Work

The Japanese expressive modifier baka ‘stupid’: An evaluation of the individual and the situation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The English noun-modifying expressive modifier damn can express notonly a speaker’s negative attitude toward the target expressed in a noun but also the speaker’s negative attitude toward an entire proposition (=propositional reading)(e.g., Potts 2005; Gutzmann 2019). In this study, I investigate the Japanese noun-modifying expressive modifier baka ‘stupid’, and argue that unlike the English expressive modifier damn, it simultaneously conveys a negative attitude toward an individual expressed in a noun and an entire event within a single reading. This paper shows variations in and proposes a new typology of expressive modifiers.

Source: Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America

DOI: 10.3765/plsa.v10i1.5924

Author: Osamu Sawada

Institution: Kobe University

Language: English

Topic: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4410312777

FWCI:

Cites: 11

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Related to: 10