Japanese language instruction and the question of ‘‘correctness’’
-
Yuka Ando
Abstract
All Japanese language instructors experience the fact that their own language use in the classrooms differs significantly from their regular way of speaking, and attribute the differences to the fact that they use more ‘‘correct’’ Japanese in the classrooms. The concept of ‘‘correctness’’ which is based on Standard Japanese (Hyōjungo), however, often leads the instructor not only to overcorrect the Japanese usage of their students but also to overlook the fact that their own usage includes forms they do not tolerate in their students’ speech. This apparent contradiction gives us an opportunity to reconsider the very concept of ‘‘correctness’’ instead of just assigning high priority to correctness at the expense of ignoring normal speech performance. By presenting a number of examples of Japanese constructions that are treated as mistakes in the classroom but observed relatively frequently among native speakers including myself, the notion of ‘‘correctness’’ is critically examined with regard to its significance for Japanese language instruction. The relationship between Hyōjungo and correctness as well as that of the codified norms and language change are discussed, special attention being given to the effects of the written norm on speech. On the basis of these considerations, this article argues for an awareness change toward a new notion of correctness with latitude. Some concrete didactic strategies are put forth to introduce this notion into the JFL classroom.
Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- Changing language regimes in globalizing environments
- Sociolinguistic perspectives on emerging multilingualism in urban Europe
- Japanese language policy from the point of view of public philosophy
- Labor migration and the language barrier in contemporary Japan: the formation of a domestic language regime of a globalizing state
- Metroethnicity, language, and the principle of Cool
- Signs of multilingualism in Tokyo — a diachronic look at the linguistic landscape
- Politics, the media, and Korean language acquisition in Japan
- Econolinguistic aspects of multilingual signs in Japan
- Japan as a host country: attitudes toward migrants
- Regional dialect and cultural development in Japan and Europe
- Language ideology in JFL textbooks
- Beyond keigo: smooth communication and the expression of respect in Japanese as a Foreign Language
- Learning to read and write in Japanese (kokugo and nihongo): a barrier to multilingualism?
- Japanese language instruction and the question of ‘‘correctness’’
- Interactional expectations and lingusitic knowledge in academic expert discourse (Japanese / German)
- Foreigners and the Japanese in contact situations: evaluation of norm deviations
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- Changing language regimes in globalizing environments
- Sociolinguistic perspectives on emerging multilingualism in urban Europe
- Japanese language policy from the point of view of public philosophy
- Labor migration and the language barrier in contemporary Japan: the formation of a domestic language regime of a globalizing state
- Metroethnicity, language, and the principle of Cool
- Signs of multilingualism in Tokyo — a diachronic look at the linguistic landscape
- Politics, the media, and Korean language acquisition in Japan
- Econolinguistic aspects of multilingual signs in Japan
- Japan as a host country: attitudes toward migrants
- Regional dialect and cultural development in Japan and Europe
- Language ideology in JFL textbooks
- Beyond keigo: smooth communication and the expression of respect in Japanese as a Foreign Language
- Learning to read and write in Japanese (kokugo and nihongo): a barrier to multilingualism?
- Japanese language instruction and the question of ‘‘correctness’’
- Interactional expectations and lingusitic knowledge in academic expert discourse (Japanese / German)
- Foreigners and the Japanese in contact situations: evaluation of norm deviations
