Compilation of Japanese Basic Verb Usage Handbook for JFL Learners: A Project Report

Abstract

In this article we introduce a collaborative research project entitled "Nihongogakushuushayou kihondoushi youhouhandbook no sakusei (Compilation of Japanese Basic Verb Usage Handbook for Japanese as Foreign Language (JFL) Learners)" carried out at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL) and report on the progress of its research product, namely, a prototype of a basic verb usage handbook (referred to as "handbook" below). The handbook differs in many ways from the conventional printed dictionaries or electronic dictionaries available at present. First, the handbook is compiled online and will be made available on internet for free access. Secondly, the handbook is corpusbased: the contents of the entry are written taking into consideration the actual use of the headword using the BCCWJ corpus. Also, it contains illustrative examples of particular meanings culled from the BCCWJ corpus as well as those coined by the entry-writers. Third, the framework used in the description of semantic issues (polysemy network, cognitive mechanism underlying semantic extensions and semantic relationships among various meanings, etc.) is cognitive grammar, which adopts a prototype approach. Fourth, it includes audio-visual contents (such as audio files and animations/video clips etc.) for effective understanding, acquisition and retention of various meanings of a polysemous verb. Fifth, the handbook is bilingual (Japanese-Chinese, Japanese-Korean and Japanese-Marathi) and incorporates insights of contrastive studies and second language acquisition. The handbook is an attempt to share cutting edge research insights of various branches of linguistics with Japanese language pedagogy. It is hoped that the handbook will prove to be useful for JFL learners as well as Japanese language teachers across the globe.Keywords basic verbs; corpus-based; cognitive grammar; audio-visual contents; bilingual dictionary; multilingual dictionary 38 Prashant PARDESHI et al. IzvlečekČlanek predstavlja skupinski raziskovalni projekt z naslovom "Nihongogakushuushayou kihondoushi youhouhandbook no sakusei (Izdelava priročnika o rabi japonskih osnovnih glagolov za učence japonščine kot tujega jezika)", ki poteka na Državnem inštitutu za japonski jezik in jezikoslovje (National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics -NINJAL), ter poroča o trenutnem stanju raziskovalnega izida, t.j. prototipa priročnika o rabi osnovnih glagolov (v nadaljevanju "priročnik"). Priročnik se v marsičem razlikuje od običajnih tiskanih in elektronskih slovarjev, ki so trenutno dosegljivi. Prva značilnost je ta, da se priročnik ureja preko spleta in bo prosto dostopno objavljen na spletu. Druga je ta, da je priročnik osnovan na korpusih: pri redakciji gesel se upošteva dejanska raba iztočnic v korpusu BCCWJ, priročnik pa vsebuje tako primere rabe posameznih podpomenov, ki se črpajo iz korpusa BCCWJ, kot tudi primere, ki jih sestavijo redaktorji. Tretja značilnost je ta, da se semantični vidiki (pomenske mreže, kognitivni mehanizmi, ki b...

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