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Constructing fluid relationships through language: A study of address terms in a Japanese drama and its pedagogical implications

  • Yoko Yonezawa EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 6, 2019
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Abstract

This study investigates address practices among family members in a Japanese TV drama. It qualitatively analyses not only a speaker’s culturally normative use of address terms but also his/her deviations from the norm, including the use of terms that are atypical in Japanese communication. The study sheds light on dynamic aspects of interaction in Japanese in which the speaker creates meaning and constructs fluid relationships with other interlocutors through the use of address terms. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed, along with the value of using telecinematic discourse in teaching, to give learners of Japanese a socio-pragmatic understanding of address practices.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the anonymous JJL reviewers for their constructive and valuable comments and suggestions for improving this article. My gratitude also goes to Associate Professor Duck-Young Lee, Dr. Naomi Ogi and Dr. Nara Lee from the Australian National University for their constructive suggestions during the study. Last, but not least, I would like to thank Dr. Nerida Jarkey from the University of Sydney for her most valuable advice and fine editing of glossing in this article. Any errors are my sole responsibility.

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Article note

This article is based on a paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Practical Linguistics of Japanese (ICPLJ10) held at the National Institute for Japanese Language & Linguistics on July 8 and 9, 2017.


Published Online: 2019-11-06
Published in Print: 2019-11-26

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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