Japanese Clausal Coordination and Exemplification

The Japanese language has multiple clausal coordination structures that correspond to English and-conjunctions. Among them are the -tari and -shi structures that lack a narrative function in which temporal and causal relations are at issue. Even though these structures show functionally similar tendencies, they have not been extensively compared with each other. In fact, researchers have not accounted for the distinctions between them, particularly in terms of utterance understanding. This paper pins down the meanings of the conjunctive suffixes -tari and -shi from Sperber and Wilson’s (1986/1995) relevance-theoretic perspective and argues that the two structures differ in the purpose of exemplification. The -tari structure is used to illustrate a manifest but elusive assumption, thereby enabling the addressee to better identify and understand the underlying assumption needed to interpret the discourse. However, the -shi structure is used to reinforce a claim. The second clause strengthens an implication for which the first clause provides evidence. Thus, the purpose of exemplification is the key factor in distinguishing the structures. The examination here may contribute to a grasp of part of Japanese clausal coordination systems, and also to a discussion on discourse relations