The Grammaticalization and Semantic Change of Honorifics in Japanese(<Special Issue>Grammaticalization in Japanese)

Abstract

This study presents a derivational account of the semantics of gozaru, arrived at by classifying tokens of gozaru found in Feiqe Monogatari (the romanized Amakusa version of the Tale of the Heike) based on their grammatical functions, and comparing them against those occurring in the original version of the Feiqe Monogatari. In spatial existence sentences, where the meaning of gozaru remains closest to its origin, nearly all tokens of gozaru occur in honorific expressions, whereas its use in polite expressions predominates in other cases. The fact that polite expressions, unlike honorifics, lack selectional restrictions as to their subjects, thus allowing for a wider range of use, is the reason suggested for this predominance. Moreover, the process of grammaticalization, and the shifts undergone by existence verbs in their lexical categorization, served among other factors to influence the development of gozaru's meaning towards a polite one.