This paper proposes the necessity and validity of “speech style (history) research.” While speech style (history) research encompasses existing studies on “role language”(Kinsui 2003/2023, 2014a/2023, 2014b etc.) and “virtual dialects”(Tanaka 2011/2024, 2016 etc.) research on “translated speech styles” is also crucial. Regarding translated speech styles, we newly propose that the inverted “saying-in-progress + ne” construction is important, in addition to the four indicators of the “translated version of casual male speech” presented by Nakamura (2013): “yaa,” “～sa,” “～kai,” and “～dai.”

We claim that, in addition to Haruki Murakami’s novels, the works of Yoko Ogawa are important materials to examine. Furthermore, youth fiction and mystery novels are also considered important, but this point requires further research.

This study aims to describe a practice concerning topic management. After reporting or telling their experiences, speakers disengage themselves from the reporting or telling by initiating actions such as asking questions or making recommendations to the other participants. These actions are implemented by reference to the previous speaker’s reporting or telling, and shift the focus from the speaker to the other participants. One feature of these actions is exaggeration, which can be treated as non-serious by the participants. This feature contributes to exiting the current reporting or telling, and reduces the constraints it imposes on the next possible topic.

Discourse markers (DMs) are inherently dynamic: they frequently appear in multiple positions, form sequences with other expressions, and serve diverse interactional functions. How, then, do speakers differentiate among multiple uses of a DM while simultaneously recognizing them as instances of a single marker? Put succinctly, how can the “grammar of DMs” be explained and described? Drawing on an analysis of for sure, this study examines the explanatory potential of the Subconstruction Network Model for a systematic description of DM grammar. The analysis shows that the uses (“subconstructions”) of for sure constitute a systematically related set grounded in positional and sequential properties. These findings support the model and suggest that DM use exhibits some predictability.

This paper examines the characteristics of recipients’ disaffiliative responses to third-party complaints in Mandarin conversations. The analysis identifies two distinct types of such response:(1) responses that display disagreement with the complainant’s negative stance while offering accounts for the third party’s conduct, and (2) responses that highlight the complainant’s own obligations or responsibilities. Through these response formats, recipients explicitly disaffiliate from the complainant’s negative stance, thereby undermining the legitimacy of the complaint as constructed by the complainant and creating opportunities to disengage from the complaint sequence.

The aim of this study is to analyze co-constructed utterances in Japanese and French in terms of turn-taking and syntax, with a view to language teaching. From the perspective of turn-taking, the results showed that co-constructed utterances with overlaps are more common in French. Syntactically, both languages share the common feature of having many verb-complement combinations, but there were differences in that main clause-adverbial clause combinations were only seen in Japanese, while main clause-relative clause combinations were only seen in French. Based on these results, this paper offers some suggestions for introducing co-constructed utterances into language teaching.

“Style Shifts in LINE Chats between Friends: Alignment of the Desu/Masu Style”

This study aims to clarify how the desu/masu style (polite style) is used in text-based interactions between friends. The dataset consists of 24,752 utterances drawn from LINE chat records of 13 pairs of young adult friends. Analysis revealed that all speakers used the desu/masu style with an average usage rate of 7.2%, and often incorporated linguistic variants, such as pseudo-dialects. Furthermore, within-pair usage exhibited alignment tendencies, functioning as a resource for co-constructing interactional frames through locally adjacent positioning. These results demonstrate that the desu/masu style in LINE chats is deployed in ways that reflect the characteristics of the medium.

This study examines how native Japanese speakers (JN) and native Chinese speakers (CN) structure discourse in first-encounter conversations, focusing on interaction at the discourse level through the lens of politeness. The analysis revealed two main findings. First, JN tended to introduce “other-oriented” topic floors, showing a listener-oriented tendency, while CN more frequently introduced “self-oriented” topic floors, reflecting a speaker-oriented style. Second, five topic exchange patterns were extracted, and statistically significant differences were found in their distribution. These differences are attributable to the contrasting perceptions of interpersonal distance between the two groups.