Languages & Cultures of East Asia
Trad 101, Sections
18-19-20-21 Fall 2000
Lecture Outline, 11/29/00 - Rhetorical structure
sounds -> words -> sentences -> discourse
phonology
the sound system
morphology
the internal structure of words
how words are formed
syntax
how words are put together
discourse
how sentences are put together to form larger
units, discourse
rhetorical structures = organizational principles of discourse
English rhetorical structures?
Japanese rhetorical structures
delay main points
seek collaboration
avoid confrontation
reader responsible (guess work)
English: straight linear (go directly from topic to conclusion)
Oriental: circular (go in circles before reaching a conclusion)
Japanese discourse organization
3-part (English too)
initial
middle
final
5-part (traditional: Buddhist)
beginning
leading
main point
supplement
conclusion
4-part (ki-shoo-ten-ketsu)
comes from four-line Chinese poetry
ki = topic presentation
shoo = development
ten = surprise turn
ketsu = conclusion
Story about the daughters of Itoya (the thread shop)
ki: Daughters of Itoya in the Motomachi of Osaka
shoo: The elder daughter is sixteen, and the younger one is fifteen.
ten: Feudal Lords kill (the enemy) with bows and arrows.
ketsu: The daughters of Itoya "kill" (the men) with their eyes.
parenthesis? Noun ellipsis
No hint at the beginning of where it's going
The ten throws American off
The point comes at the end
different rhetorical styles
-> negative judements about personality,
intelligence
Japanese discourse
illogical
contains no conclusion
"English" discourse
unsophisticated, inelegant
oversimplified
condescending
inconsiderate
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