A study of demonstratives sochira and soko referring to the hearer

Abstract

　Based on the contrast with the demonstrative sochira, this paper deals with the use of demonstrative soko in which refers to the hearer in a conversation. In this usage, sochira, which refers to a direction, essentially as a deictic, can refer to the hearer in certain contexts, such as: Doo shita no? 'What is the matter? Sochira koso doo shita no? 'What's the matter with you?' On the other hand, the demonstrative soko, which refers to a place essentially, can refer to the hearer in a certain contexts, such as: Soko, urusaiyo! 'You there, you're too noisy!' On the basis of metonymy, these demonstratives can refer to the hearer. However, both soko and sochira differ in terms of whether this metonymy usage is idiomatic. While sochira, which is an established idiom, can refer to a hearer in a confrontational context, soko, which is not an established idiom, cannot do so. The person to whom demonstrative such as soko can refer is only a particular hearer, who cannot know that he/she is about to be referred to. In this paper, such contexts, in which the hearer doesn't foresee that he/she is about to be referred to, are called semi-confrontational contexts, and the character of such contexts is clarified. A semi-confrontational context wherein the intention of the speaker is to refer to the hearer with soko is one in which impolite nuances are conveyed to the hearer by treating him/her as a place.