Selected sequence signals in Japanese : a semantic analysis

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to analyze the meaning of four Japanese words which are generally used fo r summarizing, paraphrasing or c la rify in g what has been previously stated. The function of these four words is to re la te sentences in a discourse. Therefore, the meaning of the words cannot be discovered by considering a sentence in is o la tio n - they must be considered in the context of a discourse. This is one of the reasons why these words are d if f ic u lt fo r students when they are learning Japanese. N aturally th is problem does not concern beginners so much as advanced learners, because beginners are more engaged in fundamental sentence patterns than in competent discourse.