Abstract
The “-desu/-masu” form not only functions as a formal language marker, it also indicates emotions/attitudes and characterizes some roles in conversation. These attribute of “-desu/-masu” indicate “psychological distance between speakers and addressees”, the relationship between speakers and addressees in communication and its change. This paper defines the language forms that require addressees, such as “-desu/-masu”, as “copresence markers” that create copresent space independently of contexts. We model the structure of communication with the notion of a copresence marker and the degree of copresence determined by contexts. In copresence, “-desu/-masu” indicates psychological distance. In nonpresence, however “-desu/-masu” does not typically appear, but a quasi-copresence sort of virtual space can be created by a copresence marker. In this case, the function of “-desu/-masu” as a copresence marker is foregrounded and an addressee is elicited. This relationship between a speaker and an addressee results in intimate emotion. Intimate emotions/attitudes can be explained by the function of a copresence marker that changes “nonpresence” into “copresence”. Distance can be explained by the change of mental relationship between speakers and addressees with psychological distance operating in “copresence”.
