Difference between である and だ in the written form

Question

My grammar book states that である is used as copula in the written form to express ideas in a neutral fashion and that だ is also used in the written form to, quote, "sound more objective". But doesn't "sound more objective" = neutral point of view?

So, what are the different usages of である and だ in the written form?

Related: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/18692/9831 / https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/12374/9831 — Chocolate, Oct 04 '18 at 14:23
Ty! I saw the posts you mentioned but I thought for some reason they were referring to the usage of だ in the spoken language. — Davide La Vardera, Oct 04 '18 at 17:24

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 04 '18 at 14:27

1

According to "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar", page 32:

The plain forms are used in formal writing, for example, in professional articles and editorials. Although である style is more formal than だ style, the two styles are ofter used together.

So, である is more formal than だ.

edited Oct 04 '18 at 14:27

Chocolate

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answered Oct 04 '18 at 14:12

hisao m

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Ty! So, as pointed out by Chocolate, is safe to say that, apart from being more formal, だ more subjective than である? – Davide La Vardera Oct 04 '18 at 17:19

Difference between である and だ in the written form

1 Answers1