Toward meanings of expressive indexicals: The case of Japanese demonstratives konna/sonna/anna

Demonstratives have been studied extensively in the field of pragmatics. This paper first identifies the methodological problems of the previous demonstrative studies, pointing out that they (1) pay too much attention to the referential function, (2) employ constructed examples to build abstract theories, and (3) examine only the distinctive uses and meanings of demonstrative types. For an understanding of demonstrative forms used in human interaction and as a practice among native speakers, a practice approach is introduced: studies applying this approach need to (1) employ token-level analysis, (2) view context as dynamic, and (3) focus on expressive meanings of demonstratives. As a case study, the analysis of this paper examines Japanese demonstrative konna/sonna/anna in naturally occurring discourse, and illustrates that the target forms have a powerful expressive function, expressing the speaker's various negative emotions, surprise, or humility. Then, I argue that the forms konna/sonna/anna index the expressive meaning as they avoid specifying the referent, which indicates the speaker's non-committal attitude in the same manner as other Japanese indirect expressions.