Abstract
This chapter discusses how the theoretical study of modality in combination with ideas on noticing and awareness raising can guide us when developing teaching methods for Japanese epistemic and evidential expressions. It is argued that, due to the involved nature of modal expressions, the focus of teaching should be on structural properties rather than on meaning and usage. The awareness of modals can be raised by systematically introducing the set of epistemic and evidential markers and by presenting their morphological and syntactic properties. The increased level of awareness in turn facilitates learning outside of the grammar class, as students start noticing modals in a variety of different usages. It is also suggested that the teaching of modals can be linked to research on adverb-modal collocations (modal concord). Examples and exercises used at Lund University when teaching 1st year undergraduate students are presented. The chapter also touches upon how the ideas presented reflect the author’s view of language description.
I wish to thank the organizers of the 9th conference of the Nordic Association of Japanese and Korean Studies (NAJAKS) for providing me with the opportunity to present my ideas. I also thank the audience for a stimulating discussion. In preparing this chapter for publication, I have received useful comments from a reviewer, for which I am very grateful.
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Notes
- 1.
The general research literature on modality is huge. See, for example, Palmer (2001) and Portner (2009) and the references cited there. Research on Japanese modality is also abundant. Most works have been published in Japanese, but research published in English is increasing. See, for instance, Johnson (2003), Narrog (2009), and Pizziconi and Kizu (2009).
- 2.
The abbreviations used in this chapter are: ACC = accusative, CONJ = conjectural, COP = copula, DED = deductive, EXEV = external evidence, GER = gerund, INF = inferential, NEG = negative, NML = nominaliser, NOM = nominative, NPAST = nonpast tense, PAST = past tense, SENSEV = sensory evidential, SPEC = speculative, and TOP = topic.
- 3.
Deontic modality is a category on par with epistemic and evidential modality. It has to do with notions such as obligation, prohibition and permission. Examples of Japanese deontic modals are the prohibitive –te wa ikenai “must not,” the obligative –nakute wa ikenai “must,” and the permissive –te mo ii “may.” Deontic markers are prominent in the Japanese modal system, and they are also important from the perspective of teaching the language, but they are not the focus of the present chapter. For an overview of deontic expressions in Japanese, see Narrog (2009: 79–91) and Larm (2006: Chap. 7).
- 4.
Sentences and exercises used in my classes are written in Japanese script, but in this chapter all examples are romanized for consistency.
- 5.
For an introduction to modal concord, see Larm (2012) and the references cited there.
- 6.
Hoye also shows how English modals can be taught using multiple choice questions (see Hoye 1997: 260–261).
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Larm, L. (2018). On the Teaching of Japanese Epistemic and Evidential Markers: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Applications. In: Hebert, D. (eds) International Perspectives on Translation, Education and Innovation in Japanese and Korean Societies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68434-5_11
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