| Abstract |
The aim of this paper is to examine the actual usage of Japanese fillers based on their functions. Most of the recent studies on Japanese fillers focus on types, forms, frequencies, functions and so o...n. However, few studies have examined the difference between Chinese learners of Japanese and native Japanese speakers from the viewpoint of discourse management. The data for this study consists of seven sets of conversations collected from eight Chinese learners of the Japanese language who have stayed in Japan for 3 to 5 years and seven native Japanese speakers. I analyzed and compared the actual usage in the two groups from the perspective of discourse adjustment functions (starting an utterance or a topic, floor-holding, buying time, turn-taking) and personal adjustment functions (softening, hesitation, common understanding). The results show that starting an utterance or a topic, floor-holding and buying time are the most common functions, for both Chinese learners of Japanese and native Japanese speakers. In contrast, Chinese speakers use softening and hesitation less often than native speakers. One possible reason is that there are not as many fillers in Chinese as there are in Japanese. Compared to Chinese learners of Japanese, native Japanese speakers prefer euphemisms to direct expression.show more
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