Course Materials

No textbook is required for purchase. We will be reading research articles supplemented with selected book sections and handouts. We will also practice working with these technical readings by analyzing their organization, data presentation and arguments. Since we will be using authentic sources written by different scholars, keep in mind that there may be redundancy or sometimes discrepancies in how they use technical terms and conventions.

For some of these materials we may only discuss highlights, i.e., main points and selected details, rather than reading every section exhaustively. Some are used as reference sources. As you work on written assignments, you will be expected to do your own searches for secondary sources.

References (subject to change — see Canvas updates)

Backhaus, P. (2010) Multilingualism in Japanese Public Space – Reading the Signs. Japanese Studies, 30(3), 359-372.

Bauer, L., & Trudgill, P. (Eds.). (1999). Language Myths. UK: Penguin. [Myth 7, Myth 10, Myth 11, etc.]

Bonvillain, N. (2010). Language, Culture, and Communication: The meaning of messages. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. [Ch2, Ch3, Ch5]

Comrie, B. (2018). The World Major Languages. (3rd Ed) Routledge. [Ch 44 – Japanese, etc.]

Clancy, P. M. (1999). The socialization of affect in Japanese mother-child Conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 31(11), 1397–1421. [PDF on Canvas]

Dubinsky, S., & Davies, W. (2013). Language conflict and language rights: The Ainu, Ryūkyūans, And Koreans In Japan. Japan Studies Review 17:3-27. [PDF on Canvas]

Gottlieb, N. (2008). Japan: Language Policy and Planning in Transition. Current Issues in Language Planning, 9(1), 1–68. 

Hendry, J. (1992). Honorifics as dialect: The expression and manipulation of boundaries in Japanese. Multilingua 11, 341-354. [PDF on Canvas]

Iori, I. (2006). The enterprise of yasashii nihongo: For a sustainable multicultural society in Japan. Jinbun Shizen Kenkyu 10, 4-19. [PDF on Canvas]

Lebra, T. S. (1987). The cultural significance of silence in Japanese communication. Multilingua 6(4), 343-357. [PDF on Canvas]

Kavanagh, B. (2016). Emoticons as a medium for channeling politeness within American and Japanese online blogging communities. Language & Communication, 48, 53-65. [PDF on Canvas]

Kubota, R. (2008). Critical approaches to teaching Japanese language and culture. Japanese applied linguistics: Discourse and social perspectives. London: Bloomsbury. [PDF on Canvas]

Maynard, S. K. (1997). Japanese Communication: Language and Thought in Context. University of Hawaii Press. [pp.49-66, pp. 72-81]

Moody, A. J. (2006). English in Japanese popular culture and J-Pop music. World Englishes, 25(2), 209–222. [PDF on Canvas]

O’Grady, W., Archibald, J., Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (Eds.) (2009, 2017). Contemporary linguistics: An introduction (6th ed., 7th ed. ) Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, Macmillan Learning. [6th ed. Ch 6 – Semantics, Ch 8 – Change; 7th ed. Ch 8 – Typology]

Okamoto, S. (1995). “Tasteless” Japanese: Less feminine speech among young Japanese women. In K. Hall & M. Bucholz (Eds.), Gender articulated: Language and the socially constructed self, pp. 297-325. London: Routledge. [PDF on Canvas]

Okamoto, S. (2011). The use and interpretation of addressee honorifics and plain forms in Japanese: Diversity, multiplicity, and ambiguity. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(15), 3673–3688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.06.012

Otsuji, E., Pennycook, A. (2010).  Metrolingualism: Fixity, Fluidity and Language in Flux. International journal of multilingualism 7(3), 240-254. [PDF on Canvas]

Shibatani, M. (1990). The Languages of Japan. Cambridge University Press. [on reserve] [Ch 5, Ch6, Ch9]

Stanlaw, J. (2004). Japanese English: Language and culture contact. HK: Hong Kong University Press. [Ch 7]

Takahashi,M., & Calica, D. (2015). The Significance of English in Japanese popular music: English as a means of message, play, and character. Proceedings from Gengo shori gakkai 21.

Tsujimura, N. (2014). An introduction to Japanese linguistics. Wiley-Blackwell. [Ch 7]

Trask, L. (2010). Why do languages change? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Ch 1 “how”, Ch2 “why”]

Wetzel, P. (1988). Are “powerless” communication strategies the Japanese norm?: Parallel between female communication in the West and Japanese. Language in Society 17, 555-564. [PDF on Canvas]