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Linguistic Strategies for Challenging Cultural Norms among Speakers of Japanese
Organizer: Hideko Nornes Abe, Colby College
Chair: Laura Miller, Loyola University
Discussant: Janet Shibamoto Smith, University of California, Davis
The field of Japanese language and gender has been researched vigorously for the last 30 years. Historically, it started with the notion that women and men speak differently in Japan; that women speak more politely or powerlessly due to their assigned roles; and that the category of ‘women’s speech’ exists. Various shortcomings of the past research mainly come from the assumption that linguistic patters were straightforward and fixed, thus ignoring the interactive aspect of linguistic patterns, such as manipulation and negotiation. This is precisely where the papers in this panel find their starting point. They seek to bring a dynamic picture of ‘fluid’ linguistic practices found among ‘gyaru [girls],’ gei [gay men], and speakers of Kansai dialect, all of whom challenge and resist the cultural norms embedded in language. This research targets speakers who have been excluded from mainstream sociolinguistic studies and examines the diverse aspects of linguistic configuration.
Negotiating cachet: Standard Japanese and Kansai women's linguistic practices
Cindi Sturtz Sreetharan, California State University-Sacramento
Research on Japanese women's language has focused largely on Standard Japanese. Few studies have explored the linguistic practices of Japanese women who have access to local dialects. Studies which have done so typically investigate dialects which are ideologically considered to be non-prestige dialects (e.g., Sunaoshi 2004). Investigations of prestige dialect speakers are few. This paper proposes to explore the ways in which female speakers of the Kansai dialect use language in informal contexts focusing particularly on stereotypically gendered language forms such as sentence final particles and verb morphology (e.g., honorifics). Using empirical data collected from women (ranging in lifestages from college/university students to retirees) currently residing in the Kansai region of Japan, this paper specifically examines the frequency and contexts of use with which women use dialect specific sentence final forms as well as Standard Japanese forms. Investigations of Kansai dialect speaking men have found that depending on the context of conversation, dialect final forms are preferred over Standard forms. Honorific verb morphology will also be explored with specific attention given to the frequency and contexts of use of ~haru, a form not considered part of the Kansai dialect but firmly belonging to the (neighboring) Kyoto dialect. Preliminary investigations reveal that some female speakers in the Kansai region rely heavily on this form in particular contexts rather than choosing (so-called equivalent) Standard Japanese forms. This paper hopes to provide increased insight (albeit preliminarily) into the ways in which prestige dialect speakers negotiate their linguistic practices using Standard and dialectal forms.
O-nee-kotoba ‘queen’s speech’: Unwanted speech practice among gay men
Hideko Nornes Abe, Colby College
O-nee kotoba (lit. ‘older sister’s speech’) is understood as a speech style commonly used by gay men in Japan. This style of speech shares some of the characteristics with the strong version of imagined/idealized Japanese “women’s speech”(e.g., the use of marked sentence-final forms and first person pronouns) and is marked and recognized among gay and straight communities in Japan. Taking o-nee kotoba as a socially positioned system of communication, this paper analyzes the characteristics of o-nee kotoba spoken in a play, in gay bars, and in interviews. It examines when, how, and why it is manipulated in interactions among gay men. This study tries to answer why the use of o-nee kotoba is, in most cases, perceived negatively among gay men, who generally try to avoid it because it imposes culturally imagined and reproduced notions of femininity upon them. However, it seems they cannot escape it completely. Everyone is subject to dominant ideology, and for gay men the default position in Japanese society is ‘woman.’ They reject that position, so the practice of o-nee kotoba is considered unwanted, thus negative. Instead, they emphasize the difference between a culturally imagined femininity and their own understanding of femininity, which is reflected in a twisted and exaggerated form of ‘feminine’ speech. O-nee kotoba is one of the sites where they resist their categorization as either ‘man’ or ‘woman.’
Subversive inscription and novel graphs in Japanese girls’ culture
Laura Miller, Loyola University Chicago
This paper will introduce contemporary Japanese “Girl Characters” (gyaru moji), a writing practice that originated in cell phone text messaging and email, but is now found in other girls’ media. Girl Characters are a straightforward syllabic graph substitution system combined with the use of deconstructed characters, iconic signs and emoticons. Girls are awash in script overabundance, but rather than be overwhelmed by it, it is technological bounty they exploit and embrace. When girls play with their writing system in this way they are doing more than simply engaging in creative writing innovation. They are also refusing to be the caretakers of beautiful calligraphy and are rejecting their role as custodians of “correct” language. In addition, their use of Girl Characters extends the boundary of what is considered written Japanese, thereby challenging the notion of written language as a standardized and shared system. By redefining the borders of linguistic possibility, girls are demonstrating resistance to the uniformity and predictability of standardized writing and print media.
Women, yelling and swearing: Breaking gender roles
Orie Endo, Bunkyo University, Japan
There is an expression used for women who behave beyond normative Japanese cultural expectations: ‘onna datera ni,’ which might be translated into English as ‘un-lady like’. The literal definitions of this phrase we find in Japanese dictionaries usually run along the lines of, ‘You are a woman, thus you must behave like a woman.’ Although one dictionary has opted to exclude ‘onna datera ni,’ most dictionaries list it and their definitions often deploy the phrase, ‘tanka o kiru’ (swear and yell). For example, an example of usage would cite, ‘Onna no kuse ni tanka o kiru’ (she is swearing and yelling, even though she’s a woman). By combining the two phrases these definitions themselves take a normative cast, enclosing women in restrictive gender roles. This paper explores the relationship between ‘onna datera ni’ and ‘tanka o kiru’. It will examine how they are used in social contexts and how they restrict women’s lives. In conclusion, this paper suggests alternative ways of expressing the phrases.