Does moshi Facilicate the Comprehension of Japanese Conditionals?

An Examination of Sentence Processing Using a Self-Paced Reading Experiment

Abstract

　In Japanese conditional sentences, the condition clause ends with a conjunctive particle that marks it as a condition, but that clause may also begin with the adverb moshi. The use of moshi is not essential, but when it is used it clearly indicates a hypothetical conditional. In that case, it has to be put before the conjunction. In this paper, I aim to clarify the effect of moshi’s presence and position on the sentence processing of hypothetical conditionals in Japanese. To do so, I conducted a self-paced reading experiment with both Japanese native speakers and learners of Japanese having four different first languages. My results show that the usage of moshi had no effect on Japanese native speakers. However, for the learners, moshi can facilitate the processing of a text, shortening the reading time and facilitating correct answering regardless of the learnersʼ first languages. These results might contribute not only to the comprehension study of Second Language Acquisition but also to the development of “Easy Japanese”, which can be useful for supporting the development of multicultural understanding within Japanese society.