John Benjamins Publishing Company
The use and interpretation of “regional” and “standard” variants in Japanese conversation
Abstract
It is often said that language standardization has been steadily advancing in modern Japan and that speakers in regional Japan are now bi-dialectal and code-switch between “Standard” and “regional” Japanese. The notion of code-switching, however, assumes the existence of varieties, or well-defined linguistic systems, that are distinct from each other. In this study, I examine the use of “Standard Japanese” and “regional dialects” and argue that it is much more complex and dynamic than what can be possibly accounted for in terms of the notion of code-switching involving two distinct varieties. I explore an alternative account employing the notion of variant choice and characterize the social meanings of “Standard” and “regional” variants as context-dependent and as multiple and ambiguous.
Abstract
It is often said that language standardization has been steadily advancing in modern Japan and that speakers in regional Japan are now bi-dialectal and code-switch between “Standard” and “regional” Japanese. The notion of code-switching, however, assumes the existence of varieties, or well-defined linguistic systems, that are distinct from each other. In this study, I examine the use of “Standard Japanese” and “regional dialects” and argue that it is much more complex and dynamic than what can be possibly accounted for in terms of the notion of code-switching involving two distinct varieties. I explore an alternative account employing the notion of variant choice and characterize the social meanings of “Standard” and “regional” variants as context-dependent and as multiple and ambiguous.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction: Situating usage-based (Japanese) linguistics 1
-
Part 1. Cognition and language use
- Subordination and information status 13
- On state of mind and grammatical forms from functional perspectives 37
- Grammar of the internal expressive sentences in Japanese 55
- Subjectivity, intersubjectivity and Japanese grammar 85
- What typology reveals about modality in Japanese 109
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Part 2. Frequency, interaction and language use
- If rendaku isn’t a rule, what in the world is it? 137
- The semantic basis of grammatical development 153
- Interchangeability of so-called interchangeable particles 171
- The re-examination of so-called ‘clefts’ 193
- Activity, participation, and joint turn construction 223
-
Part 3. Language change and variation
- Context in constructions 261
- The use and interpretation of “regional” and “standard” variants in Japanese conversation 279
- Index 305
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction: Situating usage-based (Japanese) linguistics 1
-
Part 1. Cognition and language use
- Subordination and information status 13
- On state of mind and grammatical forms from functional perspectives 37
- Grammar of the internal expressive sentences in Japanese 55
- Subjectivity, intersubjectivity and Japanese grammar 85
- What typology reveals about modality in Japanese 109
-
Part 2. Frequency, interaction and language use
- If rendaku isn’t a rule, what in the world is it? 137
- The semantic basis of grammatical development 153
- Interchangeability of so-called interchangeable particles 171
- The re-examination of so-called ‘clefts’ 193
- Activity, participation, and joint turn construction 223
-
Part 3. Language change and variation
- Context in constructions 261
- The use and interpretation of “regional” and “standard” variants in Japanese conversation 279
- Index 305
