Socializing Identities through Speech Style: Learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language

by Haruko Minegishi Cook

Overview

Drawing on the perspective of language socialization and a theory of indexicality, this book explores ways in which learners of Japanese as a foreign language and their Japanese host families socialize their identities through style shift between the masu and plain forms in a homestay context. Going beyond the usual assumption that the masu form is a polite speech marker, the book analyzes the masu form as an index of various social identities and activities. The book discusses both socialization through speech styles and socialization to use an appropriate speech style. Qualitative analysis of dinnertime conversations demonstrates how learners are implicitly and explicitly socialized into the norms of style shift in Japanese in interaction with their host family members.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847691002
Publisher:	Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Publication date:	08/21/2008
Series:	Second Language Acquisition , #32
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Haruko Minegishi Cook is a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. She earned a PhD in Linguistics from University of Southern California. Her main research interests include language socialization, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and pragmatics. She has published in major journals and edited volumes and a number of articles on the Japanese sentence-final particles, honorifics, and style shift from a constructivist perspective.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction: Indexical Approach to Language and Language Socialization
Chapter 2. Social Meaning and Indexicality
Chapter 3. Functions of the Masu Form
Chapter 4. Identity Construction Through Use of the Masu Form: JFL Learners and Host Families
Chapter 5. Marked and Unmarked Uses of the Masu Form in the Homestay Context
Chapter 6. Explicit Language Socialization: Socialization to Use Polite Language
Chapter 7. Implications of the Study for L2 Pragmatics and Pedagogy
Chapter 8. Conclusion
References
Appendix 1
Appendix 2

Editorial Reviews

Based on a fine-grained analysis of situated interactional data, the volume is impressive in its theoretical depth and promises to make a multi-dimensional contribution to the field.

Eton Churchill

Based on a fine-grained analysis of situated interactional data, the volume is impressive in its theoretical depth and promises to make a multi-dimensional contribution to the field.

From the Publisher