Chapter 10. Metapragmatic discourse in self-help books on Japanese women’s speech
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Shigeko Okamoto
Abstract
Drawing on the indexical view of language (Agha 2007; Eckert 2008, 2012; Silverstein 1979, 2003), I reexamine the notion of (normative) linguistic femininity by analyzing metapragmatic discourse in self-help books on Japanese women’s speech. My analysis demonstrates that what is taught as ideal speech for women by self-help books is broader and more complex than the scholarly characterization of joseego ‘women’s language.’ Based on the findings, I discuss the role of language ideology in the process of linking linguistic forms and social meanings, the multiplicity and variability of indexical meanings, the importance of sexuality for linguistic femininity, the coordination of multiple linguistic and extra-linguistic features to index social meanings, and the use of linguistic (and extra-linguistic) features as creative indexes.
Abstract
Drawing on the indexical view of language (Agha 2007; Eckert 2008, 2012; Silverstein 1979, 2003), I reexamine the notion of (normative) linguistic femininity by analyzing metapragmatic discourse in self-help books on Japanese women’s speech. My analysis demonstrates that what is taught as ideal speech for women by self-help books is broader and more complex than the scholarly characterization of joseego ‘women’s language.’ Based on the findings, I discuss the role of language ideology in the process of linking linguistic forms and social meanings, the multiplicity and variability of indexical meanings, the importance of sexuality for linguistic femininity, the coordination of multiple linguistic and extra-linguistic features to index social meanings, and the use of linguistic (and extra-linguistic) features as creative indexes.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Dedication vii
- Foreword xi
- Acknowledgement xv
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Grammar
- Chapter 1. Reason-coding in Japanese 17
- Chapter 2. Amari/anmari/anma and totemo/tottemo in history and discourse 49
- Chapter 3. The form and meaning of the dangling mitaina construction in a network of constructions 75
- Chapter 4. “Late projectability” of Japanese turns revisited 99
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Part II. Interaction
- Chapter 5. Superiors’ directives in the Japanese workplace 125
- Chapter 6. Negotiating entitlement in Japanese 149
- Chapter 7. From subjectivity to intersubjectivity 173
- Chapter 8. Ne as an “impoliteness” (“detachment”) marker? 197
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Part III. Culture
- Chapter 9. Genre and the cultural realms of taste in Japanese, Korean, and U.S. online recipes 219
- Chapter 10. Metapragmatic discourse in self-help books on Japanese women’s speech 245
- Chapter 11. Linguistic nationalism and fictional deception 267
- Chapter 12. How does a non-native Japanese literary writer dissimulate and diversify the Japanese language? 289
- Subject index 309
- Name index 311
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Dedication vii
- Foreword xi
- Acknowledgement xv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Grammar
- Chapter 1. Reason-coding in Japanese 17
- Chapter 2. Amari/anmari/anma and totemo/tottemo in history and discourse 49
- Chapter 3. The form and meaning of the dangling mitaina construction in a network of constructions 75
- Chapter 4. “Late projectability” of Japanese turns revisited 99
-
Part II. Interaction
- Chapter 5. Superiors’ directives in the Japanese workplace 125
- Chapter 6. Negotiating entitlement in Japanese 149
- Chapter 7. From subjectivity to intersubjectivity 173
- Chapter 8. Ne as an “impoliteness” (“detachment”) marker? 197
-
Part III. Culture
- Chapter 9. Genre and the cultural realms of taste in Japanese, Korean, and U.S. online recipes 219
- Chapter 10. Metapragmatic discourse in self-help books on Japanese women’s speech 245
- Chapter 11. Linguistic nationalism and fictional deception 267
- Chapter 12. How does a non-native Japanese literary writer dissimulate and diversify the Japanese language? 289
- Subject index 309
- Name index 311
