Japanese Language And Culture

Kurumada, C. and Jaeger, T.F. 2012. Communicatively efficient language production and case-marker omission in Japanese. The 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci12). Sapporo, Japan. July, 2012.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Feel free to cite. For page numbers, pls see the CogSci Proceedings webpage.

Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission.... more Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission. Speakers tend to provide more linguistic signal for information that is difficult to recover while omitting or reducing contextually inferable elements. However, previous findings in support of this hypothesis have been claimed to be compatible with alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty, therefore not requiring reference to communicative efficiency. We present two recall-production experiments on Japanese speakers’ preference in optional object case-marking that test the predictions of communicative efficiency accounts, while ruling out alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty. We find that speakers of Japanese are more likely to mark objects with case, if the referential properties of the object (Experiment 1) or the combination of subject, object, and verb (Experiment 2) bias against the intended assignment of grammatical functions. Together the experiments provide evidence that speakers prefer to provide case-marking if the intended interpretation of the sentence is unexpected or implausible.

'Tough Guys Don't Use Diphthongs': Diphthong Repair Strategies in Three Japanese Dialects

by Monique Murphy

Different dialects of Japanese have varying levels of tolerance when it comes to diphthong surfacing. Standard... more Different dialects of Japanese have varying levels of tolerance when it comes to diphthong surfacing. Standard Japanese allows almost all diphthongs to surface faithfully, while Kagoshima Dialect and a masculine dialect dubbed Tokyo 'Tough Guy' Dialect, do not allow diphthongs on the surface. Kagoshima Dialect allows only short monophthongal vowels, while Tokyo 'Tough Guy' Dialect allows long monophthongal vowels (displaying compensatory lengthening) in the place of a diphthong. This paper proposes an optimality theoretic analysis to account for the three strategies used by these dialects to resolve the marked construction that is the diphthong.

The effect of relational mobility on SNS user behavior : A study of Japanese dual-users of Mixi and Facebook

by Robert Thomson

The Journal of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies, 14 (2012): 3-22

Previous studies have shown clear cultural differences in how Japanese and American social network site (SNS) users... more Previous studies have shown clear cultural differences in how Japanese and American social network site (SNS) users interract with differing SNS platforms (see Barker and Ota, 2011; Fogg and Iizawa, 2008; Takahashi, 2010). In this study of 131 Japanese SNS users who use both Facebook and Mixi, self-disclosure, numbers of contacts, in-group numbers, and levels of perceived commitment on Mixi and Facebook were measured. The study found that such users showed a lower level of self disclosure, connected with fewer people and had fewer categories of contacts, and felt a higher degree of commitment on Mixi than on Facebook. It is suggested that these differences stem from differing responses to percieved relational mobility on each platform; Mixi being a socioecological environment which reflects low-relationally mobile Japanese society, and Facebook being a socioecological environment which reflects high relationally mobile North American social environments.

The Floating World

by Aileen Mason

Laying down the law: Teachers’ use of rules.

by Gregory Bornmann

On JALT 95: Curriculum and Evaluation. (Proceedings of the JALT International Conference), Nagoya, Japan, November 1995

This paper offers an analysis of the way rules function in the classroom by applying insights generated by recent... more This paper offers an analysis of the way rules function in the classroom by applying insights generated by recent debates in legal theory. Members of the Critical Legal Studies (CLS) movement have been particularly adept at identifying the logical contradictions which are pervasive in legal discourse. These contradictions—between formal rules and ad hoc standards; between subjective values and objective facts; between intentionalism and determinism—render all legal disputes problematic. CLS theorists have also devoted a great deal of effort to demonstrating that law and society are interpenetrating, and thus inseparable. For this reason, the classroom as a basic social institution offers especially fertile ground for legalistic analysis.

源氏物語英訳における各種アプローチの比較的考察―異国文化のドメスティケーション

by Thomas McAuley

published in 『世界の中の『源氏物語』―その普遍性と現代性』, 2010

Alexis Littlefield - An Obsessive’s Guide to Tea Obsession - 2011

by Alex Littlefield

Alexis Littlefield - An Obsessive’s Guide to Tea Obsession - 2011

by Alex Littlefield

Conventions and intentions: Speech Act Theory in an intercultural context

by Gregory Bornmann

Journal of Kibi International University, 4, 199-208. March 1994.

An ideological critique of speech act theory may help us to understand some of the differences that exist between... more An ideological critique of speech act theory may help us to understand some of the differences that exist between American and Japanese communicative contexts. Cross-cultural studies of particular speech acts suggest an ongoing conflict between politeness and sincerity, convention and intention. Convention and intention are logically incompatible, as they can offer conflicting explanations for the same utterance. But as Derrida (1977) demonstrates, determinations of meaning oscillate unstoppably between these two models. The model which is emphasized will vary from context to context, and from culture to culture. We may infer th at the Japanese interpret many speech acts by reference to social conventions, with little regard for sincerity. However , we may also infer that Americans, focusing on intention, often have an idealized and therefore unrealistic view of their own speech behavior due to what Pratt (1986) calls "the ideology of sincerity:'

The practice of theatre: Kitamura So and Project Navi

by John D Swain

Unspeakable Acts: The Avant-Garde Theatre of Terayama Shūji and Postwar Japan (review)

by John D Swain

Crossing in teacher-pupil interaction: teacher-pupil interaction: Use of stylised South Asian Japanese by bilingual pupils (Pre-conference paper in Japanese)

by Rika Yamashita

In Japanese. March 2012.
Pre-conference paper for the 29th Biannual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Sociolinguistic Sciences.

Reconceptualising English in the Japanese Language as an L2 Lexical Resource for Teachers and Learners

by Keith Barrs

IN BETWEEN THE KEYS JOURNAL: A paper about the potential of conceptualising the English vocabulary found in the Japanese language as a useful pedagogical resource for both students and teachers.

Unlocking the Encoded English Vocabulary in the Japanese Language

by Keith Barrs

IN ENGLISH TODAY JOURNAL:A paper about the extensive English language vocabulary encoded in the Japanese language in the katakana script.

The Japanese linguistic landscape is a dynamically vibrant area with words and phrases appearing in a vast array of... more The Japanese linguistic landscape is a dynamically vibrant area with words and phrases appearing in a vast array of locations written in a wide range of scripts, fonts, sizes and colours, and all serving a complex and interconnected array of functions. This visual landscape of shop signs, street signs, advertising posters, information boards and vending machines is complemented by a similar vibrancy and dynamism in more private domains such as restaurant menus, product packaging, clothing, newspaper articles, magazine stories and TV advertising. Immediately striking an observer of these contexts is the fact that, although the Japanese language has a highly complex writing system incorporating an admixture of logographic, syllabic and alphabetic characters, a great many of the words and phrases in Japanese social contexts are transcribed in Latin alphabet characters. Because the vast majority of these lexical items are either direct imports of words from the English language (often termed ‘loanwords' or ‘borrowings') or domestic creations based on English vocabulary (often termed ‘wasei eigo'/‘Japan-created English'), those who are familiar with the English language are assisted in their orientation around Japan by this pervasive use of English-based vocabulary.

The Japanese Language Press in Hawaii

by Ryan Ozawa

Danwa modariti [Discourse Modality]

by barbara pizziconi

Places and roles of women in modern Japanese religion: a case study from Tenrikyo

by Sarah Morrigan

Originally submitted as part of course requirement; for possible future publication upon improvement.

Tenrikyo, one of the oldest and most well-known of so-called “new religious movements” (NRMs) in Japan, emerged from a... more Tenrikyo, one of the oldest and most well-known of so-called “new religious movements” (NRMs) in Japan, emerged from a rural village of Nara, Japan, founded by a woman of an agricultural household, Nakayama Miki. With a peasant woman as the foundress and the chief medium of the God the Parent, and its doctrinal emphasis on social justice, it is tempting to make an assumption that Tenrikyo is not unlike some liberal Protestant churches in North America where feminist theology wields a significant influence and women are working in all levels of church leadership. As with Christianity, it is likely that a more patriarchal elements crept into Tenrikyo as it established itself as an officially recognized Sect Shinto denomination and surviving the trying periods of the early 20th century.

Pursuing the Ancient Shinmyōken

by Luke Crocker

draft only, independent research.

As initiated by a late night discussion, this short essay was originally going to be a short transcript, but then it... more As initiated by a late night discussion, this short essay was originally going to be a short transcript, but then it grew as I looked for more sources and use of the term 心妙剣 in relation to Buddhism, bujutsu and ninjutsu.

This is a rather early stage and will be better compiled in the future.

Automatic estimation of speaking rate in multilingual spontaneous speech

by François Pellegrino

The Flux of Domesticity and the Exotic in a Wartime Melodrama

by Chikako Nagayama

2009. Published in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 34(2).