Re: Nanitozo

On Wed, 02 May 2007 19:38:26 +0900, John R. Yamamoto-Wilson wrote:

Cindy wrote:

Shitsurei shitemo yoroshiidesuka?

Absolutely, Cindy. Go ahead and be rude. I will rejoice.

I hope you realize that Cindy's expression is more polite than "Itte mo ii
desu ka?" You were the one to bring up illocutionary force. Here,
although the literal meaning suggests the speaker is going to be rude, the
illocutionary force is the opposite. It achieves politeness in several
ways. It uses the more polite yoroshii rather than ii. The question uses
the formal forms. The use of 'shitsurei' implies the speaker is humbling
herself by deferring to the listener. The implication is that the listener
is elevated and decides whether to excuse the speaker or not while the
speaker tacitly admits that departure might inconvenience the listener.

Phil Yff
.