Usage of noun-modifying である


I'm pretty sure I understand the usage of「である」 here:

> ピアニストである私{わたし}の姉{あね}は、いつも手{て}に怪我{けが}をしないように気{き}をつけています

My sister, a pianist, is always careful not to injure her hands. (My
translation)

But I'm wondering if that usage is appropriate in all cases. For one, my
understanding is that「である」is literary-sounding and wouldn't typically be used
in speech. Is that the case here, or is that only relevant in the sentence-
ending case? Are there other alternatives with the same meaning? For instance,
could something like「のある」 or「の」be used in place of that「である」?




This is not an answer but a collection of comments based on my personal
feeling, but I post it as an answer because it is too long for a comment.

First, here are two clear facts:

  * のある simply does not have the same meaning as である. ピアニストのある私の姉 is incorrect.
  * Replacing AであるB with AのB sometimes causes ambiguity. For example, ピアニストの姉 can mean either “(my) sister, who is a pianist” or “a sister of a pianist” depending on the context.

Now I will move on to a less clear part.

I agree with you that AであるB sounds a little too formal for a casual
conversation (although I would not call it “literary”). In a casual
conversation, I would probably avoid a relative clause in this case and say
something along the following.

> 姉がピアニストなんだけど、いつも手に怪我をしないように気を付けているよ。  
>  My sister is a pianist, and she is always careful not to injure her hands.

The same meaning as AであるB can be also expressed by AのB in some cases, and I
agree that AのB can be less formal than AであるB. But in your case, I find using の
in place of である less natural:

> ? ピアニストの私の姉は、いつも手に怪我をしないように気を付けています。

Unfortunately, I do not know why I feel it less natural than ピアニストである私の姉.

