Chinese Learners’ Perceptions of Iya and Ie in Japanese:

A Comparison between Overseas and Domestic Classroom Contexts Using the I-JAS Corpus

Abstract

This study analyzes the usage patterns of the Japanese expressions iya and ie among Chinese learners of Japanese in both JFL and JSL contexts, focusing on their collocations. The results show that iya tends to co-occur with nai in both contexts, suggesting its frequent use in negative sentences. In contrast, ie shows no strong collocational ties with any specific words. Additionally, in JFL contexts, iya often co-occurs with anoo, implying that learners may use it to soften or avoid direct negation.