掲示板 Forums - New "because" linking N3 lesson

Formality in Japanese isn't binary. People naturally mix formal and casual forms depending on tone, topic, or who they're talking to. Usually in casual or neutral settings, since you have more freedom there. It's formal contexts where you're expected to stay consistent.

Edit: I think it's called "style shifting", but I'm not super familiar with the technical stuff.

Wait for the semi-casual group conversation where EVERY ONE, even japanese, get confused, mix and match "polite" speech as well as using that so-called "style shifting" and also having their own speech manner/habit...

In that case, I'm sorry but about 50% is just random

Because Japanese are also human and even them struggle with "polite" speech especially in those case. Because they don't even have the time to measure the so-called "distance" (amongst other things).

But except for that 50% part in this precise case, there are a lot of fun things that happen and also fun to understand (and even in this case there still 50% that are not random).

First, I know it's not really explained like that but using です or ます doesn't result in "polite speech" in imo. です/ます are not inherently polite word in my opinion. It's closer to what you could call "neutral/normal speech with stranger". And after, there is the です or ます sentences with a "stiff/tense" tone. And you can really feel it, if you didn't know, you would believe that they are ready to go to war honnestly. And I believe that's the true starting point of "polite" speech. But before that, it's more like "normal" or "casual" speech. Beyond that is the "true polite" speech which is really consistent. And from that point, it can become really complexe. There even is a another so-called tense, other than ます, that express politeness but it's not really introduced like that at first (at least, I think but since I didn't study that way and I kinda unterstand the pedagogical intention, I will not spoil it). And past that point, most japanese don't feel confident in that kind of speech.


Anyway, before that ます/です "stiff/stone" tone sentence, "style-shifting" (not sure if it can apply to everything I will said but I will use it for simplicity) is far from being only about "politeness". It can be but most of the time, it's more about playfully break or change the pace of the conversation for various reasons.

In your case, I'm 90% sure that it's not about politeness but "emphasis". Like I said before "true polite" polite speech start with that "tense/stiff" tone. And japanese are really sensible to that. They will immediatly react and adopt that same stance. I would say it's closer to a reflex than a conscious change. And because Japanese are more or less conscious of that, they often use it purposefuly/playfuly.

Here, ですから is a kind of "BECAUSE OF THAT..." instead of a "Because of that" (It's not that strong here but it's that kind of effect). It's break the pace of the conversation, wake up the interlocuteur. Throwing "random" words, speech level is a common tool in most languages and it's used for various effect. And in japanese, it's particulary effective because of that steep step (the "stiff/tense" tone shift) as well as the various level of speech + a few things.

I have another exemple that I personally used with a メンヘラ friend. メンヘラ was a derogatory term but now, it's often used to just describe people that want "too much attention" from their girlfriend/boyfriend or even everyone. There even people that describe themselves as メンヘラ. Anyway, while I was doing a few things, I received a message saying "構って！構って、構って、構って、構って、構って、構って、構って" (was closer to some spam than a message but anyway). And that means just "Pay attention to me". And this time, instead of giving in, I decided to fight back a bit and answered:

"え、誰ですか？彼女？"

You may think "Ah, there is 'です', polite speech!" but the only translation there is here is:

"Who the hell are you? My girlfriend?" (you can replace a certain word in this sentence by another one and it will be more accurate)

Absolutely nothing is polite here, it's even rude or rough. です does not increase the politeness of the sentence but the "distance". It has a "cold answer" feeling. And sure enought, she laught and said ひどい after that ("you're awful" kinda). So it can also be used for comical purpose.


Another one that I LOVE but am also sad about is:

"あなたはいい人です"

Like あなた is often presented as "rude" but here, the あなた + pace breaking です in the middle of a conversation is probably one of the best combo to convey "NO, YOU TRULY ARE a good person". And in a society where everyone humbles themselves, or even beat themselves to the ground, you need that kind of sentence.

Anyway,
I could talk about those things for hours. The opposite also exist btw (using "rude" word in the middle of normal conversation). Using non-polite words + some kansai-ben with some rudimentary 突っ込み skill (a kind of humor) is one of the best way to make japanese laught. Even if you're not good with humor, just saying that you know some sentences like "何しとんねん？" ("what the hell are you doing?" in kansai ben) will get you some laught

Laslty, learning politeness is more about "learning how to break the rule in order to understand the rule" kind of thing for me. Honnestly, it's far easier to understand the "weight" of polite speech as well as the "playfulness" of non polite speech that way. Not necessarily by breaking the rule yourself but at least by observing how japanes break the rule (or pace) of a conversation in a casual/normal conversation. Just the shift of tone (which exist in every language) will help a lot. Just listen to those kind of conversation for a year on youtube and you will be at least able to percieve 90% of those things (or even understand them).

PS: I talk too much and it may be overwhelming but that's just me. You don't need to remember anything here in order to understand those things. But it does takes time and exposure on the other hand.