● Back Numbers 049〜052 

 ここから三回にわたり、日本人が使い方を誤りやすい動詞のパターンについて解説していただきます。それは、「行動に関わる動詞」と「発言に関わる動詞」です。英語と日本語では、このグループ分けが一致しない場合が多く、日本語(訳語)の感覚で用いると、用法を誤りやすいものです。

マーク No. 049 Behaving and communicating (Part 1)
      ----行動と発言に関わる動詞の問題点(その1

Let us look at these three sentences:

1. He grumbled that the food was terrible.
2. He remarked that the food was terrible.
3. He said that the food was terrible.

They are all basically about the same situation. Sentence 3 seems the most neutral, and sentence 1 seems the most detailed.

I say "the most detailed", because in the case of sentence 1, we not only know his words (his communication: "This food is terrible."), but we can image his tone of voice, the look on his face, and so on (his behaviour).

On the other hand, 3 is "the most neutral" because we only know his words, but do not know his behaviour.

Sentence 2 seems to be somewhere between sentence 1 (most neutral) and sentence 3 (most detailed). We do know his words, and also have an image of his behaviour. However, this image is not a very clear one, since "remark" does not carry a strong meaning.

We can change the above sentences as follows:

4. He grumbled about the food.
5. He remarked about the food.
6. (×) He said about the food.

And as follows:

7. He is always grumbling.
8. (×) He is always remarking.
9. (×) He is always saying.

Why do we have such a situation? Namely this:

grumble
remark
say
1 ○
2 ○
3 ○
4 ○
5 ○
6 ×
7 ○
8 ×
9 ×

This is a point I will take up in the next Column.

● Words & Phrases ●
  • neutral
    中立的な
  • detailed
    詳細な、詳しく説明している
  • the look on his face
    彼の表情
  • be somewhere between
    〜の間のどこかにある
  • carry a strong meaning
    強い意味がある

(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard)

次回掲載予定1月23日

 

 

 「行動に関わる動詞」と「発言に関わる動詞」について、個別にさらに深い考察を加えています

マーク No. 050 Behaving and communicating (Part 2)
      ----行動と発言に関わる動詞の問題点(その2

In the last Column (please refer to Column 49), I dealt with some differences between "grumble", "remark", and "say", from the point of view of behaviour and communication.

"Grumble" can be used in sentences 1, 4, and 7, but "remark" can be used only in sentences 2 and 5, and "say" can be used only in sentence 3.

The reason for this is that "grumble" is both a verb of behaviour and of communication, but "say" is only a verb of communication. "Remark" is between these two, in the middle.

Therefore we can use "grumble" when talking about communication/behaviour (He grumbled that the food was terrible; He grumbled about the food) and about behaviour (He is always grumbling). However we can use "say" only when talking about pure communication (He said that the food was terrible; (×) He said about the food; (×) He is always saying).

"Remark", as can be seen in the examples in Column 49, is in the middle ground.

It is not always easy to remember whether a particular verb belongs to the "grumble" group, the "remark" group, or the "say" group.

In the next Column, I will give a list of different verbs, divided by group.

● Words & Phrases ●
  • deal with
    〜を扱う
  • from the point of view of
    〜の観点から
  • in the middle
    中間に
  • in the middle ground = in the middle
    このgroundは「領域」の意味
  • a particular
    ある〜

(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard)

次回掲載予定1月30日

 

 「行動に関わる動詞」と「発言に関わる動詞」のリストがあげられています。これを眺めることにより、みなさんが今まで思い違いをしていた問題点が明らかになるでしょう。

マーク No. 051 Behaving and communicating (Part 3)
      ----行動と発言に関わる動詞の問題点(その3)

Readers should look back to Column 49 and Column 50 before reading this Column.

Here is a list of verbs divided into the "grumble" group, the "remark" group, and the "say" group.

"GRUMBLE" GROUP
In the "grumble" group, the following grammar patterns are all possible:

He grumbled that the food was terrible.
He grumbled about the food.
He is always grumbling.

Verbs like this are:

mumble (もぐもぐ言う), mutter (ぶつぶつ言う), murmur (ぶつぶつ言う), whisper (ささやく), moan (うめく), complain (苦情を言う), sing (歌う), argue (口喧嘩をする), protest (デモなどで抗議する)

"REMARK" GROUP
In the "remark" group, the following grammar patterns are possible:

He remarked that the food was terrible.
He remarked about the food.

Verbs like this are:

comment (意見を述べる), mention (話す), report (報告する), explain (説明する), answer (答える), respond (答える), pronounce (宣言する), disclose (明らかにする), hint (ほのめかす), promise (約束する), argue (論じる), remonstrate (忠告する), protest (ことばで抗議する), warn (注意する), interject (不意にことばを差し挟む)

"SAY" GROUP
In the "say" group, only the following grammar pattern is possible:

He said that the food was terrible.

Verbs like this are:

state (述べる), announce (発表する), point out (指摘する), indicate (指摘する), declare (断定する),contend (主張する), maintain (主張する), affirm (言明する), assert (断言する), stress(強調する), emphasize (強調する), imply (ほのめかす), claim (言い張る), conclude (結論を下す), retort (言い返す)

It is quite clear from looking at the above lists, and the Japanese translations, that the verbs in the "grumble" group are more connected to behaviour than the verbs in the "say" group, which are more connected to communication.

● Words & Phrases ●
  • look back to
    〜を思い出す、振り返る
  • divide X into Y
    XをYに分類する(ここはその受身形)
  • X are more connected to ... than Y
    XはYよりも...に対する結びつきが強い

(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard)

次回掲載予定2月6日

 コラムNo. 049-051で「動と発言に関わる動詞」の用法上の問題点を取り上げました。今回はさらに、それらが日本語の場合とどうことなるかについて見ていきます。日本語と英語で「直接話法」と「間接話法」が対応しない点に注意してください。

マーク No. 052 Another look at behaving and communicating
      ----用法上混同しやすい行動と発言に関わる動詞

In Columns 50, 51, and 52, I discussed several grammatical points regarding verbs of behaviour and verbs of communication, and verbs that seemed to fall between these two groups.

In this Column, I want to look at a group of verbs which are about behaviour and communication, at the same time.

These verbs are members of quite large class of verbs which are followed by a direct object. An example of such a verb is "criticise":
I criticised John.

Other verbs in this class are:

INSULTING
insult 侮辱する
abuse ののしる
slander 中傷する (in speech)
libel 中傷する (in writing)

TEASING
teaseからかう・いじめる
mock(まねして)からかう
tauntあざける
ridicule あざ笑う
humiliate 恥をかかせる
deride ばかにする

BLAMING
blame 責める
reproach とがめる
accuse 非難する
censure 酷評する
attack 批判する

PRAISING
praise 誉める
flatter お世辞お言う
salute たたえる

When we want to use these as verbs of communication, as in direct or reported speech, we have to say something like this:

John insulted me, and said, “You are an idiot”.
(ジョンは私を「おまえはバカだ」と侮辱した)
John teased me, and pointed out that I had made the same mistake before.
(ジョンは私が前にも同じ誤りをおかしたことを指摘してからかった)
John blamed me, and repeated, “Never do that again”.
(ジョンは「二度々そんなことはするなよ」と繰り返して私を責めた)
John flattered me and mentioned that I was the best.
(ジョンは、「あなたは最高だ」と、私にお世辞を言った)
John humiliated me by remarking that I had made the mistake.
(ジョンは、私がミスを犯したと言って、私に恥をかかせた)

Notice how the verb in the list above (in bold) has to be followed by a real verb of communication (in italics) in order to make a sentence that contains either direct or indirect speech.

● Words & Phrases ●
  • regarding
    〜に関して
  • fall between
    〜の間に分類される
  • be about
    〜にかかわる
  • be followed by
    〜が後に続く
  • in speech
    口頭で
  • in writing
    文書で
  • direct/reported speech
    直接/間接話法

(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard)

次回掲載予定2月13日

 

 

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