Abstract
When constructing "action-developing expressions," such as "〜ta hoo ga ii (should do 〜)" and "〜te kudasai (Please do 〜)", the speaker takes into consideration the needs of his/her partner and infers these needs from the context of each set of communication. This paper discusses the importance of the "inference of context needs" in the education of Japanese attitudinal expressions, focusing on "action-developing expressions". "Inference of context needs" refers to what the speaker quickly infers as needed in relation to the 'receiver' at the time of speaking. It is assumed that the "inference of context needs" is performed through "context scanning". "Context scanning" is conducted by the speaker, upon encountering the 'receiver', in order to determine how to construct his communication behavior. Furthermore, the "context needs" gained through this scanning process, along with the "reference information" that determines how he will treat the 'receiver', are considered to be very important in the realization of smooth communication. The above hypotheses for "Context Needs and Reference Information" and "Context Scanning" will be described in detail in Chapter 3, and Chapter 4, respectively.
