Evidential meanings in native and learner Japanese and English

Implications for the assessment of speaker certainty

Bibliographic Data

ID21200919
AuthorsLuna Filipovic (0000-0001-9460-9797, University of California, Davis), Mika Brown (University of East Anglia), Paul E Engelhardt (0000-0001-9699-2101, University of East Anglia)
Year2023
Volume14
Issue3
Pages484-508
Publication date2023-07-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePragmatics and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1878-9714 • E-ISSN: 1878-9722
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/ps.20089.fil
OpenAlexW4381280086
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited42

Evidentiality is a linguistic category that comprises forms and meanings related to the source of information in utterances, the use of which may impact judgments about the degree of certainty expressed by a speaker. The main dichotomy is first-hand (direct) vs. second-hand (indirect) evidence. This distinction is grammaticalised in Japanese only, though certain related meanings can be expressed in English lexically or constructionally. The relevant forms in both languages also function as indirectness-for-politeness markers. We used a judgments elicitation task and found that statements with Japanese evidentials (both first- and second-hand) and with English markers of uncertainty lead to judgments of lower certainty than the statements without the evidential forms and meanings for the majority, but not for all speakers. In addition, monolingual and bilingual usage in both languages has parallels such that these two typologically distinct languages appear closer and certainty judgments by their speakers similar

Certainty · Epistemology · Evidentiality · Linguistics · Parallels · Politeness · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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