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Was casually browsing through the Wikipedia page on modern Japanese literature
and came across this line that has been bugging me for a bit. For context,
I've included a bit of the beginning of the sentence, followed by the part I'm
interested in bolded:

> 言文一致の結果、日本語の書き言葉は、それまで日本文学において重きをおかれていた漢文の伝統から切り離され、明治中期には現代の日本語の書き言葉に直接連なる
> **文体が確立した** 。

Any time I've come across the verb 確立する, it's always been presented as a
transitive verb (他動詞), with を specifying what is being established. One
example would be something like 「方針を確立する」.

Yet in the quoted passage above, it looks to me as though 確立する is functioning
as an intransitive verb (自動詞). I understand the passage to read as:

> As a result of the unification of written and spoken Japanese, written
> Japanese was separated from the tradition of _kanbun_ , which, up until
> then, had held significance in Japanese literature; and a formal writing
> style directly related to the modern Japanese written language **was
> established** during the middle of the Meiji period.

Once again, I've bolded my translation of 確立する. I've translated it as "was
established" (even though I appreciate it's not a passive verb in this
context) mainly because I can't figure out how to make the verb work as a
transitive verb in translation.

Can this verb function as either an intransitive _or_ a transitive verb given
specific contexts? I know that's not necessarily true of all する verbs. I also
wonder if perhaps I've mistranslated as a result of assuming that 確立する must be
an intransitive verb in this context.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-24T14:09:34.823
65684
2019-02-24T21:10:15.213
2019-02-24T15:32:16.760
32706
32706
question
translation verbs transitivity
Can「確立する」function as an intransitive verb?
Yes, 確立する can be either transitive or intransitive. From 明鏡国語辞典 第二版 (emphasis
mine):

> かく‐りつ【確立】
>
> 《名・ **自他** サ変》基礎となる物事などを、しっかりとうち立てること。また、しっかりと定まって動かないこと。
>
> 「制度［名声・信頼関係］を／が━する」

Not quite sure why the online dictionaries (デジタル大辞泉, 大辞林 第三版, etc.) don't
label the transitivity.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-24T21:10:15.213
65692
2019-02-24T21:10:15.213
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer