Usage patterns of the Japanese discourse marker sorekoso : an intersubjective perspective

Kim, Kwangsung (author)

This study analyzes the Japanese discourse marker sorekoso, which signals emphasis and shared understanding in conversation, using the Japanese Topic-Oriented Conversation Corpus. Previous studies provided classifications and learner–native comparisons but did not offer systematic analysis from the perspective of intersubjectivity or distributional tendencies. Building on the notion of intersubjectivity as cognitive coordination, this study proposes four subtypes—textual, experiential, categorical, and orientational—and applies them to usages of sorekoso. The analysis shows systematic topic-based tendencies, indicating that sorekoso functions not merely as emphasis but as a discourse-structuring device that coordinates meaning through shared resources. These findings expand the scope of discourse-marker research and provide insights relevant to linguistic theory and pedagogy.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sorekoso, discourse marker, intersubjectivity, Japanese Topic-Oriented Conversation Corpus, cognitive coordination
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 9-40
• Numbering: Vol. 16, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-190479
• ISSN on article: 2232-3317
• DOI: 10.4312/ala.16.1.9-40
• Publication date in RUL: 04.11.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Acta linguistica asiatica
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-3317
• COBISS.SI-ID: 255902464

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Vzorci rabe japonskega diskurznega označevalca sorekoso : intersubjektivna perspektiva

Abstract

Študija analizira japonski diskurzni označevalec sorekoso, ki v pogovoru izraža poudarek in skupno razumevanje, na podlagi Japonskega korpusa tematsko usmerjenih pogovorov. Prejšnje raziskave so ponudile razvrstitve in primerjave med učenci in rojenimi govorci, vendar niso zagotovile sistematične analize z vidika intersubjektivnosti ali porazdelitvenih teženj. Na podlagi pojmovanja intersubjektivnosti kot kognitivne koordinacije študija predlaga štiri podtipe — besedilni, izkustveni, kategorialni in orientacijski — ter jih uporabi pri analizi rabe sorekoso. Analiza pokaže sistematične tematsko pogojene težnje, kar kaže, da sorekoso ne deluje zgolj kot sredstvo poudarjanja, temveč kot diskurznourejevalni pripomoček, ki koordinira pomen prek skupnih virov. Izsledki razširjajo področje raziskav diskurznih označevalcev in ponujajo vpoglede, pomembne za jezikoslovno teorijo in pedagoško prakso.

• Keywords: sorekoso, diskurzni označevalec, intersubjektivnost, Japonski korpus tematsko usmerjenih pogovorov, kognitivna koordinacija