When does ない become ぬ?


Does anyone know what to call the outdated, high form of language which will
say for example "ならぬ" rather than "ならない" or more accurately "だめだ"?

Specifically, I would like to know if there is a name for the dialect used by
Kuchiki Byakuya from the anime Bleach so that I can research it and learn it.
Features that I have noticed about the way he speaks:

  * Particles like "は" or "を" are never dropped, and ～ている never becomes ～てる even in fast or casual speech (not that I've ever heard him speak casually).

  * ～ない → ～ぬ.

  * ないだろう → なかろう.

  * そんなことはない → そんなことあるまい、そうはあるまい.

  * いい → よい.

  * お前、君 → 卿（けい）.

  * 質問する → 問う.

I realize all of these things can be put down to simply old or overly formal
language, but I want to be able to study it so as not to make non-native-
speaker errors when writing (I intend to write a fictional character who uses
such language). Thus, if anyone knows what to call this type of language (in
Japanese), I would really like to know.




> "Does anyone know what to call the outdated, high form of language which
> will say for example "ならぬ" rather than "ならない" or more accurately "だめだ"?"

We call it 「[文語体]{ぶんごたい}」 or 「文語[調]{ちょう}」("Literary style") as opposed to
「[口語体]{こうごたい}」 or 「口語調」 ("Colloquial style").

> "Specifically, I would like to know if there is a name for the dialect used
> by Kuchiki Byakuya from the anime Bleach so that I can research it and learn
> it. "

I just watched a YouTube video and he speaks 100% Standard.

> "Alternatively, if anyone is fluent enough to correct my usage, that would
> be equally helpful."

Native speaker here. All of your conversions look good except for 「そんなことあるまい」,
which sounds like a combination of 口語体 and 文語体 in that order. You would want
to stick with 「そうはあるまい」 or 「そのようなことはあるまい」. Strictly speaking, 「そんな」 is just
too colloquial to go with 「あるまい」 (even though one could expect to see/hear
such a combination in manga/anime).

