Stem-form + する - How does this work?


I saw this recently and can’t find anything about it online with a simple
Google search. I’m assuming it’s literally stem-form as a nominal being done
(する), sans a particle. I find this this rather odd. Can someone explain this
better? Thank you in advance.

Ps. The exact example in question:

日本語でお話ししましょう。




It appears that the comments have addressed the question. However, since the
comments didn't point to any existing JSE threads, and since I cannot find one
that directly talks about this construction, I'll add in a proper explanatory
answer post for future reference.

This gets a bit long, out of necessity. :)

### Humble forms

> Stem-form + する - How does this work?

The sample text 「お話ししましょう」 clarifies that this should be a bit more
specifically:

> お + Stem-form + する - How does this work?

This is the basic way of constructing the **humble verb form**.

Most of us probably encounter the phrase おねがいします very early on in our Japanese
language studies. This is constructed the same way.

> お + ねがい (the stem of verb ねがう, "to wish for something") + します

For the question's sample text:

> お + はなし (the stem of verb はなす, "to talk, to speak") + します

### Respectful forms

While we're at it, and since it's very similar in construction, let's also
look at one way of creating an **respectful verb form**.

At a simpler level, we can use a construction very similar to the humble form
above -- all we need to do is replace the します with に + なります.

> お + はなし (stem form of verb はなす, "to talk, to speak") + に + なります  
>  おはなしになります

... but why would we even use either of these? For that, we have to dive into
something called _keigo_.

### _Keigo_ or "honorific language"

Both "humble" and "respectful" forms are part of what is called 敬語【けいご】 (
_keigo_ , "honorific language").

_Keigo_ is simply part of how the Japanese language is organized.

For English, one of the key organizing factors is **who is doing the action**.
Verbs inflect or conjugate (change form) based in part on the identity of the
_actor_ : is it "I", "he / she / it", or "you / we / them"?

> I **am** , he / she / it **is** , you / we / them **are**

For Japanese, one of the key organizing factors is **who is talking to whom,
and about whom**. Verbs infect or conjugate based in part on the identity of
the _speaker_ and the _actor_ in relation to the _listener_.

> **する** (friends, casual), **します** (colleagues or strangers, polite),
> **いたします** (strangers, formal, about themselves or their group), **なさいます**
> (strangers, formal, about the listener or their group)

If you're at all familiar with other European languages, most of these still
have something roughly analogous to _keigo_ , albeit simpler -- the
distinction between the two forms of "you". French has its _" tu"_ and _"
vous"_, Spanish its _" tú"_ and _" usted"_, German its _" du"_ and _" Sie"_,
and Czech its _" ty"_ and _" vy"_.

English _used to_ have this, back in Elizabethan times: _" thou"_ was both the
singular and the intimate / casual, while _" ye"_ was the plural and the
formal / polite.

#### The basics of verb forms and "politeness"

When English speakers are taught beginning Japanese, pretty much everyone
starts with the so-called " _‑masu_ form" of verbs, things like します ("to do")
and はなします ("to talk, to speak") and です (the basic "to be" verb: "is / am /
are"). This is often called 丁寧語【ていねいご】 ("polite language"), and it's probably
the most "neutral" verb form, appropriate in most social circumstances.

Later on, teachers will introduce the so-called "plain form" of verbs, things
like する and はなす and だ. This is the basic form of verbs and is used for
dictionary listings. This is also a more "intimate" or "close-in" verb form,
appropriate for use among friends or closer acquaintances, people who are part
of your closer social group.

Broadly speaking, _keigo_ involves the more "formal" or "distanced" verb
forms, appropriate when talking to people more clearly outside of your own
social group.

#### The basics of _keigo_

Lots of English-language materials I've seen over the years talk about
"politeness" and relative social superiority. However, "up" and "down" isn't
really the right way to look at it -- the social
[deixis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deixis) of Japanese grammar is much
more about "inside" and "outside", with respect to whether someone else is
part of the same group, and how intimate / close they are. When talking to
someone who is definitely outside of your group, such as when talking to a
customer, someone from another school or company, or even in a formal setting,
you would possibly use _keigo_. This is essentially the next level that is
"more polite" or "more formal" than the " _‑masu_ form".

#### In-group and out-group

When using _keigo_ to talk to someone from outside your group, you use
different verb forms to talk about an "inside person", such as yourself or
someone else within your group, as compared to talking about an "outside
person", such as the listener or someone else from their group or some other
group.

In Japanese, the forms used to talk about an outside person are called
尊敬語【そんけいご】 ("respectful language"), and the forms used to talk about an inside
person are called 謙譲語【けんじょうご】 ("humble language").

### Complicated? You betcha!

_Keigo_ can get super complicated, with lots of "suppletive" verb forms.
_([Suppletion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppletion) is where a totally
different word or root shows up and_ supplements _or adds on a form or
grammatical function that was missing, or_ replaces _an existing form. See the
linked Wikipedia article for more.)_ One common case of honorific suppletion
is turning the verb いきます ("to go") into completely unrelated verb いらっしゃいます
("to go") for respectful use, or another completely unrelated verb まいります ("to
go") for humble use.

→ If you're worried about using _keigo_ correctly, **you're not alone!** It's
complicated and easy to get wrong. There are even books about it written in
Japanese for Japanese speakers to learn how to use _keigo_ more appropriately.
The お + `[VERB STEM]` + します or なります constructions described above might be the
easiest way to get into _keigo_.

As with anything, study and practice will help. Good luck!

