In the previous article, some readers may have noticed that the first of Matsushita Daizaburō’s five parts of speech is “interjection.” In the nine-part scheme, the interjection is usually placed last. Why did Matsushita make it the first part of speech? We read the reason, and the true nature of “kore” and “sore,” in Hyōjun Nihon Bunpō. (English renderings of the quotations are ToL translations.)
Intuition and concept
Matsushita divides the movement of the mind in two. When we see a thing, an “idea” arises in the mind. When that idea is just the appearance as seen, it is an intuitive idea. When that idea is compared with other ideas and only what they share is extracted, it becomes a concept.
From this he divides words in two.
直観詞は直観的観念を表はし概念詞は概念を表はすものである。
(Intuitive words express intuitive ideas; conceptual words express concepts.)
And he takes the intuitive words out of the words and makes them the first part of speech.
吾々は多数の単性詞中より此の直観詞を取出して之を第一の品詞とし、名づけて感動詞といふ。
(From among the many tansei-shi, we take out these intuitive words, make them the first part of speech, and name them the interjection.)
Examples of interjections
The examples of interjections that Matsushita gives are as follows.
| Examples | |
|---|---|
| Literary language | aa, yayo, isa, ana, ide, ube, aware, iza, totsu, awaya, ina, kaka |
| Spoken language | a (I see), e (what?), yaa (well!), sate (now what), oya (how odd), saa (let’s go), hehee (indeed), fufun (don’t make me laugh), and so on |
Matsushita writes that the spoken language has a very large number of interjections. (The parenthetical glosses are Matsushita’s.)
“Kore” should be a pronoun, but …
Then what about pronouns? Matsushita says of pronouns:
代名詞は自己は概念を表はすがその指示されるものは概念ではなくて直観的の観念である。
(A pronoun in itself expresses a concept, but what it points to is not a concept but an intuitive idea.)
For example, even if you look at a mountain and say “are” (that), you are not pointing at the concept of mountain but at the intuitive idea of the mountain before your eyes, he says. The person who hears, too, sees the mountain pointed to as “are,” and gains the intuition of that mountain in the mind.
So pronouns point at the intuitive. If so, they easily turn into interjections, the words of intuition. Saying this, Matsushita gives these examples.
「これ（こら）」何をする。「あれ（あら）」どうしよう。「それ（そら）」持つて行け。「どれ（どら）」帰らう。の「」は感動詞である。
(In “Kore (kora), nani o suru,” “Are (ara), dō shiyō,” “Sore (sora), motte yuke,” “Dore (dora), kaerō” — what is in the brackets is an interjection.)
For example, the kore of “Kore, nani o suru” is not standing in for any name. The act of pointing has become voice as it stands and come out of the mouth. Matsushita caught this shift as the changeability of words: from pronoun to interjection.
Doubt about “a word that stands for a name”
Matsushita also raises doubts about the earlier explanation of pronouns.
Earlier grammars defined the pronoun as “a word that stands in place of a name.” Matsushita says this is too broad. Words like mono and koto (formal nouns) can also be said to “stand in for a name,” yet they are not pronouns. The pronoun should be separated clearly, he holds, as a noun that points to an intuitive idea.
(Matsushita’s threefold division of nouns — proper nouns, pronouns, formal nouns — we see in Close reading 2.)
What to keep in mind when reading
First, this is one account of the uses of “kore,” not the only account. How present dictionaries and grammars treat the calling use of “kore,” we have not checked in this article. But that Matsushita clearly saw the two faces of “kore” — the pointing face and the face that becomes voice — is certain from the original.
Second, the distinction between “intuition” and “concept” is based on Matsushita’s way of thinking about the movement of the mind. The bold arrangement of putting the interjection as the first part of speech also comes from that way of thinking. Even if one does not accept that way of thinking as it stands, the observation that “kore” has both a pointing function and a voice function is still worth reading.
Summary
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Intuitive words | Words that express intuitive ideas. Taken out as the first part of speech, “interjection” |
| Conceptual words | Words that express concepts |
| Pronouns | Express a concept in themselves, but point to an intuitive idea. Easily turn into interjections |
| Examples | “Kore (kora), nani o suru.” “Are (ara), dō shiyō.” “Sore (sora), motte yuke” |
| Earlier definition | “Stands for a name” is too broad; mono and koto can also stand for a name |
In a nutshell — Matsushita Daizaburō saw the closeness of pronoun and interjection in the fact that “kore” has a pointing function and can also turn straight into voice.