ABSTRACT
Compared to the traditional forms, it appears as if -ra has been dropped in the newly emerging forms. It is for this reason that these forms are called ra-dropped words. There is the notion that mirareru, taberareru, korareru are traditional and correct forms, whereas the ra-dropped forms mireru, tabereru, koreru are newly emerging and incorrect. However, this reasoning is derived from one particular local dialect, namely that of Tokyo, which is the basis of the standard language. For example, in the Chubu and Chugoku regions of central Japan, there are many dialects which have mireru, tabereru, koreru as the traditional and authentic form. These circumstances are also reflected in the opinions that present-day Japanese have towards ra-dropped words. In order to form an opinion on which stance NHK should take on ra-dropped words, we conducted an opinion poll in November 2000. It was based on information from 1,429 respondents from different regions of Japan (Shioda 2001a). This survey produced the following results with regard to the ra-dropped form taberenai (cannot eat):
Does an expression like this sound odd to you? I cannot eat any more because I am full. (Onaka ga ippai de mō taberenai). Yes, it sounds odd: 46 percent No, it does not sound odd: 53 percent
From these results, we see that over half of the respondents do not consider taberenai odd. Furthermore, we noted important differences with regard to the variables of age and region.
