Unanswered Questions
696 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
14
votes
0answers
1k views
Iterative / repetitive る evolving from classical 連体形【れんたいけい】
This is somewhat related to the discussion of classical auxiliary verb ふ, mentioned in the answer to snailboat's question, What is the わ in 忌まわしい and 嘆かわしい?.
Another apparent iterative / repetitive ...
9
votes
0answers
183 views
Do speakers that distinguish all four yotsugana in speech preserve the non-rendaku ぢ and づ in writing?
According to Wikipedia (and some posters here), Kagoshima Japanese resists the じ・ぢ and ず・づ mergers, much in the same way that various English dialects retain differences between words like meet and ...
7
votes
1answer
391 views
What is the difference between といったところです and というところです?
銀行に変化を促しているのがタイの中央銀行です。 日本で言えば、日銀が腰を上げて、変革の旗振り役をしているといったところです。(source)
Could we replace といったところです by というところです here? If yes, what would be the difference? If not, why?
7
votes
3answers
6k views
のに and のが. How do they differ in the context below?
この本は読むのに簡単だ。This book is easy to read.
この本は読むのが簡単だ。This book is easy to read.
I was wondering if anyone could explain to me how these two readings differ in nuance?
When there is a sentence like ...
6
votes
1answer
388 views
Are both of these correct sentences: 「ここに住所を書いてくださいますか？」「ここに住所を書いてくださいませんか？」？
I believe 「ここに住所を書いてくださいますか？」 means “Could you please write the address here?”
And 「ここに住所を書いてくださいませんか？」 means “Would you please write the address here?”
An exercise I’m doing shows the second sentence ...
6
votes
1answer
198 views
How can I differentiate if a word is (either fully or preferentially) used for spoken or written language?
Sorry if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find it.
I understand that when the on'yomi reading is used, this is associated with words with a more "literary" feeling or with written usage. ...
6
votes
1answer
367 views
"~Ni" or "~De"?
Should I use (に or で) for the following lines? Since they are time periods, I thought に would be correct, according to
Times
The particle ni is usually used with times:
Go-ji ni ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the difference between に伴って and と共に？
Can somebody explain to me the difference between と共{とも}に and に伴{ともな}って？ I believe that sometimes they can be used interchangeably, but not always. Moreover, their basic meanings also seem to differ. ...
6
votes
1answer
745 views
Casual Speech Particles in Classical Japanese
I'm writing a simple Japanese skit for my class and there is a place where an ancient samurai needs to speak a few sentences of Classical Japanese.
I can mostly make the sentences, but it seems weird ...
5
votes
0answers
215 views
Do loanwords have quasi-phonemic vowel reduction?
I've started to notice this, and I'm not sure whether my eyes are deceiving me or not, but it seems as if several, but not all loans have a high statistical probability of vowels being reduced/...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
What phonetic shorthands (like 〼, 〆) are there in Japanese?
I recently learned that the symbol 〼, called 枡記号【ますきごう】, can be used as a phonetic shorthand for ます, as in 豆腐あり[〼]【ます】. In a similar vein, I am aware that 〆 is used as a shorthand for しめ in 〆切【しめきり】 = ...
5
votes
1answer
206 views
How would a name be used as a non-restrictive appositive?
These other apposition-with-name variants are readily apparent to me:
Name as appositive genitive
富士の山 = the mountain of Fuji
Name modified by non-restrictive appositive
私の友人のAさん = A-san, my friend,...
5
votes
1answer
176 views
Cases where として and にとって are overused/ cannot be used
I've been reading through Imabi, and one of the notes on the site was about inappropriate use of として and にとって in contexts of contrast and although phrases. These three were listed as examples of ...
5
votes
1answer
217 views
Concensus on やりもらい動詞
In this post, I insisted that AはBにしてもらう is synonymous to BはAにしてくれる but not necessarily to BはAにしてやる / あげる. However, there was a counterargument that says you can't use くれる unless the speaker is ...
5
votes
1answer
201 views
Is it ungrammatical to say Nがなく instead of Nなく when it means "without N"?
The phrase Nなく means "without N" and is used to modify verbs, as in:
彼は私を躊躇なく殴った。
He hit me without hesitation.
In sentences like this, is it ungrammatical or unnatural to say Nがなく instead of ...