There are to opponents with swords about to start a battle and one of them
asks the other:

始めてみるか

Does it sound more like "are we going to (try to) start" or "are you going to
(try to) start in a condescending tone? I think it is the first option, for
the second option a name or a 2nd person pronoun would be necessary. Am I
correct?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-03-31T22:23:38.640
99140
2023-04-01T06:03:12.023
40705
question
subjects context
Who's the subject in this short sentence?
Shall we fight then ? (the opponent is the subject) (with the nuance of
teasing/ provoking people like :"What are you waiting for ? Hit upvote and
accept my answer !! " )
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2023-04-01T06:01:33.697
99144
2023-04-01T06:01:33.697
42363
99140
answer
In this case, the subject could be either the speaker or the listener, but
it's important to note that based on context, the conveyed meaning **does not
change** for either subjects.

> 俺が始めてみるか (monologue, saying to self: should I start and see?)  
>  お前、始めてみるか (saying to other: you! start and see?)

Either way, you know these two are gonna fight. The Japanese language is
largely dependent on context and is inherently ambiguous. (Ex. 社長に紹介されます. Who
is doing the introduction?) So, we have to always speak from context when
looking at meanings of sentences. In this case, the conveyed meaning does not
change for either subject. If the meanings were to change with the subject,
then people can deduce which one is the intended meaning from the context.
Since there are two different meanings(unlike this case), one must be much
more likely over the other from context. If both are equally likely, then the
speaker must re-word something to clear the ambiguity. Just like in the
example 社長に紹介されます.

> 社長に紹介されました I was introduced to the boss (by someone).  
>  社長に紹介されました I was introduced by the boss (to someone).

Here, without more sentences to give more context, two meanings are equally
likely. But with `始めてみるか` and the context that `opponents with swords about to
start a battle`, there is no ambiguity at all. Who's the exact subject then,
you ask? Sorry, I don't think that even a native speaker can answer that
question for you, as **the Japanese language is inherently ambiguous**.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-01T06:03:12.023
99145
2023-04-01T06:03:12.023
39855
99140
answer