In Japanese, the phrase A yō na can be used to modify nouns. One of the ways that an A yō na B construction can be used, is to lend a sense of indirectness to an expression. In this thesis, I will...Show moreIn Japanese, the phrase A yō na can be used to modify nouns. One of the ways that an A yō na B construction can be used, is to lend a sense of indirectness to an expression. In this thesis, I will investigate whether this sense of indirectness can be traced back in English translation, and what this can say about the features of the two languages. First, in order to grasp the diversity of usages of the A yō na B construction, I will provide an analysis of the several meanings, making use of a classification using the framework introduced in Takahashi (2009). Then, I will analyse within these categories how the construction can be translated. In order to do this, I will use a parallel corpus created from examples taken from a Japanese novel and its English translation. Finally, I will discuss my findings in the view of indirectness within language.Show less
