Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/64761

The aim of this paper is to elucidate the underlying principle governing the use of the two conventional expressions of apology in Japanese, gomen nasai and gomen, within the politeness theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). Based on the politeness theory, this paper proposes a hypothesis that the relation between gomen nasai and its reduced form gomen is characterized as a shift from a negative politeness strategy to a positive politeness strategy. Given Brown and Levinson's idea that positive politeness strategies are used for FTAs smaller than those for which negative politeness strategies are used, this hypothesis predicts that gomen is used for FTAs smaller than those for which gomen nasai is used. It is shown that an analysis of data collected from a Japanese TV drama scenario confirms the prediction. This result indicates that the hypothesis is empirically supported.