This paper focuses on the acceptance of a standard form -janai(ka) by young native speakers of Kansai dialect. Based on the quantitative analysis of natural discourse data from 70 young speakers of Kansai dialect containing a total of 1,669 tokens of variants of -janai(ka), a functional classification of these variants reveals that the young Kansai speakers alternate -janai(ka) and its corresponding dialect forms such as -chau(kd) and -yan(ka) depending on their functions. Originally, the forms including -janai in Standard Japanese have various functions: first, -janai is used in a 'negative statement' which negates the proposition of a sentence ending with nominal predicates and da-ending adjectival predicates (e. g., genki-janai from genki-da 'be healthy'); second, -janai(ka) indicates the 'expectation of a hearer's agreement'; third, -njanai(ka) is used as a sentence-final expression indicating a speaker's conjecture; and finally, -janai(ka) is used as a sentence-final form intended to confirm the speaker's previous recognition. On the other hand, the paper has shown that the use of -janai(ka) by young Kansai speakers is mainly limited to negative statements and questions, while for the modal functions the dialect forms -chau(ka) and -yan(ka) are still often used. Thus, maintaining their own dialect forms, the speakers only accept the standard form for particular functions. As a result, the young speakers' Kansai dialect is found to differ systematically from both traditional Kansai dialect and Standard Japanese. This formation of a new Kansai dialect suggests a dialect change other than Standardization, characterized by a systematic reorganization incorporating both standard and dialect forms.
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