earticle

영어

The Japanese -sita has tense, aspect and modality functions, interacting each other. The tense function consists of the usages of recording and past. The usage of recording cannot be represented by -sita, while that of past can be represented by it when the realization of the event is perceived or when the process of the event is apprehended. The aspect meaning of so-called “the period in which the event is realized” proposed by Inoue seems to be accepted. It is argued here, however, that the aspect meaning of -sita is broader than Inoue's since it occurs with adverbs other than mou. It is also revealed that -sita has an aspect meaning even when it occurs with adverbs that do not show the period of time. -sita has a modality function when it means “discovery, retrospection, momentary awareness of the event, conviction of expectation, urgent repetitive demand, momentary decision”. It implies a change of the speaker's awareness of the event that he or she do not expect at the time of speech. It is argued here that -sita has tense, aspect and modality function, but its time span differs depending upon its function. When it has a tense meaning, the time span is not fixed since it describes the past event at the time of speech. When it has an aspect meaning, it is narrowed down to a certain degree at the time of speech. When it has a modality function, it means that the event simultaneously occurs at the time of speech. The closer it comes to modality function, the narrower scope it has.