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I'm pretty sure I understand the usage of「である」 here:

ピアニストである私{わたし}の姉{あね}は、いつも手{て}に怪我{けが}をしないように気{き}をつけています

My sister, a pianist, is always careful not to injure her hands. (My translation)

But I'm wondering if that usage is appropriate in all cases. For one, my understanding is that「である」is literary-sounding and wouldn't typically be used in speech. Is that the case here, or is that only relevant in the sentence-ending case? Are there other alternatives with the same meaning? For instance, could something like「のある」 or「の」be used in place of that「である」?

Shane
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  • Tangential question: the application of the description `ピアニストである` seems ambiguous. That is, it seems like it may be applied to either `私` or `私の姉`. Of course the context makes it clear, but in another situation, would there be a better way to specifically indicate the sister? Maybe `私のピアニストである姉`? Although that sounds funny/wrong to me. – istrasci Jan 07 '13 at 03:32
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    @istrasci I think if you insert a comma, it becomes acceptable. `私の、ピアニストである姉は` (of course in this particular case 私の itself may well be unnecessary). However, I wouldn't say that it's better, unless confusion is a serious possibility. – Hyperworm Jan 07 '13 at 03:43
  • If you have _A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar_, see page 33. It gives an example where `NのN` is acceptable in place of `NであるN`. (I am not sure what counterexamples exist, if any, so I can't write an answer at the moment.) –  Jan 07 '13 at 07:14
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    Just for people who aren't aware, I think it's worth pointing out that である is the 連体形{れんたいけい} (attributive form, i.e., what you see in a relative clause) of the copula だ. In modern Japanese the 連体形{れんたいけい} and 終止形{しゅうしけい} (terminal form) are the same for things like 形容詞{けいようし} (-i adjectives), but in the case of the copula we have である for the 連体形{れんたいけい}, which is why it's showing up in this relative clause (and why you would never see *ピアニストだ私). Of course, である does have a formal feeling to it, which is why one does not always see the 連体形 of だ being used so often. – Darius Jahandarie Jan 18 '13 at 15:50

2 Answers2

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This is not an answer but a collection of comments based on my personal feeling, but I post it as an answer because it is too long for a comment.

First, here are two clear facts:

  • のある simply does not have the same meaning as である. ピアニストのある私の姉 is incorrect.
  • Replacing AであるB with AのB sometimes causes ambiguity. For example, ピアニストの姉 can mean either “(my) sister, who is a pianist” or “a sister of a pianist” depending on the context.

Now I will move on to a less clear part.

I agree with you that AであるB sounds a little too formal for a casual conversation (although I would not call it “literary”). In a casual conversation, I would probably avoid a relative clause in this case and say something along the following.

姉がピアニストなんだけど、いつも手に怪我をしないように気を付けているよ。
My sister is a pianist, and she is always careful not to injure her hands.

The same meaning as AであるB can be also expressed by AのB in some cases, and I agree that AのB can be less formal than AであるB. But in your case, I find using の in place of である less natural:

? ピアニストの私の姉は、いつも手に怪我をしないように気を付けています。

Unfortunately, I do not know why I feel it less natural than ピアニストである私の姉.

Tsuyoshi Ito
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4

My thought went along the line of Tsuyoshi's, but here is another comment:

On top of である being a bit more formal, I also feel that である tends to be used more in nonrestrictive relative clauses, whereas の tends to be used more in restrictive relative clauses:

ピアニストである姉は… My sister, who is a pianist, ... (nonrestrictive use)
ピアニストとドラマーの姉がいるんだけど、ピアニストの姉は…　I have a sister who is a pianist and one who is a drummer. My pianist sister ... (restrictive use)

This isn't a hard rule, just tendencies that I feel. Obviously this will sometimes clash with the "である is more formal" pattern, so if you wanted to use a nonrestrictive relative clause in colloquial speech, e.g.

I, being a pianist, ...

the restrictive/nonrestrictive tendency might speak in favor of

ピアニストである私は…

whereas the formality of である might speak in favor of

ピアニストの私は…

Read here if you're unsure about the restrictiveness thing.

dainichi
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