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> 目立つ事を恐れ、一緒でなければいけないという日本人が確実に減ってきているのです。
>
> The strong feelings that Japanese have of being afraid of standing out and
> everybody having to do things together are starting to become less
> prominent.

To better understand this sentence, I tried to translate it myself more
literally, and came up with this:

> The "being afraid of standing out, always having to do things together "
> kind of Japanese person is definitely starting to decrease.

I am wondering if my interpretation of 確実 is correct. I usually know it as
"certainly" and I guess in the original translation it kind of got spread
towards "prominent". I'm also wondering if the 減ってきているのです could have been
written as 減ってきています。Does the のです add meaning to the sentence? I'm not sure if
these kind of questions are discouraged on this site, so please tell me if I'm
out of line.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-02T05:14:01.477
3349
2012-05-01T22:44:40.227
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
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question
grammar translation words formal-nouns
How is the "のです" working here?
According to Haomi Hanaoka McGloin `んです・のです` functions to mark information as
_known_ in the context of the discourse. `のです` allows the speaker to present
information _as if_ it were shared information. Depending on the context and
type of sentence, the specific meaning varies however. There seem to be at
least five different ways it can be used. In this instance I think the
sentence is stated as an explanation.

  1. Explanation type of usage: 

> すみません、でも私たちも急いでいるんです。  
>  Please excuse us. However (it is that) we are in a hurry as well. (T)
>
> アップルパイでもどうですか。あなたのために焼いたんです。  
>  Wouldn't you like some apple pie? (It is that) I baked it for you. (T)
>
> おれはただ、友達を待ってるんです  
>  (It is that) I'm just waiting for a friend. (T)

Especially if you include the sentences that precede the one of the question
(which comes from <http://www.alc.co.jp/>), it seems to fit the pattern:

>
> それでは、ここ数年“イケてる女子高生”が異常発生した背景について説明します。まず日本全体が変わってきているのだと思います。目立つ事を恐れ、一緒でなければいけないという日本人が確実に減ってきているのです。
>
> So, I'd like to **explain** the background behind the epidemic of "stylish
> high school students" of these last few years. First of all, I think (it is
> that) Japan has started to change. (It is that) there are definitely fewer
> and fewer Japanese who are afraid to stand out and must do things together.

Other forms of usage that Hanaoka McGloin mentions are the following.

  2. Conjecture: used in questions or with `でしょう`. It is used when there is reason to assume that something is the case:

> トナーが切れてるんですか？  
>  (Is it that) we have run out of toner? (T)

Hanaoka McGloin gives:

> 雨が降ってるんですか。  
>  Is it that it is raining? (someone thinks it might be raining).

And contrasts it with:

> 雨が降っていますか。  
>  Is it raining? (neutral question)

And she warns that in neutral information questions with no hint as to what is
the case, `ん・のです` is **wrong** :

> 「もしもし、田中さんはいますか。」

can not be asked as

> *「もしもし、田中さんはいるんですか。」

  3. If there is no explanation, or conjecture, it might be **rapport**. It might resemble English "you know" or show an emotional involvement: 

> そうなんです。  
>  That's _right_.
>
> 電話中なんですよ。  
>  I'm on the phone! (T)

  4. In sentences with から it can have a reproachful tone: 

> 彼は、まだ新人なんだから大目に見てやれよ。  
>  Since he is new, do go easy on him. (T)

  5. In `んですが` or `んですけれど` it can be "back-grounding" of information, introducing useful information for what follows:

> 最初は別々だったんですがある日一緒行き帰りするようになりました。  
>  At first we used to go separately, but one day we started going and
> returning together. (T)

Finally Hanaoka McGloin warns that `んです・のです` can be offensive, because of the
possible suggestion that the other should have known, as in point 4 for
example, or in Hanaoka McGloin's example:

> A: 私がやりましょうか。  
>  A: "Shall I do it?"
>
> B: いえ、私がやるんです。  
>  B: "No, I am going to do it" [and you should have known that]

Most examples (T) from <http://tatoeba.org/>. Explanation adapted from Naomi
Hanaoka McCloin's /A students' guide to Japanese Grammar/ (Taishukan
Publishing Company, 1989).
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-11-09T11:27:30.200
3685
2012-05-01T22:44:40.227
2012-05-01T22:44:40.227
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answer