ABSTRACT
Japanese morpho-syntactically distinguishes two types of discourse: dialogue and soliloquy. This study first describes the characteristics of the soliloquy mode of utterance and analyzes its typical usage. It then discusses the so-called speech-style shift between the polite and plain forms and argues that such shifts are not uniform: some should be examined in the realm of pragmatics, but others must be recognized as operative at a metapragmatic level. The metapragmatic speech-style shift is triggered by the limitation of the Japanese honorifics system; that is, the use of the polite form conveys the speaker’s deference towards the addressee, but it also necessarily communicates his/her psychological attitude of distancing the addressee. Therefore, when wishing to impart deference and intimacy in tandem, one must halt the unfolding dialogic discourse and elude the dilemma by switching to soliloquy-like utterances. To conceptualize this phenomenon, this chapter introduces the Three-Tier Model of Language Use, which segregates the situation construal, situation report, and interpersonal relationship tiers. It is hypothesized that at each tier, the speaker cogitates different facets of verbalization. In this model, Japanese provides three modes of utterance: the Soliloquy Mode, the Telling Mode, and the Showing Mode, the recognition of which is indispensable for understanding Japanese communicative practice.
