井上は井上で待つだけじゃなく。自分から彼に話しかければいいじゃないか
I understand he's basically "You shouldn't just wait. Approach him on your own"
But what does the repeated noun here adds?
2 Answers
井上は井上で、待つだけじゃなく自分から彼に話しかければいいじゃないか
- Inoue, for your part, you should talk to him instead of just waiting around.
- Inoue, you have your own problem! Don't just wait, why don't you approach him on your own?
This AはAで is an important construction that basically means "in A's own way". Here it's used to indicate that Inoue has his own problem (although the other person has a problem). You haven't provided any previous context, but a sentence like this never appears without context. There should be a criticism of someone else just before this, for example, something like "佐藤はもっと周囲に気を配り、仲間はずれの人がいないか気をつけるべきだ".
See the following questions for similar examples.
- Meaning of あいつはあいつで
It's used when the process/reason/method is different but the essential result/conclusion is the same.
- What is the meaning of あいつはあいつで?
- Meaning of 「これはこれで」, and the difference between it and 「それはそれとして」
- What does the pattern [xはxで] mean?
And the answer to this question lists several patterns that look similar.
In the case where N is animate noun, followed by a verb referring to behaviour, the meaning of NはNで is '(that is) just like N', 'N, typically enough':
文子は文子でなにも手伝ってくれなかった 'That's Fumiko for you, not a bit of help.'
指揮者は指揮者で給料もらわなきゃ食えないしね "For his part, the conductor has to get a salary or he can't eat, you see."
井上は井上で待つだけじゃなくて would normally mean 'Inoue, being Inoue, not only does he wait, [but]...'; is there some error in the text quoted?
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Yes, it's く not くて so I guess it's adverbial here. "Don't wait like you usually" kind of nuance?– LionGateCommented Nov 24, 2023 at 23:00
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The absence of て doesn't change the meaning; normally 'Aだけじゃなく（て）', means 'not only A, but' (where 'A' could be a noun or a sentence), and in this case the subject of 待つ is 井上, thus 'not only does Inoue wait, but...'. A little more context might make it clear.– N. HuntCommented Nov 24, 2023 at 23:20
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@N.Hunt do you know by any chance where I can find a more formal explanation of this grammar pattern or just more info on it? I'm interested to know more, but of course googling "は で grammar" just brings lots of unrelated information regarding only は or で... Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 23:28
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1Yes, an internet search doesn't turn up anything really useful. The only place I've ever seen this construction explained is in Samuel Martin, A Reference Grammar of Japanese, and that's more or less what I have written above. I don't have at hand the Japan Times 'Dictionary of Japanese Grammar', but it might touch on this usage. This construction is basically NはN でも, with も omitted as it commonly is. For example, それはそれでよかった, 'That was alright as it was (or as far as it went)'.– N. HuntCommented Nov 24, 2023 at 23:56
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problemorcriticism, and Naruto-san did! here (＾＾)／