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Wearing embarrassment: television discourse and the ideologies of T-shirt English in Japan

  • Gavin Furukawa ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 29, 2023

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which symbolic English is used in fashion and mass media by indexing ideologies and expectations regarding language ability in Japan. One example of this is the popularity of English language T-shirts in Japan. Using English that is often widely criticized for being awkward or meaningless, these T-shirts are now often mocked in various media sources due to the increased flow of images across traditional nation-state boundaries. By examining the use of these English T-shirts in a Japanese variety show featuring a teen idol known for having English language ability this paper will show how the symbolic value of English T-shirts in Japan can be used to construct a hierarchy based on language ability within Japanese society and how television programs that use such items, take advantage of linguistic inability to increase embarrassment and stake for people heightening linguistic anxiety while at the same time discursively constructing the show and its staff in a positive light. This article examines this phenomenon and the ways in which these fashion items are then appropriated and denaturalized for entertainment both within and outside Japan through forms of mass-media such as television programs, books, and websites.


Corresponding author: Gavin Furukawa, Department of English Studies, Sophia University, 7-1 Kioi-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku 102-0094, Tokyo-To, Japan, E-mail:

Appendix: Transcription symbols

(( )) Rich description
> < Faster speed
under Emphasis
. TCU boundary lower tone
? TCU boundary raised tone
, TCU boundary slightly raised tone
Pitch raised
: Prolonged sound
$ $ Laughing voice
[ ]
[ ] Overlap
Overlapped across several lines
hh Intake of breathe
N Nominative
S Subject Marker
O Object Marker
CP Copula
QT Quotative
TP Topic Marker
COND Conditional
VOL Volitional
NEG Negative

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Received: 2022-08-31
Accepted: 2023-06-27
Published Online: 2023-11-29
Published in Print: 2023-11-27

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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