by you guys I will bear it
Context: Yuki says he has to erase Tohru's memory for fear of her revealing his secret, so Tohru says she's upset if her memories are erased, but she'll be fine
Analysis: Tohru uses “keredo” as a neutral formal word (See Appendix A for more detailed classifications of the three degrees of formal language used in these three anime episodes) According to the opinion of native Japanese 6 , when comparing “keredo” to other words such
6 Refence from HiNative - a global Q&A platform for language learners
as “keredomo”, “keredo”, “kedomo”, “kedo” based on the level of politeness, the order of descending formality level is as follows: keredomo, keredo, kedomo, kedo
Yuki: いつごろどんな根拠に基づいて動物が当てはめられたかはっきり分からない
らしいけど、猫が十二支に加わる隙なんて始めからなかったんだよ
Yuki: Itsu-goro don'na konkyo nimotozuite dōbutsu ga atehame rareta ka hakkiri wakaranairashīkedo, neko ga jūnishi ni kuwawaru suki nante hajime kara nakatta nda yo Yuki: I don't know exactly when and on what basis the animals were applied, but I never had a chance for cats to join the zodiac
Yuki:けさも思ったけど顔色があまり良くないね
Yuki: Kesa mo omottakedo kaoiro ga amari yokunai ne
Yuki: I thought about it this morning but… You look sick
The reason why Yuki use “kedo” and futsukei with Tohru while Tohru uses the more formal word (“keredo”) when they are of the same age (16 years old) is because of Tohru’s habit of speaking formally That indicates in a context like this, speaking neutral formal speech by using “kedo” is appropriate
1 Tohru: はい話してませんけど、もしかして不安にさせてるんでしょうか私、
絶対話しません
Tohru: Hai hanashitemasenkedo, moshikashite fuan ni sa se teru ndeshou ka watashi, zettai hanashimasen
Tohru: Yes, I will not talk gossip, do I make you worry? I'll never talk
2 Tohru: 猫さんが鼠さんにだまされたことを。。。恨んでいるからなのでしょ
Tohru: Neko-san ga nezumi-san ni damasa reta koto o Urande irukarana nodeshou ka
That the cat was fooled by the rat Is it because he has a grudge?
3 Tohru: いつかは私も夾さんと仲良くなれるでしょうか
Tohru: Itsuka wa watashi mo Kyo-San to nakayoku narerudeshou ka
Tohru: Will I be able to get along with Tohru-san someday?
4 Tohru: 皆さんはもう寝てるでしょうか
Tohru: Minasan wa mō ne terudeshou ka
Tohru: Are you all sleeping already?
5 Tohru: やはりあのことばの意味は夾君が草摩君に勝てば、十二支の仲間に
加われるということなのでしょうか
Tohru: Yahari ano kotoba no imi wa Kyou-kun ga kusa ma-kun ni kateba, jūnishi no nakama ni kuwawareru to iu kotona nodeshou ka
Tohru: After all, does that mean that if you beat Kusama, you will join the zodiac?
1 Shiruge:でも若い人が見てもおもしろいものじゃないでしょう
Shiruge: Demo wakai hito ga mite mo omoshiroi mono janaideshou
Shiruge: But it wouldn't be interesting for young people, right?
2 Shiruge: 夾を見て猫年の夢が壊れたでしょう
Shiruge: Kyo wo mite neko-nen no yume ga kowaretadeshou
Shiruge: The dream of the cat year would have broken when you saw Kyo, right?
3 Yuki: そのほうが痛いときだってあるだろ
Yuki: Sono hō ga itai toki datte arudaro
Yuki: There are times when it hurts even more, you know
4 Shigure:まだ３日だろ？
Shigure: It's only 3 days, right?
5 Shigure: それは己の拳の力配分を自分で計れるからだろう？
Shigure: Sore wa onore no ken no chikara haibun o jibun de hakarerukaradarou? Shigure: Is that because you can measure the power distribution of your fist yourself?
Tohru uses “deshouka” – a more formal version of “deshou” or “darou”- when she talks to herself and to everyone around When she talks to somebody else (1), “deshouka” means
“isn’t it?” or “is that so?” to express the intention to ask uncertain and uncertainties [辞典・ 百科事典の検索サービス - Weblio辞書, 日付不明] When she talks to herself (2), (3),
Situations to use polite/ impolite speech in conversation
Tohru: 大変！大変です！
郵便屋さん大変です皆さんが動物さんです！
Mailman:（郵便配達員）あっ…ええ動物ですね
あっはい郵便
Tohru: あのそうではなくて！
Yūbin'yasan taihendesu minasan ga dōbutsu-sandesu!
Mailman: (Yūbin haitatsuin) a~tsu… ē dōbutsudesu ne ahhai yūbin
Mailman, it is terrible, everyone turns into animal!
Mailman: (mail carrier) Ah yes, it's an animal
Tohru: Not that what I meant!
Context: Tohru's three friends were touched so they turned into animals At that moment, a postman arrived Tohru was panicking and hurriedly carried the animals and ran to tell the postman about this
Analysis: Tohru uses informal/impolite speech at first “Taihen” and then shifts back to formal/polite speech “taihen desu” The reason for this switch is because Tohru wants to express emotions and thoughts, which is a common thing for people who often shift from the polite to the plain form to express not only emotions and thoughts, but also evaluations, soliloquy-like remarks, and closeness [Taguchi, 2015] In this case, the switch from formal to informal speech is spontaneous and unstoppable
She uses the phrase “soudewanakute” is the incomplete and futsugo form of
“soudewanaidesu” or “soudewaarimasen” This switch also shows that she is in a hurry and being misunderstood by the mailman
Tohru: 本当ですか？味薄くないですか？
Yuki: ちょうどいいよ
こんな食事久しぶり
Tohru: よかった
Tohru: Hontōdesuka? Aji usukunaidesu ka?
Yuki: Chōdo ī yo kon'na shokuji hisashiburi
Tohru: Really? Is the taste too plain?
It's been a long time since I had such a meal
Context: Tohru helps with the housework for the Sohma family as a way to pay the rent This time, she had finished cooking a delicious meal for Yuki
Analysis: Tohru uses “yokatta” as the plain form of “yokattadesu”, this is a rare time when she doesn't use the formal speech, which shows that she shows closeness to the Sohma family Data 3:
Tohru:あの草摩君もさっき出かけてましたよね
お買い物ですか？
裏庭の秘密基地にね
Tohru:えっ！秘密基地？
秘密基地うわ～ドキドキする響きです
Tohru: Ano kusa ma-kun mo sakki dekaketemashita yo ne o kaimonodesu ka?
Yuki: Ā uraniwa no himitsu kichi ni ne
Himitsu kichi uwa ~ dokidoki suru hibikidesu
Tohru: That Kusama-kun also went out earlier, didn't you?
I was going to my backyard secret base
Secret base Wow ~ it makes me so excited that my heart is pounding
Context: Tohru and Yuki are eating together Tohru asks Yuki if he just went out to buy things, Yuki says he bought things for his secret base This surprised and delighted Tohru because, in her imagination, the secret base was a very interesting place
Analysis: Tohru use Futsugo form to repeat the word “Himitsu kichi” which really amazed her that she has to check if she heard it right She repeats this informal speech in the next sentence with the exclamative word “uwa-“ which means “Wow!”, and “Holy smokes!” to express her extremely exciting feeling
Tohru: なっ何ですか？
Tohru:これが世に聞く痴漢？
いやです！（かばんがぶつかる音）
Tohru: 言えない
痴漢と間違えたなんてそんな失礼な
でも今思いっきり“いや”などど…
Tohru: あっあのちょっとその…素振りなど
お日柄もよろしく夾さんはお散歩ですか？
ええっと学校は…
Kyo: やめろ“さん”づけなんてかゆくなる
呼び捨てでいい
Tohru: あ…呼んでみただけです
Kyo: 用もないのに呼ぶな！
Tohru: na-nanidesuka ？ konootoha moshiya…
Tohru: koregayonikikuchikan ？ aaxtsu ！ iyadesu ！（ kabangabutsukaruoto ） a-u…
Tohru: ienai chikantomachigaetanantesonnashitsureina demoimaomoikkiri“iya”nadodo… a-anochottosono…soburinado ohigaramoyoroshikukyousanhaosanpodesuka ？ eettogakkouha…
Kyo: yamero“san”zukenantekayukunaru yobisutedeii
Tohru: Is this the molester everyone is talking about?
I don't like it! (The sound of a bag colliding)
That I mistook him for a molester! That would be rude!
But, I said "No" and so on
Nice to meet you, are you taking a walk?
Kyo: It's itchy, stop calling me "san"
You can call me by my name
Kyo: Don't call me even though it's useless!
Context: Tohru was on her way home alone when suddenly she heard footsteps She mistakenly thought that a pervert was following her and shouted It turned out that it was Kyo silently following her
Tohru use Futsugo in sentences like “korega yonikikuchikan？” (Maybe it's a molester like I've heard about !); “ienai” (I couldn't say) She also speaks casually
“chikanto machigaetanante sonnashitsureina” ( I couldn't say that I mistook him for a molester! That would be rude!) as the shortened version of the sentence “chikanto machigaetanante sonnashitsureinakotowo iemasen” These sentences are categorized as
“Soliloquy-like remarks” (Taguchi, 2015) Soliloquy-like remarks are the thoughts and judgments that the speaker thinks or says to himself or herself This situation is different from other situations when she is also talking to herself Because in those situations, it's actually as if she's telling a story to her late mother, so to show respect she uses the formal form When she realizes that the person following her is Kyo She shyly started a conversation with him by asking him politely: “ohigaramoyoroshiku kyousanha osanpodesuka？” The phrase “ohigaramoyoroshiku” is a kind of cliché used when people start a formal speech in a ceremony for something happy like a wedding, welcoming, parties… The way Tohru uses this phrase here is pretty odd, again because of her habit of overusing formal speech The next phrase is “kyousanha osanpodesuka?” is Sonkeigo
(grammar form: o + V-masu (drop “masu”) + desu) In general, Sonkeigo, or respectful language, is directed at those in positions of power; for example, a superior at work, or a customer It also implies that the speaker is acting in a professional capacity Therefore, the writer finds that Tohru is being overly polite and it is not appropriate to use honorifics in this situation
In the next part of the conversation, the honorific suffix “kun” and “san” are mentioned According to research [放送用語委員会, 2017], "kun" is a term for male students, according to this rule, it may also be used for young people, but as a general rule,
"san" is used in dialogue if the speaker is working adult (shakaijin) Moreover, for men of the same age, if the relationship is not close, “san” is used, or else, "kun" or name only is used In this case, Kyo told Tohru she should call him “Kun” not “san”, which means that Kyo wants to be close with Tohru.
CONCLUSION
Summary of main research results
To sum up, currently, Japanese language students have many opportunities to speak formally when going to work, however, most of them do not really understand how to use formal language in actual communication Therefore, instead of just learning through books and teachers passively, the writer suggests students should try the method of learning honorifics, formal language by watching anime Specifically, to learn about the formal speech in the anime, the writer took the method of recording and obtained the following results:
First, the reseacrch has gathered several prosodic properties of the formal conversational speech and their usage, for example: “saseteitadaku”; “keredo”, “deshouka”
Second, the research analyzes, proves, comments on the rule of when to use polite/ impolite speech in conversation by real example in the Anime Informal speech is used between formal speech when the speaker expresses emotions and thoughts, soliloquy-like remarks, and closeness or when the speaker repeats something she or he heard to check if she heard it right Moreover, when expressing emotions, the speaker may first speak informally, but switch back to formal speech right after so as not to be impolite but still shows emotions.
Limitations and directions for further research
Research can only explain linguistic phenomena in certain conversational situations, the rules stated may change in other situations In the future, the study will expand to interviewing Japanese native to have a more objective and accurate conclusion
Brown, P & (1978) Questions and politeness: Strategies in social interaction Universals in language usage: Politeness phenomena In Esther N Goody (ed.)(Cambridge), 56–
Ide, S (1982) Japanese sociolinguistics politeness and women’s language Lingua 57, 357–
Kabaya, H (2014) 敬語マスター : まずはこれだけ三つの基本 大修館書店
(2007, September 11) Natsuki Takaya Written Interview : Fruits Basket Fan Book - Cat
(N Takaya, Interviewer) Tokyopop Los Angeles doi:ISBN 978-1-4278-0293-4
Noguchi, K (2013) 失礼な敬語 誤用例から学ぶ、正しい使い方 光文社
SankeiNews (2020, September 9) 【ノーカット】自民党総裁選 所見発表演説会
Retrieved from https://youtu.be/HFTUQZIrxto
Sherr-Ziarko, E (2019) Prosodic properties of formality in conversational Japanese Journal of the International Phonetic Association 49/3, 332
Taguchi, N (2015) Developing Interactional Competence in a Japanese Study Abroad
WHAT DOES NANTE MEAN?「なんて」 (2021, January 28) RISUPRESS
放送用語委員会 (2017) 「ちゃん / 君 /さん」動物が「死亡する / 亡くなる」につい
て ～「日本語のゆれに関する調査」の報告～ , 102
田中香代子 (n.d.) 動詞の否定丁寧表現「ません」と「ないです」に関する考察 47
辞典・百科事典の検索サービス - Weblio 辞書 (n.d.) (Shogakukan Inc.) Retrieved April
25, 2022, from https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%81%8B
Refer to: https://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/; https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/; https://vi.hinative.com/
Less formal Neutral More Formal
くだけた話し言葉
1 もしかして moshikashite
もしかしたら moshikashitara
もしかしますと、もし かいたしますと、もし かいたしますれば Moshika shimasu to, moshika itashimasu to, moshika itashimasureba perhaps
2 もんで、もんだから monde, mondakara
ものですから monodesukara
3 だろう、だろ darou, daro
でしょう deshou
でしょうか deshouka
けれど、けども keredo, kedomo
けれども keredomo but
やっぱり yappari
あの方 anokata that person
7 じゃねえぞ jenezo
ではありません dehaarimasen not…
8 こうやって kouyatte
こうして koushite like this
1 Bạn đã từng sử dụng Kính ngữ trong giao tiếp thực tế chưa?/Have you ever used
Honorifics in actual communication? o Rồi/ Yes o Chưa/ Not yet
2 Nếu bạn đã từng sử dụng Kính ngữ trong giao tiếp thực tế, vui lòng cho biết loại hình công việc bạn đã làm vào thời điểm bạn sử dụng Kính ngữ/ If you have ever used honorifics in your actual communication, please indicate the type of work you were doing at the time you used honorifics: o Hành chính tổng vụ/ General Administration o Biên phiên dịch tiếng Nhật/ Translating Japanese o Giáo viên tiếng Nhật /Japanese language teacher o IT Comtor o Kỹ sư cầu nối/ Bridge engineer o Kỹ sư/Nhân viên kỹ thuật / Engineer/Technical staff o Quản lý sản xuất / Production management o Xuất nhập khẩu / Import and export o Chăm sóc khách hàng / Customer care o Nhân viên kinh doanh / Sales staff o Tư vấn pháp lý / Legal advice o Trợ lý, thư ký /Assistants, secretaries o Khác / Other
3 Bạn có cho rằng Kính ngữ và cách nói trang trọng là cần thiết phải học để đi làm? / Do you think that honorifics and formal speech are necessary to learn in order to work?