2017 Volume 13 Issue 4 Pages 18-34
A sentence which is mainly composed of indeclinable word(s) such as Bakamono!(Fool!), Hajishirazu!(Bounder!), or Usotsuki!(Liar!), has not been appropriately classified as a sentence in previous studies.
This study finds that these sentences, mainly composed of indeclinable word(s) with negative values, have different forms and functions from other sentences mainly composed of indeclinable word(s) such as exclamatory sentences (Kireina hana!), and addresses (Satō san!). Furthermore, the study categorizes these sentences composed of indeclinable word(s) with negative values into a new type of their own: “‘Letter’hari-bun(Labeling Sentence)”.
‘Letter’hari-bun is a sentence which is mainly composed of noun(s) categorized as indeclinable word(s), and has both element(s) which indicate nature, character and attribute, and element(s) indicating a person or an object.
‘Letter’hari-bun conveys emotional content such as anger, derision, ridicule, disrespect, hate, or contempt towards a person or an object. Therefore, ‘Letter’hari-bun always carries a negative intent. The speakers perform a speech act in which they express their negative appraisal and they assign a Label (letter) in a sentence form (Labeling Sentence, ‘Letter’hari-bun).
