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Chapter 3. A MOVABLE SELF: THE LINGUISTIC INDEXING OF UCHI AND SOTO

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Situated Meaning
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Chapter 3 A MOVABLE SELF: THE LINGUISTIC INDEXING O F UCHI AND SOTO PATRICIA J . WETZEL EDITORS' INTRODUCTION Patricia Wetzel's seminal paper challenges th e assumption tha t th e Τ o f Indo-European languages is th e universal deictic ground fo r al l dis -course. Sh e argues tha t in Japanese th e deictic anchor point o r ground is no t a n individual ego , bu t rather a collectively defined vantage point represented a s uchi. Wetzel focuses o n th e implications o f considering uchi a s a deictic anchor point, in allowing fo r th e development o f a mor e coherent account o f th e organization o f "person" in Japanese. Wetzel's reformulations hav e important consequences: sh e shows th e Indo-European paradigm o f first , second, an d thir d persons t o b e il l suited t o describing person in Japanese. Instead, person ca n b e consid-ered t o b e communicated more broadly tha n b y person terms. Uchi/soto 'in-group/out-group' distinctions ar e much more crucial tha n pro -nouns fo r delineating person in Japanese. Moreover, many 'in-group/ out-group' distinctions ar e signaled no t through nominal uchi/soto refer -ence bu t in a variety o f other ways, fo r example, through verbs o f giving and receiving, an d polite forms. Thus it is significant tha t reference t o 'in-group/out-group' b y politeness marking o n th e ver b outnumbers that o f pronouns b y a rati o o f te n t o one . Wetzel's reformulations ope n u p a number o f important ne w avenues for investigation. D o th e collectively defined deictic anchor point, an d the designation o f person vi a 'inside/outside' distinctions, hav e implica-tions fo r th e organization o f "self"? Th e designation o f uchi an d soto— who is 'in ' an d wh o is 'out'—depends o n th e constant calculations o f participants in particular situations. Shifts in their calculations create shifts in group boundaries, which ar e fluid, rather tha n static, an d there-fore differ markedly fro m Nakane's portrayal o f rigi d boundaries. Bu t what ramifications doe s group-based deixis hav e fo r th e social organiza-tion o f Japanese groups? Does th e process o f fluid, constantly shifting group boundaries characterize social a s wel l a s linguistic aspects o f Japa-nese group organization? These questions ar e pursued b y al l th e papers that follow.
© 2019 Princeton University Press, Princeton

Chapter 3 A MOVABLE SELF: THE LINGUISTIC INDEXING O F UCHI AND SOTO PATRICIA J . WETZEL EDITORS' INTRODUCTION Patricia Wetzel's seminal paper challenges th e assumption tha t th e Τ o f Indo-European languages is th e universal deictic ground fo r al l dis -course. Sh e argues tha t in Japanese th e deictic anchor point o r ground is no t a n individual ego , bu t rather a collectively defined vantage point represented a s uchi. Wetzel focuses o n th e implications o f considering uchi a s a deictic anchor point, in allowing fo r th e development o f a mor e coherent account o f th e organization o f "person" in Japanese. Wetzel's reformulations hav e important consequences: sh e shows th e Indo-European paradigm o f first , second, an d thir d persons t o b e il l suited t o describing person in Japanese. Instead, person ca n b e consid-ered t o b e communicated more broadly tha n b y person terms. Uchi/soto 'in-group/out-group' distinctions ar e much more crucial tha n pro -nouns fo r delineating person in Japanese. Moreover, many 'in-group/ out-group' distinctions ar e signaled no t through nominal uchi/soto refer -ence bu t in a variety o f other ways, fo r example, through verbs o f giving and receiving, an d polite forms. Thus it is significant tha t reference t o 'in-group/out-group' b y politeness marking o n th e ver b outnumbers that o f pronouns b y a rati o o f te n t o one . Wetzel's reformulations ope n u p a number o f important ne w avenues for investigation. D o th e collectively defined deictic anchor point, an d the designation o f person vi a 'inside/outside' distinctions, hav e implica-tions fo r th e organization o f "self"? Th e designation o f uchi an d soto— who is 'in ' an d wh o is 'out'—depends o n th e constant calculations o f participants in particular situations. Shifts in their calculations create shifts in group boundaries, which ar e fluid, rather tha n static, an d there-fore differ markedly fro m Nakane's portrayal o f rigi d boundaries. Bu t what ramifications doe s group-based deixis hav e fo r th e social organiza-tion o f Japanese groups? Does th e process o f fluid, constantly shifting group boundaries characterize social a s wel l a s linguistic aspects o f Japa-nese group organization? These questions ar e pursued b y al l th e papers that follow.
© 2019 Princeton University Press, Princeton

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. CONTENTS VII
  3. FOREWORD: SITUATED MEANING IX
  4. PREFACE XIII
  5. NOTE ON ROMANIZATION XV
  6. KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS AND ORTHOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS XVII
  7. CONTRIBUTORS XIX
  8. PART ONE. Indexing Self and Social Context
  9. Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION : UCHI/SOTO: CHALLENGING OUR CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF SELF, SOCIAL ORDER, AND LANGUAGE 3
  10. Chapter 2. THE TERMS UCHI ΑΝD SOTO AS WINDOWS ON A WORLD 38
  11. Chapter 3. A MOVABLE SELF: THE LINGUISTIC INDEXING OF UCHI AND SOTO 73
  12. Chapter 4. INDEXING HIERARCHY THROUGH JAPANESE GENDER RELATIONS 88
  13. Chapter 5. UCHI/SOTO: CHOICES IN DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS IN JAPANESE 113
  14. Chapter 6. INDEXING SELF AND SOCIETY IN JAPANESE FAMILY ORGANIZATION 143
  15. PART TWO. Failure to Index: Boundary Disintegration and Social Breakdown
  16. Chapter 7. UCHI NO KAISHA: COMPANY AS FAMILY? 169
  17. Chapter 8. THE BATTLE TO BELONG: SELF-SACRIFICE AND SELF-FULFILLMENT IN THE JAPANESE FAMILY ENTERPRISE 192
  18. Chapter 9. WHEN UCHI AND SOTO FELL SILENT IN THE NIGHT: SHIFTING BOUNDARIES IN SHIGA NAOYA’S “THE RAZOR” 209
  19. Chapter 10. UCHI/SOTO: AUTHORITY AND INTIMACY, HIERARCHY AND SOLIDARITY IN JAPAN 223
  20. PART THREE. Language as a Form of Life: Clines of Knowledge as Clines of Person
  21. Chapter 11. UCHI/SOTO: TI P OF A SEMIOTIC ICEBERG? ‚INSIDE‘ AND ‚OUTSIDE‘ KNOWLEDGE IN THE GRAMMAR OF JAPANESE 247
  22. INDEX 295
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691194455-008

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. CONTENTS VII
  3. FOREWORD: SITUATED MEANING IX
  4. PREFACE XIII
  5. NOTE ON ROMANIZATION XV
  6. KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS AND ORTHOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS XVII
  7. CONTRIBUTORS XIX
  8. PART ONE. Indexing Self and Social Context
  9. Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION : UCHI/SOTO: CHALLENGING OUR CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF SELF, SOCIAL ORDER, AND LANGUAGE 3
  10. Chapter 2. THE TERMS UCHI ΑΝD SOTO AS WINDOWS ON A WORLD 38
  11. Chapter 3. A MOVABLE SELF: THE LINGUISTIC INDEXING OF UCHI AND SOTO 73
  12. Chapter 4. INDEXING HIERARCHY THROUGH JAPANESE GENDER RELATIONS 88
  13. Chapter 5. UCHI/SOTO: CHOICES IN DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS IN JAPANESE 113
  14. Chapter 6. INDEXING SELF AND SOCIETY IN JAPANESE FAMILY ORGANIZATION 143
  15. PART TWO. Failure to Index: Boundary Disintegration and Social Breakdown
  16. Chapter 7. UCHI NO KAISHA: COMPANY AS FAMILY? 169
  17. Chapter 8. THE BATTLE TO BELONG: SELF-SACRIFICE AND SELF-FULFILLMENT IN THE JAPANESE FAMILY ENTERPRISE 192
  18. Chapter 9. WHEN UCHI AND SOTO FELL SILENT IN THE NIGHT: SHIFTING BOUNDARIES IN SHIGA NAOYA’S “THE RAZOR” 209
  19. Chapter 10. UCHI/SOTO: AUTHORITY AND INTIMACY, HIERARCHY AND SOLIDARITY IN JAPAN 223
  20. PART THREE. Language as a Form of Life: Clines of Knowledge as Clines of Person
  21. Chapter 11. UCHI/SOTO: TI P OF A SEMIOTIC ICEBERG? ‚INSIDE‘ AND ‚OUTSIDE‘ KNOWLEDGE IN THE GRAMMAR OF JAPANESE 247
  22. INDEX 295
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