Identifikasi Tindak Tutur dengan Fungsi Berjanji dalam Novel Konbini Ningen Karya Sayaka Murata

Abstract

This study describes commissive speech acts, specifically promises (約束の発話ない行為 yakusoku no hatsuwanai koui), in Sayaka Murata’s Konbini Ningen (Convenience Store Woman), using a qualitative descriptive approach. The analysis focuses on the forms, functions, and social meanings of promises within the interactions among characters. Eleven utterances containing promises were analyzed in terms of social context, linguistic form, and Japanese sociocultural values such as wa, enryo, giri, and uchi/soto. The findings reveal that explicit promises are often expressed formally as declarative forms like 「誓います」‘chikaimasu’ ‘I swear’, while implicit ones use mitigations such as 「考えてみるね」‘kangaetemiru ne’ ‘I’ll think about it’, reflecting hesitation and relational sensitivity. Promises function to maintain social harmony and reinforce character identity within modern Japanese cultural norms.