#878 'Hone wo oru' (breaking bones) and recursive transitive verbs from Radiotalk

The term 'recursive' sounds refreshing.

When we say 'hone wo oru,' it is generally interpreted as breaking one's own bones rather than someone else's. In linguistics, this phenomenon where an action returns to the subject is called 'recursion.' We introduce the unique mechanism of expressions where the speaker's own body becomes the object of change.

It seems different from breaking a pencil.

Even though the verb 'oru' (to break) is the same, there is a significant nuance difference between breaking a pencil and breaking one's own bones. We learn that the expression 'hone wo oru' has the intriguing property of being grammatically transitive in form, while functioning closer to an intransitive verb in meaning.

We also touch upon involuntary bodily changes.

This recursive transitive usage is also applied to actions that happen regardless of one's will, such as 'me wo samasu' (waking up) or 'kuchibiru wo furuwaseru' (trembling lips). In the middle of the episode, the personality raises a sharp question regarding the validity of the phrase 'sleeping with eyes open' found in a certain book. For more on how subtle differences in language reflect our perceptions, please listen to the full episode.