A STUDY INTO THE ACQUISITION OF "NODA" AMONG JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEARNER
Lingjie Li, Takei Naoki · 2014
The noda form is one of the most important modality forms of the Japanese language in the context of real communication, not only for Japanese native speakers but also for learners of Japanese as a second language. Though both types of Japanese speakers use this form, a significant difference has been observed when it comes to the comparison of “noda” usage under certain conditions (Takei & Akabori, 2005). In this study, “noda” is investigated by analyzing its use within learner speech (ACTFL OPI data). More specifically, we propose a method based on analysis of variance and multiple comparisons using the frequency of “noda” usage, foreign Japanese learners’ proficiency level and several types of “noda” usage. According to our analysis, the following conclusions can be made: 1. “noda” frequency is highly dependent on Japanese proficiency. 2. “noda” frequency significantly increases from the intermediate to advanced proficiency level, when compared with other levels. 3. There is a trend among higher-level learners to prefer the use of the reporting sense of “noda” to its explanative sense, suggesting that when “noda” is used as a dialogue promoter, it has the effect of putting the conversation participant into the context assumed by the conversation promoter.