Use of でなんかいられるのか in this sentence


> こんな状況で、俺は勉学に励んで **なんかいられるのか**
> ？学費も特例で後払いを認めてもらったが、極悪組をどうにかしないことには、支払いもままならないだろう。

[speaker owes a lot of money to the bad guys, is being harassed]

> In this situation, (how can i ?) try to study? I've been granted special
> approval to defer my school fees, but if i don't do something about the bad
> guys, there's no way i can pay it.

I take てなんか as described in [なんか after て- form of a
verb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/4431/%e3%81%aa%e3%82%93%e3%81%8b-after-%e3%81%a6-form-
of-a-verb?noredirect=1&lq=1) ,

俺は勉学に励んでなんかいられるのか ＝ can it be that i (do such a thing like) focus on my
studies?

Very awkward to read going directly from なんか into いられる and nominmalizing it.
Is there a non-contracted form of this phrase?

Thank you.




> > こんな状況で、俺は勉学に励んで **なんかいられるのか** ？
>
> can it be that i (do such a thing like) focus on my studies?  
>  Is there a non-contracted form of this phrase?

It could be 勉学に励んで など いられる もの な の か if this could be of any help.

I take this **か** as self-questioning. The words sound like the speaker is
worrying about his own (near) future.

The なんか adds a nuance to treat the thing mentioned right before it lightly. In
this case, the speaker is degrading the activity of studying because other
things he's facing right now are more important or at least taking up too much
time and occupying his mind too much.

いられる is continued from 励んで. It's a form made from 勉学に励む, 勉学に励んでいる
(state/progression), and into 勉学に励んでいられる (potential/ability)

* * *

[Reply to the additional question]

> is that the case when it doesn't end in a negative statement? Compared to
> "adds emphasis against an assumption or statement by others and is used only
> in negative statements" from [なんか after て- form of a
> verb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/4431/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%8B-after-%E3%81%A6-form-
> of-a-verb?noredirect=1&lq=1)

I see that the point of the other thread is also degrading. I find the
degrading なんか is not limited to negative or questioning sentence:
うちの子なんか寝てばっかりです. なんか could assume a proud tone while appears to be degrading:
(I can't really come up with a good example, but for the time being..something
like) うちなんかまだこれからです. Also it's good to keep in mind that なんか is more informal
than なんて.

> **なんか**  
>  **２** ある事物を例示し、それを軽んじていう意を表す。…など。「彼の言うことなんか聞くな」「君になんかわからない」（[デジタル大辞泉 |
> なんか](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/165619/meaning/m1u/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%8B/)）
>
> **なんて**  
>  **１** ある事物を例示して、それを軽んじたり、婉曲 (えんきょく)
> に言ったりする意を表す。なんか。…などということは。「手伝いなんてできるか」「本気にするなんてばかね」（[デジタル大辞泉 |
> なんて](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/165854/meaning/m1u/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%A6/)）




> > こんな状況で、俺は勉学に励んで **なんかいられるのか** ？
>
> can it be that i (do such a thing like) focus on my studies?  
>  Is there a non-contracted form of this phrase?

It could be 勉学に励んで など いられる もの な の か if this could be of any help.

I take this **か** as self-questioning. The words sound like the speaker is
worrying about his own (near) future.

The なんか adds a nuance to treat the thing mentioned right before it lightly. In
this case, the speaker is degrading the activity of studying because other
things he's facing right now are more important or at least taking up too much
time and occupying his mind too much.

いられる is continued from 励んで. It's a form made from 勉学に励む, 勉学に励んでいる
(state/progression), and into 勉学に励んでいられる (potential/ability)

* * *

[Reply to the additional question]

> is that the case when it doesn't end in a negative statement? Compared to
> "adds emphasis against an assumption or statement by others and is used only
> in negative statements" from [なんか after て- form of a
> verb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/4431/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%8B-after-%E3%81%A6-form-
> of-a-verb?noredirect=1&lq=1)

I see that the point of the other thread is also degrading. I find the
degrading なんか is not limited to negative or questioning sentence:
うちの子なんか寝てばっかりです. なんか could assume a proud tone while appears to be degrading:
(I can't really come up with a good example, but for the time being..something
like) うちなんかまだこれからです. Also it's good to keep in mind that なんか is more informal
than なんて.

> **なんか**  
>  **２** ある事物を例示し、それを軽んじていう意を表す。…など。「彼の言うことなんか聞くな」「君になんかわからない」（[デジタル大辞泉 |
> なんか](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/165619/meaning/m1u/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%8B/)）
>
> **なんて**  
>  **１** ある事物を例示して、それを軽んじたり、婉曲 (えんきょく)
> に言ったりする意を表す。なんか。…などということは。「手伝いなんてできるか」「本気にするなんてばかね」（[デジタル大辞泉 |
> なんて](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/165854/meaning/m1u/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%A6/)）

