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<p>This study examined how Chinese JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) learners perceived and used Japanese emotional adjectives, focusing on subject restrictions and the role of inference markers. In Japanese, emotional adjectives are typically restricted to first-person subjects, while third-person expressions require inference markers such as<i> -sō</i> or <i>rasii</i> to indicate indirect emotional inference. To investigate this, we compared the acceptability judgments of 48 native Japanese speakers and 67 Chinese JFL learners across different proficiency levels, analyzing how learners adapted to these linguistic constraints. The results (see Fig.&#xa0;1) indicate that Chinese learners were more likely to reject third-person emotional expressions without inference markers, adhering more strictly to traditional Japanese norms compared to native speakers. As proficiency increased (see Fig.&#xa0;2), learners gradually developed a more refined understanding of subject restrictions and inference markers. Nevertheless, even among high-proficiency Chinese JFL learners, judgments of third-person emotional adjective sentences remained more conservative than those of first-person sentences, with ratings generally narrow ranging between − 1 (‘rather unnatural’) to + 1 (‘rather natural’). Additionally, the study highlights the influence of contemporary Japanese usage, where younger native speakers would exhibit greater acceptance of third-person emotional expressions without inference markers. This evolving linguistic trend appears to shape Chinese JFL learners’ adaptability, influencing how they navigate both formal and informal contexts in Japanese. These findings emphasize the importance of targeted instruction and exposure to diverse language input in facilitating learners’ acquisition of Japanese emotional expressions.</p>

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Acquisition of subject restrictions and inference in Japanese emotional adjectives among Chinese JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) learners

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月23日

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  • Xiaona Zhang,
  • Jingyi Zhang,
  • Ying Su,
  • Katsuo Tamaoka

摘要

This study examined how Chinese JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) learners perceived and used Japanese emotional adjectives, focusing on subject restrictions and the role of inference markers. In Japanese, emotional adjectives are typically restricted to first-person subjects, while third-person expressions require inference markers such as -sō or rasii to indicate indirect emotional inference. To investigate this, we compared the acceptability judgments of 48 native Japanese speakers and 67 Chinese JFL learners across different proficiency levels, analyzing how learners adapted to these linguistic constraints. The results (see Fig. 1) indicate that Chinese learners were more likely to reject third-person emotional expressions without inference markers, adhering more strictly to traditional Japanese norms compared to native speakers. As proficiency increased (see Fig. 2), learners gradually developed a more refined understanding of subject restrictions and inference markers. Nevertheless, even among high-proficiency Chinese JFL learners, judgments of third-person emotional adjective sentences remained more conservative than those of first-person sentences, with ratings generally narrow ranging between − 1 (‘rather unnatural’) to + 1 (‘rather natural’). Additionally, the study highlights the influence of contemporary Japanese usage, where younger native speakers would exhibit greater acceptance of third-person emotional expressions without inference markers. This evolving linguistic trend appears to shape Chinese JFL learners’ adaptability, influencing how they navigate both formal and informal contexts in Japanese. These findings emphasize the importance of targeted instruction and exposure to diverse language input in facilitating learners’ acquisition of Japanese emotional expressions.