Editorial

Welcome to the Journal of Japanese Linguistics (JJL) Volume 38, Issue 2, which marks the completion of the fifth year since De Gruyter Mouton took over its publication. While JJL has grown considerably in recent years, its distant past included some tumult. Serving as the editor-in-chief over the last 10 years, I sometimes reflect on the journal’s long history since its inception in 1972. For example, there was a five-year hiatus in publication in the mid-1990s, for which the editors apologized at the time. Some delay was still the norm even when I took over the editorial office 10 years ago. Thanks to De Gruyter Mouton, however, the publication cycle is now stable and has even been expanded to a biannual format compared to its previous once-a-year publication. We are very appreciative of the current stability.

This stabilization is partially attributable to the inclusion of varied articles covering diverse critical linguistic issues, including bilingualism and Japanese language education. Readers of Volume 38, Issue 2 may have the impression that the journal’s content has a heavy theoretical orientation. Yet Volume 38, Issue 1 (special issue) mainly focuses on discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, applied linguistics, and language education. Readers will understand that when Issues 1 and 2 are combined, the current volume is balanced and continues to invite and publish works that examine a variety of linguistic areas.

A substantial expansion of the book review section has also contributed to the journal’s publication stability. In recent years, some researchers might have regarded book reviews as a genre that needs no apprenticeship. At JJL, however, since we believe that reviews with embedded critique require expertise, we have asked top experts and leaders in their fields to write our book reviews. Furthermore, JJL now publishes reviews of books written not only in English but also in Japanese. For instance, among the five book reviews included in the current issue, two recently published books – one in English and the other in Japanese – both involve Dr. Taro Kageyama, former Director-General of the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL). While both books focus on linguistic typology with some overlapping issues (e.g. verb–verb complexes in Old to Modern Japanese), they are complementary thanks to their significant differences. Verb–Verb Complexes in Asian Languages, in which Dr. Kageyama participates as an editor and chapter author (Chapters 1, 2, and 3), examines cross-linguistic similarities and differences among Asian languages. On the other hand, Individuals and Links in Language Typology includes comparisons of English and Japanese as well as comparisons among Asian languages, and also summarizes Dr. Kageyama’s lifework in this field.

Interestingly, Dr. Kageyama was involved in JJL’s early days. In fact, readers can enjoy reading JJL’s early volumes at the following link: https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/jjl/html. Without Dr. Kageyama’s personal collection (Volumes 1 through 11, in particular), preparing the complete set of entire publications would not have been possible. It is also worth remembering that Dr. Yoko Sugioka, who reviews Dr. Kageyama’s Individuals and Links in Language Typology was also on the JJL editorial board in the 1990s.

Finally, JJL’s continued stability and exceptional performance are, above all, thanks to the superb work of our reviewers and of our editorial board members. We deeply appreciate the following reviewers’ impassioned commitment to the manuscripts under consideration in 2022:

Yoshiyuki Asahi (NINJAL, Japan).

Hannah Dahlberg-Dodd (Tokyo College, Japan).

Kiyoko Eguchi (Osaka University, Japan).

Michael Harrington (University of Queensland, Australia).

Yoko Hasegawa (University of California, Berkeley, USA).

Mark Irwin (Yamagata University, Japan).

Noriko Iwasaki (Nanzan University, Japan).

Michiya Kawai (Huron University College/Western University, Canada).

Satoshi Kinsui (Osaka University/The Open University of Japan, Japan).

Mafuyu Kitahara (Sophia University, Japan).

Laurence Labrune (Bordeaux Montaigne University, France).

Hideki Maki (Gifu University, Japan).

Miho Mano (Naruto University of Education, Japan).

Kenjiro Matsuda (Kobe Shoin Women’s University, Japan).

Yo Matsumoto (NINJAL, Japan).

Mikinari Matsuoka (Mie University, Japan).

Shota Momma (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA).

Keiko Murasugi (Nanzan University, Japan).

Tatsuya Nakata (Rikkyo University, Japan).

Shigeko Okamoto (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA).

Prashant Pardesi (NINJAL, Japan).

Koichi Sawasaki (University of Shizuoka, Japan).

Katsumi Shibuya (Osaka University, Japan).

Rumiko Shinzato (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA).

Stefanie Stadler (Doshisha University, Japan).

Takae Tsujioka (George Washington University, USA).

Ayumi Ueyama (Kyushu University, Japan).

Toshiko Yamaguchi (University of Malaya, Malaysia).

Lindsay A. Yotsukura (University of Maryland, USA).

Etsuyo Yuasa (The Ohio State University, USA).

We look forward to receiving your work and your comments, and we welcome your involvement in JJL.