Contrast between American English request expressions in American films and Japanese request expressions in Japanese films. and Japanese request expressions in Japanese films

Say my name.

Say it. <T=0:43:28>

In Japanese, with several pre/postambles, ~ shite in the Imperative category is used, while in American English, with several pre/postambles, the Imperative is used and repeated. Both in Japanese and in American English, the request forms of Request Body are the same as Scene 1 and their politeness levels are really low. It is true that this request is just to repeat the name Sam (Nanami) says, but Oda Mae (Unten Satsuki) panics at the hearing of a ghost’s voice for the first time. It can be interpreted that the cost level is relatively high to Oda Mae (Unten Satsuki). Nevertheless, it has been confirmed in Scenes 2 through 6 that disadvantageous conditions might increase the politeness level. Therefore, as the urgency level is really high, the politeness level can be low, and the influence of great urgency can be enormous so as to cancel out the influence of the other variables.

So far, several scenes common between original films and their remakes have been compared focusing on the level of Urgency, Obligation, Cost, Vertical distance, and Intimacy. As a result, it is highly likely that all of these variables can influence the politeness level of request forms. More specifically, the variables with impact are urgency the most both in Japanese and American English, Vertical distance and Intimacy and then Obligation in Japanese, and Obligation and then Cost in American English. In addition, it is found that even in the same scene, the levels of variables might be different between American English and Japanese especially because of the differences between individualism and collectivism.

Table 11

Ranking of American English Request Forms (all)

Ranking Form Frequency Ratio

1 Imperative 224 39.72%

2 You + declarative 16 2.84%

3 I want you to ~ 14 2.48%

4 Let's ~ 12 2.13%

5 Can I ~? 11 1.95%

- Others 287 50.89%

Total (168 forms) 564 100.00%

Table 11 shows the top five frequently used American English request forms, which appear 10 or more times. As seen in this table, the Imperative is most frequently used in the target films, and it can be summarized that the request forms are the Imperative or the others. This is contrary to Takizawa and Takizawa (2009) and other researchers describing the effect of the bad impressions caused by the use of the Imperative but consistent with Takahashi (2012)’s findings from analysis in novels. Apart from the Imperative, 167 forms are used in 340 scenes. Note that the “Others,” which accounts for more than 50% in total, are still subject to further analysis, but simply the details are not shown in this table for visibility. The average frequency of the others is about two, which means that the speakers choose a suitable one from many options based on various criteria. It can be observed that the top three request forms are direct expressions. This can be reasonable because requests in this study include instructions and orders at work; and it is common that a request made at work is an instruction or order from a boss to a subordinate. Moreover, Suzuki and Fisher (2014) explain that “you can use the Imperative when you tell your staff to do something as boss or when you give advice to a coworker” (p. 117, translation is mine).

Table 12

Ranking of Japanese Request forms (all)

Ranking Form Frequency Ratio

1 ~ shite kudasai 54 12.36%

2 ~ shite 46 10.53%

3 ~ shiro 44 10.07%

4 onegai shi masu 23 5.26%

5 ~ shiro yo 14 3.20%

6 ~ shite kudasai yo 12 2.75%

- others 244 55.84%

Total (164 forms) 437 100.00%

Table 12 shows the top six frequently used Japanese request forms, which appear 10 or more times. Note that ~ shi³⁵ is the stem of suru [do] and can be replaced by various stems depending on the verb in the sentence. As seen in this table, it can be said that there is no typical request form unlike American English, but the top three forms, ~ shite kudasai, ~ shite, and ~ shiro, respectively account for more than double the frequency compared to the expressions ranked at lower positions. Actually, ~ shite kudasai is the Imperative of the honorific form of the benefactive kureru grammatically but probably by many people not recognized as the Imperative. Okamoto (1992) classifies ~ shite kudasai as an honorific Imperative and positions it next to the non-honorific negative question in the ranking of demand in descending order. On the other hand, ~ shite is not grammatically the Imperative.

Morita (2007) explains that “an ending particle te can express insistence, emphasis, question, request, and demand but is manifested as soft and euphemistic expressions by avoiding finishing the sentence” (pp. 286-287, translation mine). However, Okamoto (1992) classifies ~ shite as the non-honorific Imperative; Shirakawa (2009) describes an example of “onegai. kaette” (p. 142) as an Imperative usage. Therefore, ~ shite is handled as the Imperative in this study. ~ shiro is a bare Imperative. As a result, the top three Japanese request forms are all classified as the Imperative though the total percentage is less than that of the American English Imperative. Based on the above discussion, compared to the politeness levels of the Japanese top three request forms, it can be said that ~ shite kudasai is the most polite, then ~ shite follows ~ shite kudasai, and ~ shiro is the least polite. ~ shite kudasai and ~ shite are used by both males and females, while ~ shiro is used mainly by males. Usami (2010) explains that “in Japanese, something so called as ‘women’s language’

is actually not a different language system from men’s but a system provided arising from basic Japanese by excluding Imperative, assertive modals, impolite words, and some others”

(p. 169, translation mine). It is highly likely that this “Imperative” is referred to as a “bare Imperative.” It can be understood that ~ shiro accounts for a relatively large percentage probably because many speakers in the extracted data are male. Now, the fifth and the sixth should be mentioned before the fourth. The fifth form is a variation of the third form which is accompanied by an ending particle yo: the sixth the first plus yo. As explained in Morita (2007), ending particles can strengthen or soften the tone of words. Adding an ending particle can realize many variations of request forms. According to Morita (2007), “yo is

35 Okamoto (1992) does not show this shi. For example, ~ te is proposed instead of ~ shite (Table 2 in p. 217).

used as te yo together with a conjunctive particle te as a female expression.... This particle can soften the tone of words” (p. 327, translation mine). The yo as part of a female expression is not further discussed here, but this te yo is the same as ~ shite plus yo.

Actually, yo is the most common ending particle in the extracted data. If ending particles are ignored to count request forms, a different tendency can be expected. The fourth form is onegai shi masu. This is used to ask the addressee to give the speaker something, to ask the addressee to do something, and to ask the addressee something without specifying any details shared in advance between the speaker and the addressee. In other words, onegai shi masu does not have one exact meaning but can have various meanings and/or functions depending on the situation. Onegai shi masu is rarely seen in the reports of previous research through questionnaire. I believe that this is worth observing because of its vagueness and multifunction. Overall, 164 forms are used in 431 scenes; apart from the top three, 161 in 294. The average frequency is around two, which is similar to that of American English. However, considering the existence of the three representative forms and many ending particles, it might not be surprising that there are wider variations in Japanese than in American English. In addition, it should be added here that the choice can depend on personal preferences.

In summary, the Imperative is only one representative request form in American English, whereas three separate Imperative forms of ~ shite kudasai, ~ shite, and ~ shiro are common in Japanese. In other words, there are more options in Japanese, and Japanese native speakers (hereinafter simply referred as “Japanese speakers”) might think that there are fewer options in American English and/or feel more force by hearing the use of the American English Imperative than native American English speakers (hereinafter simply referred as “American English speakers”). Sakai (2004) suggests, based on this point, that

“the Imperative sounds much softer than the impression of a Japanese term meirei-kei [imperative] and is widely used and useful” (p. 27, translation mine). Both American English and Japanese have more than 160 request forms. There are many options in both languages probably related to hedges. Special nuance for requests can be applied mainly by modal verbs in American English as Kuraya (2012a) report based on the analysis of grammar references and by benefactive in Japanese as Y. Mori (2011), T. Yamada (2004), Yamaoka (2008), and some other researchers point out. Considering the numbers of scenes, it can be said that Japanese has more options than American English. This variation might be partly influenced by honorifics and multiple ending particles, which can produce a

considerable number of combinations. Each of the request forms must be worth examining;

however, unfortunately, request forms do not seem to be suitable for further observation here due to too many options compared to the number of scenes. Therefore, representative sentence forms are focused on instead in this study for more convenience. They are Imperative, Declarative, Interrogative, and Omission.

Table 13 shows the number of request scenes by sentence form of the Request Body by language. As might be expected based on Tables 11 and 12, both in American English and Japanese, the Imperative is most frequently used. The figure of 45.57% in American English in Table 13 includes Imperative sentences accompanied with please and let’s³⁶ as well as examples of the bare Imperative. That is why it accounts for a larger number than that in Table 11. As Takahashi (2012) and H. Mori (2009, 2011) point out, an American English Imperative sentence can deliver different nuances depending on the context.

Therefore, such a large percentage might show that American English speakers frequently use the Imperative unconsciously. On the other hand, Japanese use of the Imperative accounts for more than half in total. This figure of Japanese includes many variations of ~ shite kudasai, ~ shite, and ~ shiro, such as “with ending particle,” which shows that minor changes produce a wide variety of Japanese Imperatives as a result. The ratios of the honorifics are added for reference because Okamoto (1992, 1998) separates honorifics from ordinary sentence forms. For example, the honorific rate of 41.55 % in the Imperative category means that 41.55% of 219 Imperative sentences accounts for the honorific Imperative, or 41.55% of 50.11% of the total scenes have the honorific Imperative. The ratios of honorifics are large in descending order in Interrogative, Declarative, Imperative, and then Omission. If Omission is handled as impolite forms which are too short and not indirect polite forms, the ratio of honorifics increases when the politeness level of sentence forms increases. Accordingly, it might be said that the politeness levels of Request Bodies can be judged by the ratios of sentence forms without considering honorifics. In both American English and Japanese, the Imperative can deliver various nuances in respective ways, but Japanese might more clearly show the differences than American English since there are three representative forms of Imperative and also a special nuance can be added basically by an ending particle. Ide et al. (1986) also mention this point by saying that the politeness level of Japanese expressions can be evaluated morphologically, syntactically, or lexically, but American English speakers consider non-literal elements such as intonation

36 Takahashi (2012) handles let’s ~ as kind of Imperative.

and prosody in addition to such literal elements (p. 34, summary and translation mine). This productivity by literal modifications might prevent Japanese speakers from hesitating to use the Imperative. An Imperative is followed by a Declarative both in American English and Japanese. Considering the ten strategy types introduced in Section 4.2.5, the Declarative includes simple rules, performatives, hedged performatives, obligation statements, and want statements if hints are put aside (See also Table 10). In other words, the Declarative includes very forceful direct/indirect forms and soft direct/indirect forms. So, such wide ranges can attract speakers, and further observation might be necessary for the Declarative instead of focusing on the figures only. Regarding the Interrogative, it is widely recognized that requests are made frequently in questions as Thomson & Martinet (1986, p. 108) put it,

“requests are usually expressed by the interrogative.” However, the ratios of the Interrogative are quite small, which is opposite to those of the Imperative. The reason could be because most of the extracted scenes are applicable to the “exceptional case” of allowing the use of the Imperative, which is a request made from a superior position to a subordinate position at work as mentioned earlier. The remaining Omission might be special to Japanese.

In Japanese, incomplete sentences are really common, which can be proved by reference to the work of Shirakawa (2009). According to several researchers including Ikegami (2006), Miyake (2011), and H. Yamada (1992), the addressee is responsible for understanding what the speaker wants to say in Japanese, so it is highly likely that Japanese speakers avoid finishing a sentence and expect the addressee to infer a real meaning. F. Inoue (2011) introduces an adversative conjunctive particle, keredomo, as one of the 12 elements to enhance politeness. By adding a particle showing a reverse connection, such as keredomo, at the end of the sentence, the sentence can deliver the impression of being incomplete.

Such sentences can be used as more polite sentences.

Table 13

Ratios of Imperative, Declarative, Interrogative, and Omission in American English and Japanese Request Forms

E J

Sentence

Frequency Ratio Frequency Ratio (Honorific /Frequency) Form

Imperative 257 45.57% 219 50.11% 41.55%

Declarative 206 36.52% 107 24.49% 60.75%

Interrogative 93 16.49% 64 14.65% 67.19%

Omission 8 1.42% 47 10.76% 34.04%

Total 564 100.00% 437 100.00% 49.20%

Table 14

Ratios of Imperative, Declarative, Interrogative, and Omission in American English and Japanese Request Forms by Gender

E J

Sentence

Frequency Ratio Frequency Ratio (Honorific /Frequency) Form

Imperative 169 49.56% 142 M 47.81% 31.69%

Declarative 124 36.36% 80 26.94% 55.00%

Interrogative 45 13.20% 43 14.48% 53.49%

Omission 3 0.88% 32 10.77% 34.38%

Total 341 100.00% 297 100.00% 41.41%

Imperative 88 39.46% 77 F 55.00% 59.74%

Declarative 82 36.77% 27 19.29% 77.78%

Interrogative 48 21.52% 21 15.00% 95.24%

Omission 5 2.24% 15 10.71% 33.33%

Total 223 100.00% 140 100.00% 65.71%

According to Table 14, in American English, both males and females use the Imperative most, but the percentage is about 10 percent higher in males than in females;

whereas on the other hand, females use the Interrogative about 10 percent more than males.

Possibly these results might be compatible with Coates (1993) and Tannen (1993, 1995) focusing on the social status of males and females and also Holmes (1995) saying that females tend to ask others about their preferences. The details will be discussed later. The frequency of each of the Interrogative forms is really small; however, if simple modal questions like may/could/can/would/will you/I/we ~? are focused on, it is found that both males and females prefer can as shown in Table 15. The modal questions account for more than half in female cases, whereas slightly less in males. It is remarkable that almost a half is covered by can group (can or could) in females. Thayne (2010) notes that could you ~? is a safe expression to be used as mentioned earlier, but the result is that could is overwhelmed by can, which means that the most frequently used modal is the less polite can. This might occur because speakers and addressees know each other very well in many scenes. The ratios of can and could are approximately 5:1 (males) and 2.3:1 (females). The fact that females choose could more than males might be comparable with the findings of Coates (1993), Holmes (1995), and Tannen (1993, 1995). Before making a definitive statement about this, however, one more modal may needs to be discussed. Males use may more frequently than females. The ratios of can to the total of could and may are 1.37:1 (males)

and 1.33:1 (females), which is similar to each other. Therefore, it could be said that males tend to choose may rather than could in more cases if can is not polite enough while females take the opposite approach. There is also the possibility that males might face more formal situations. The reason for this could be because as Murphy (2004, p. 74) puts it, “May is more formal than can or could,” In addition, Hewings (1999, p. 50) specifies “in rather formal English,” and Leech and Svartvik (2002, p. 325) point out that “nowadays may is rarely used for permission: can is used instead.”

Table 15

Modal Questions in American English Interrogatives (Percentages in All the Interrogatives)

M F

can may will can

may will

29.55% 47.92%

can could 13.64% 6.82% can could 10.42% 0.00%

25.00% 4.55% 33.33% 14.58%

In Japanese, too, both males and females use the Imperative most, but the percentage is larger in females than that of males. The reason for this will be probably because the Japanese Imperative includes three different politeness levels of forms as seen above. It can be seen that the honorific rates are also larger in females than in males. The ratios of the Interrogatives are similar between the two. It might be said that these facts run counter to the theories proposed by Coates (1993), Holmes (1995), or Tannen (1993, 1995) unlike American English. However, considering the honorific rates, it can be said that females choose more polite forms than males. Instead of the Imperative, males use the Declarative more frequently than females. The ratios of the honorific Declarative are almost the same between males and females. In view of the specific request forms of the Declarative, it seems that both males and females prefer onegai shi masu or its variations. The figures of the related forms are 4.74% in males and 10.79% in females respectively in total, which shows that females use onegai shi masu more frequently than males. Independent use of onegai shi masu can be vague and lead to high indirectness. Apart from this group, it seems that males like simple rules such as ~ suru zo, ~ shi masu yo, ~ suru, ~ da zo, and ~ shi masu. Based on these two aspects, it can be said that the differences in indirectness between males and females can be seen not between the Imperative and the Interrogative but within the Imperative, the Declarative, and the Interrogative in Japanese.

The most notable difference between American English and Japanese can be seen in

Omission. Incompleteness of sentences is common in Japanese but not in American English though such sentences actually exist even in American English as Leech (2006) describes.

This has often been investigated by English or Japanese grammar researchers, such as Shirakawa (2009) and Kanaya (2002, 2004). The title of Kanaya (2004), Eigo nimo Shugo wa Nakatta [English also does not have a subject] implies that in English, sentences are usually finished and complete. Therefore, Omission might be the key to understanding indirectness in American English and Japanese. The other notable difference between American English and Japanese is that male American English speakers choose the Imperative really frequently. The American English Imperative is short and also multifunctional. This may attract male American English speakers as a very convenient expression to use. The differences between males and females can be observed between the Imperative and the Interrogative in American English but within the Imperative, the Declarative, and the Interrogative in Japanese. Therefore, both in American English and Japanese, the results show that males use less polite forms than females.

5.2.2. Contrast between preambles and postambles accompanying American