On the Japanese CommercialTransaction Frame : How
Culture-SpecificInformation Fits into a Semantic Frame
Ueda Masanobujournal orpublication title
Tsukuba English Studies
volume 27page range 145-154year 2009-03-06URL
http://hdl.handle.net/2241/102442
145
OntheJapameseCommercialTransactionFrame
Ho7CultureSpecicImrmtionFitsimtoaSemantieFrame
MasanobuUeda
lImtrodufion
ThegeneralscenarioorglVlngandreceivlngisamedinJapaneseintemlSOf
WhatrelationshipisibrmedbetweenaglVerandareceiverandomwhosevantage
POinttheactofgivingorreceiviris describedTts
complexityismadeclearby
COmParlngJapaneseverbsofgivingandreceivlngWithf11glishonesLookingonly
atverbsoigivingwithrespecttotherelationshipbetwcenaglVerandarecIPlentr
instanceWewi1lseethatJapanesehasatleastthreedirentverbsthatcorrespondto
thelIishverbgive
1aZyonga muSukonihonO yatta
JohnNMsonDAT bookACC glVePAST
oll11gaVeabooktohisson
b7yonga tOmOdatinihonO ageta
JohnNOMiendDAT bookACC gVePAST
Johngaveabooktohisiend
CZvonga SenSeini honO SaSlageta
JohnNMtcacherDATbookACC glVePAST
Johngaveabooktohisteacher
ThechoiccdcpendsonwhoishigherinstatusThereclplentOfthcbookdescribed
inaisseenasinfriortoJbhnwhilethatinCisregardedassuperiortothegiver
Theverbugerliinbisneutralinthisrespectandisusedasacommongiveverbin
PreSendayJapanese
The commercialtransaction ameOn Which my discussion centersis
a
SubtyPeOftheglVlngreceivlngameWecanexpectthatverbsinvoIvedinthis
amewillshowasimilarencodingpattemtothatwehaveJuStObservedThechief
Oectiveofthispaperistodemonstratethatatleastoneoftheverbsofcommercial
transactionsdoesshowsuchapattern
ln section2Iwi11discuss somepeCuliarities ofthe
commercialtransaction
ameinJapaneseThoughtheJapanese transaction fme has almost the
same
StruCtureaStheEnglishonethereareaftwmarkeddifrtrencesThenrstimportant
POlntisthe fblk conceptofserviceThisis rough1y denedasan entiqT
Or aCt
OffbredbyaserviceproviderSuChasashopassistantfbrsatisfyingcustomersnOtaS
COmPenSation fbr the money paid by customersEven moreimportantis
that
Japaneseconnectspolitenesswiththehighandlowrelationshipbetweenthebuyer
ggvoJ7J5J
146
roIc and the se11er roleMostimportantlyIwi11discussin
section3how this
ameSemanticknowledgeisappliedtotheuseofanoecthonoricexpressionin
theoVerbSurufbrmSpeciflcal1yShibatani1994observesthattheverbkauLbuy
isincompatiblewiththisconstructionandusesthisfactasevidencefbrhisassumption
thattheverbisatwoPlacepredicatcTwillargueagalnSthisideaandshowthatitis
becausethepragmaticconstraintrequiredbytheobjecthonorincconstruCtionisnot
COmPatiblewiththepragmaticftatureofthesuectentityOftheverbthattheverb
andtheconstruCtioncannotbeunined
2CommercialTransactio1Frame
The commercialtransaction ftameillustratedin2was broughtinto the
SPOtlight by Fi11more1977f7edemonstrateshowthe
fTameisstruCturedandin
Whatwayweusethisknowledgetodescribecommercialevents
2
gOOds
money buyer
HedealswithEnglishnounsandverbsassociatedwiththisfmeincludingb2qand
SelThediffbrencebetweenbuvandsel11iesinomwhichperSpeCtiveaneventof
transactionis describedTheverb
buvdescribesitomthebuyerspointofview
WhilesellstruCtureSitomthesellerlspolntOfview
TheJapanesecounterpartskaLandurubuyandse11arethesameinthis
respectHowevera Simplequestion arisesDoesthis mean thatthe
cornmercial
transactionameinJapanese has exactly the sameinternalstruCture
aS thatin
EnglishGiventhebasicpremiseortheFrameSemanticapproachtolanguagethata
amerepresentspartofourstruCturedbackgroundknowledgeofexperiencebeliefk
andorpracticesCfFi11moreandAtkins1992thewayofstruCturingaamemay
difrfromlanguage tolanguageThusthereis a possibilitythat
theJapanese
COmmerCialtransactionfiamemaydifrindetailfromtheEnglishoneTnthenext
SeCtionwi11detailthestructureoftheJapanesetransactionftame
2oeJqCeJC
Although everyone will probably agree that the basic structure
of the
COmmerCialtransactionframeis almostthe same betweenJapanese and
EnglishlI
WOuldliketopolntOutthattherearesomeobviousdifrencesbetweenthemOne
OfthemisassociatedwiththeconceptofserviceTheorglnalconceptinEnglishis
Characterized as compensation fbr the money paid by the
customerWhile this
147
concept has taken rootin theJapanese business communitythelk
concept of
serviceinJapanesetakesonadifftrentcharacteristiclItcanbeobservedintheuse
orthewordsaabisuservicealoanwordomEnglishServicelinJapanesecanbe
deflnedasbeingprovidedfeofchargeincontrasttotheorlglnalnotionofservicein
EnglishTtisoffbredrthepurposeofsatisfyingcustomers2
Thelinguisticdatain
3mirrorthisfbature
3aAshopkeeperreftrringtoacomplimentarygsays
kore saabisune
this serviceis
Thisisafreegift
bAcustomerasksfbradiscount
takai kara Sukosisaabisusiteyo
expensivebecausea1ittle service do
1tstooexpensivebringtheprlCedownalittlemore
Thcservicerefrs tothe complimentary gin3aand adiscountin3bIn
traditionalJapanese business practiceShops and companies try to
satisfytheir
customersbvaddingvaluetotheircommoditiessothattheyseemtobeworthmore
thanthemoneypaidbytheirbuyersWiththeresultthatthesellercanearnagOOd
reputationAddedvaluelikethisiscalledserviceThismodelisi11ustratedin4
4
gOOdsservice k
money
Thereis another way ofgivlngserviceto buyersFor the purpose
of
satisingbuyersShopsandcompaniestreatthempolitelyJTheirpolitebehavior
andrespect fbrtheircustomers
canberenectedinlanguageItisworthwhileto
mentionthatsomeexpressionsrevealthatbuyersarePlacedatahigherstatusFor
exampleWhenastoreclerkmakesoutareceipttoacustomerlheorshernaywriteon
itthewordueup1nSteadofthecustomersnametOreftrtothecustomerAnother
exampleisokaiageaneXPreSSionrefbrringtotheactofbuylngItisfbrmedom
threemorphemes0thebeautincationprenxkaianOminalizationoftheverbbuy
andageWhichliterallymeanstoraiseAnimportantpointtostresshereisthatthe
thirdmorphemeindicatestheupwarddirectionThissuggeststhatanoectbought
byacustomergurativelymovesuptothecustomerThesetwofactsshowthatthe
customerisfigurativelyplacedatahigherpositionaSillustratedin5
148
5
IdonotintendthatthebuyerisalwayslocatedatahigherpositionThebuyer
maybeviewedasbeinghigherinstatuswhenitisaddressedbyfbrexamplethe
VOCativehonorcobakusamaWhichmorphologicallyconsistsofthreepartS0a
beautincationprebakucustomergueStVisitorandSamaanhonorificThe
ChoiceofwordsfbrthebuyerishoweveractedbysornePragmaticfactorssuchas
thepresenceofthebuyeratthespeakersutterancetheinterpersonalrelationbetween
thesellerandthebuyerandsofbrth
Thebuyermaybereftrredtosimplyaskaite
buyerorbakuguestVisitorifitisdescribedonlywithregardtotheroleitplaysin
atransactionevent
6akonomisenO kyakllnwa wakaizyosega OOi
thisshopPOSSguestDATITOP youngwomenNOMmany
Thisshophasmanyyoungfbmalecustomers
bkonnanitakaitOkaitega tukanai
SOeXpenSive buyerNOM buynot
LItissoexpensivethatnoonewontbuyit
Inthiscasethebuyerisnotelevatedtoahigherstatus
TbsurnupinthissectionwehaveseentwocharaCteristicftaturesFirstthe
COnCePtOfserviceinJapaneseisdifftrentfromthatinEnglishanditisregardedas
theextravaluetheselleraddstotheirgoodsSecondthebuyerisplacedatahigher
StatuSWhenitisservedwithpolitely
Insection3WeWillseehowthisameSemanticknowledgeaboutcommercial
transactionsisusedwithrefrencetoaJapaneSeOqeCthonorincexpressioninthe
oVerbSurufbrm
3ApplicationofFrameqSemanticKnowledgeaboutCommercialTransactions
Mychiefconcerninthissectionistoconsiderwhyitisdifncultfbrtheverbkau
buytooccurintheoecthonorificfbrrnaSeXemPlinedinsentence7
7BokuWa SenSeini sinbun0 0kaiSita
TOP teacherDATnewspaperACC ObuySURUPAST
Iboughttheteacheranewspaper
Befbre demonstrating why the sentencein7is horribleIwouldlike to
reftrto
Shibatani1994He adduces the factin7as evidence thatthe verb
kauis a
149
twoPlacepredicateanddoesnotaccommodateagoalNPIwillrevealthatthereis
alOtherrcasonfbrwhichthesentencein7soundsawkwardClaimingthatitdoesnot
SuPPOrtShibatanisideathatkaudoesnotcontributeaGoalrole
jJbOrrOCg
Befbre reviewlng Shibatanis polntSWe Willbrienylook at what
the
OVerbSuruCOnStruCtionisThisfbmlisusedtoexpressthespeakerspolitenessby
downgradingthestatusoftherefbrentofthesuectwiththeresultthatthehonored
personOrthetargetofhonorincationbecomesrelativelyhigherinstatus5
Thke
SentenCe8fbrinstance
8WaLaslga SenSeini sonokoto0 0hanasiSita
NOM teacherrATthatmatteACC OtellSURUPAST
ltoldtheteacherthatmatter
TheleacherasthetargetofhonoriLicationinShibatanis1994wordstriggersthe
Ohiccthonorincationproccss1Thespeakerlowersherownstatustoshowpoliteness
totheteacher
jmeqrKaul0SunlCoC
Shibatani1994dealswithbenefhctive
construCtionsinJapaneseandKorean
although
Koreanisoutsidemyscopeanddiscusseshowthebenefhctiveauxiliary
VerbqteyaruinJapaneseaswellasitscounterpartinKoreanisunedwithamain
vcrbOneofhisclaimsisthattheauxiliaryverbcan
contributeanimarkcdgoal
nominalThishappenswhenthemainverbisatwoPlacepredicateAccordingto
Shibatani199446theverbkaEbuyhasavalenceoftwoanditneedsthehelpof
theauxiliaryverbeyarutoaddagoalNP
91rooga flanakoni honO katteyatta
NOM HanakoDIlbookACC buyglVePAST
rrbrooboughtabookfbrHanako
In9the main verb kau and the auxiliary verb qteyaru are unined
to fbrm the
COmPlexpredicatekatleyaruThetwoverbssharetheAgentrolerinstantiatedasthe
suectNP7hroogaTheThemeroleinstantiatedasthedirectobjectNPhon0is
contributedbythemainverbwhiletheGoalroleSyntaCtica11ycodedastheindirect
ObjectNPnakoniisassociatedwiththeauxiliaryverb
Shibatanigives the sentencein7reproduced as10hereaS
eVidenceto
SuPPOrtthetwoPlacednessofkau
10BokuWaSenSeinisinbun00kaiSita
Iboughttheteacheranewspaper
150
Heexplainstheoddnessofthissentencebysaylngthattheverbkaubuyldoesnot
accommodateagoalNPandtherefbrefailstotrlggertheoecthonorificationprocess
P50EventhoughtheauxiliaryverbteSaSiageruthehonorificfbrmoffeyaru
isaddedtoittheacceptabilitydoesnotchange
11BokuWa SenSeini sinbun0 0kaiSite saslageta
TOP teacherDATnewspaper ObuySURU givePAST
Thisisunacceptablefbrthesamereasonasthecaseof10The
goalNIIwhich
Shibataniassumestobeprovidedbytheauxiliaryverbisnotassociatedwiththemain
VerbsthematicameIthencefhilstocausetheobjecthonorincationprocessfbr
themainverb
j2eJgqrKau
A questionarises as to the valency ofthe verb kau1have fbund on
the
Intemet some datain which theverb takes a goalNP withoutthe
auxiliarY Verb
Somearecitedin12WherethetargetStruCtureSareunderlined
12aDoobututatiqtotappurihureattabokuWakokohuzisafhripaakude
giisanniomivagerokaukotonisita
AfterplaylngalotwithanimalsIdecidedtobuyMrMagagiat
FqiiSafhriPark
httprblogjtbCOjpmodelplansetsuyakuarchive20060707353aspx
bFodomoWrlyuuWaanZennOtamega78
Itisfbrtheirsafttythat78ofparentsboughttheirkidscellphones
httpwwwitmediacojpnewsarticles071222newsOO3html
CMusukoaWataSinitokeiOkautoiuepISOOdogaumarenaimono
darooka
Iwishmysonwouldbuymeawatch
httpsmashmediajplog200807001677htmi
This set of data shakes Shibatanis assumption that the verb kau
does not
accommodateagoalNPRatheritshouldbeconcludedthattheverbcancontribute
a Goalrole6Ifthis conclusionis rightShibatanils argument about
the
incompatibilityoftheverbwiththeoecthonorincconstruCtionisnolorlgerValid
IfaGoalroleisassociatedwiththeverbtheincompatibilitycannotbeattributedto
thelackofaGoalroleintheverbsthematicstruCtureWemustthenconsiderwhy
SentenCeS10and11arenotacceptable
j2gcofJwCoCJ
OurameSemanticknowledge abouttheJapaneSe
COmmerCialtransaction
15l
ame orsthekey to explainingwhy theverbkaucannotoccurwiththeoect
honorincconstruCtionRememberthatthestatusofthebuyerrolecanbeelevatedin
thatameaSWehaveseeninsection21Thishappenswhenthebuyeristreated
With politenessSince the clerkis verylikelv to serve the
customer politelyln l
normalcircumstancesthereis a good chance ofutterlng honorinc
expressions
including the oVerbSuru fbrmin transaction eventsIfthe clerk
describes the
buyerspurchasinggoodswiththeoecthonorificconstructionhowevertheuttered
SentenCeWOuldholdaninconsistencybetweenthewaythebuyershouldbetreatedand
thewaytheclerkhasactua11ytreatedthebuyerTheoecthonorificconstruCtion
requlreSthesubiectNPtobeidentedasthepersonviewedasbeinglowerthanthe
targetofhonorincationThispropeisincompatiblewiththebuyershigherstatus
in the transaction eventFor this reasonthe verb cannot enterinto
the object
honorincconstruCtion
Ttis noteworthy that a synonym fbr kaukoopyuu suruCOnnicts
withthe
oVerbSuruCOnStruCtion
13senseini honO gOkonyuuSuru
teacherDr bookACC OPurChaseSURU
11buytheteacherabook
Thissuggeststhatthecompatibilityofaverbwiththeobjecthonorificconstructionis
notdeterminedonthebasisoftheindividuallexicalpropertybutthatweexploitour
arneSemantic knowledge about commercialtransactions to use the
construCtion
PrOperly
Thereisfurther evidence to support my argumentThe buyer rolein
the
transactionameisr10ttheonlyentltyWhosestatusiselevatedbytheserviceprovider
Usersofpublictransportationandhotelguestsalsoreceiveserviceandtheirstatus
mayberaisedVbrbsrefrringtoactsonthepartOftheservicereCeivlngentities
SuCh asukuhaku surustaylng at a hotelland00a Suru taking
public
transportationareunabletoenterintotheoVerbSurufbrmObserve
14asenseiga SyOyuunaSatteiru ryOkannigoSyukuhakuSuru
teacherNOM ownPOLITE hotelLOC OStaySURU
r11stayatthehotelownedbytheteacher
bsensega untennaSaru basunigoZyOOSyaSuru
teacherNOM drivePOLITEbusLOCOgetOnSURU
T1getonthebustheteacherisgolngtOdrive
7tisworthwhiletonotethattheconventionalpracticeincommercialeventsmay
be overriddenby otherpragmatic
fhctorsTheverbkauintheoVerbSurufbrmis
awkwardundernormalcircumstancesaSWehaveseenIntheexamplein15cited
152
fromtheshortnovelKbshinOnakawrittenbyYbkomitsuRiichiin1969howeverthe
verboccursintheobjecthonorificconstruCtion7
15An00umaWaWatakusigakokonObokuzyoodeokaiSite sasiagemasita
IboughtthathorseatthisranchfbrtheEmperorofJan
Inthis storyJohanaHungarianinterpreterwhowas
nuentinJapaneseCOnducted
KqjiaJapanesevisitorarOundBudapestHungaryHeutteredthesentencein15
WhenheandKqiiweretalkingaboutahorsenamedShirayukiOWnedbytheEmperor
OfJapanSincetheEmperoristheheadofstateeVeryOneShouldbepolitetohim
This
factoroverridestheverbkauspragmaticfbatureHencetheverbiscoerced
intothe oect honoriBc construCtionTherefbrethe
sentencein15becomes
ftasible
4ConclSion
This paper has discussed denning characteristics oftheJapanese
transaction
ameanddemonstratedhowtheknowledgeaboutthefmeisappliedSPeCca11yO
thecaseoftheverbkauintheoecthonorincfbrm
Insection2WehaveseenthatwhatiscalledserviceinJapaneseisadirent
COnCePtomtheEnglishorlglnalThemainpurposeofofftringserviceinJapanis
tosatisfycustomersincludingbuyerseeofchargeOnewayofdoingsoistotreat
them politelyAccordinglyhonorc expressions are often used to
show respect
toward themAsthetransactionamea SubqTPe Ofthe
generalgivingreceiving
ameisstruCtureduponwhatrelationshipexistsbetweenthese11erandthebuyer
VerbsinvoIvedinthisameencodepragmaticfbatureslikewhoisconsideredtobe
higherinstatusThesuectentityoftheverbkaubuyiethebuyerroleCanbe
elevatedtoahigherpositionwhenheorsheisservedwithpoliteness
7nsection3Ihavearguedthatsuchknowledgeisthekeytounderstandingwhy
theverb
kaubuycannotenterintotheoecthonorificconstruCtionThesuect
refrentoftheverbislikelytobeviewedashigherwhiletheconstruCtionrequlreSthe
SuectreftrenttobeloweredThisconflictleadstotheoddnessoftheverbinthe
oVerbSurufbrm
NOTES
Anearlierversionofthispaperwasreadatthe4thlnternationalConftrenceonConstruCtion
Grammarheld onSeptemberl2006attheUniverslty OfTokyoJapanT am
deepIyindebtedto
YokoHasegawaCharlesJFillmoreKyokoOharaandYoshikoMatsumotoIalsowishtothank
anonymousreviewersfbrcarefu11yreadingtheentiremanuscrlPt
153
IlthoughLhewordsaabisILWaSborrowed0nEnglishJapanesehadprcviouslyhadsome
expressionswithasimilarsenscAnexampleis0enspecialtreatmcnthospltalityAnother
Canbeseeninthephrasest77POyLVithemottoofmerchantsoITltheOomiareaintheEdoperiod
TtscentralideaisthattransactionsshouldbecarriedoutfbrthebenemorbuyersreSultinginbeneflts
tothWhoIcsociey
ThewordsuubisIinJapaneseisextendedintwowaysOnesenseisdeveopedtomean
ceorchargeasilustratedbyaphraselikesaubisuungVWhichmeansunpaidovertimework
Theothermeanlngtosatissomeonehasemergedastheresultoftheattenuationofthetypeofthe
entltyWhoenJOySIservice
iakyuuzitukuraio100Sanpnisaabisusitekureyo
Literally10ryourfhtherserviceonaholiday
b kazokusaabisu
Litera1yfhmilyservice
7nthescexamplesSaLluisprovidedwithi11afhmiIylnahefhlheraskshischildrentosati
himbypayingthoughtlltattentionLohimSucharequestofhisisdescribedasserviceTheb
expressioisusedbyhardworkerswhousua11yspendlittletimewiththeirfhmes1timpliesthat
thev manage to spend time with theirmiticsIn additionin
companiesserviceis sometimes
glVentOOnesbosstoflatterhimher
3hastentoaddLhatTdonotmcanthatshopsandeompaniesinEnglishSPeakingcountries
arenotcourleoustothcircustomersRatherthepolnttOnOticehereisthattheJapaneselanguage
COnneCtSPOlitcnesstothehighandowrelationshipbctweenbuyersandsellers
17tisimportanttonotcthatcventhosewhoreceivepublicservicesuchastransportand
administrativcservicesmaybecalledbythisterm
borrowthctermtargctofhonorcationomMatsumoto1997
6ApplyingthreeteststbridentiingthesyntacticstatusofthenimarkedgoalNPconcerned
in this paperPreSentedin Sadakaneand Koizumi1995Ihave fbund that
thcNPdoes nothave
SyntaCtic faturcs as observed with NPs marked by thenicasebut
ratherit behaveslike
POStPOSitionalphrasesThisresultprobahlysuggeststhattheGoalroleinthethematicameothe
verbkauisanextrathematicelementT
willleavethismatterto1tureWOrk
7lowethisfhdingtotheAorozaBunkoprqjeCtathttpwwwaozoragrjp
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FukuokaJogakuinUniversityJuniorCollege
emaiImuedafhkLt50aCjp