Just finished the chapter - what am I going to use all this extra free time for now haha. The answer is more studying
Nishikata’s internal monologues definitely are the real tests here I think, I did breakdowns of two of them - both from page 11 - to aid me in understanding, but as usual I think it would be good for someone to look through and correct anything I may have got wrong. There’s also a little bit I’m not sure how to interpret in the second one. Otherwise I hope these can help people:
Chapter page 11 breakdown one
「笑わせようとしてる相手にどうやったら笑えるかを指導されるって・・・なんか屈辱」
笑わせようとしてる相手 = partner/opponent in trying to make (subject) laugh
I think here it makes most sense as something like “my opponent who I am trying to make laugh” given the context of the rest of the sentence
に = I’ve seen this termed as the particle of establishment and I like that phrasing - it’s establishing the idea of the opponent who Nishikata is trying to make laugh to be used in the rest of the setnence
どうやったら笑えるかを指導される
どうやったら how (can)
笑えるか = make (subject) laugh?
どうやったら笑えるか = how can (someone) make (someone) laugh - the か here indicating an internal question in the clause
を = direct object marker - the question of how to make someone laugh is the object
指導される = recieving guidance (from partner in trying to make someone laugh?)
って = here I believe this is functioning as a topic marker of sorts (you could also consider it as modifying the following noun phrase with what precedes it - ie: なんか屈辱 is modified by everything before the って)
笑わせようとしてる相手にどうやったら笑えるかを指導されるって = recieving guidance in how to make someone laugh from my opponent who I am trying to make laugh
なんか屈辱 = somehow embarassing
笑わせようとしてる相手にどうやったら笑えるかを指導されるって・・・なんか屈辱 = recieving guidance in how to make someone laugh from my opponent who I am trying to make laugh… it’s somehow embarassing
Chapter page 11 breakdown two
「いや、いいさ！高木さんが笑って、先生に怒られさえすればオレは！！」
いや、いいさ！= No, this is fine!
高木さんが笑って = Takagi-san laughs (with 笑って being conjuctive)
先生に怒られさえすれば = as long as (subject) recieves anger from the teacher
I’m going to guess that Takagi-san carries over as subject so now you have:
高木さんが笑って、先生に怒られさえすれば = as long as Takagi-san laughs and recieves anger from the teacher
The only thing I’m not entirely sure on is the オレは on the end. Is it a contrastive は? So it’d be following on from the conditional clause like “then I, on the other hand-”