Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology Cultural Models and Real People [Paperback]

Japanese Language, Gender and Ideologyis a collection of previously unpublished articles by established as well as promising young scholars in Japanese language and gender studies. The contributors to this edited volume argue that traditional views of language in Japan are cultural constructs created by policy makers and linguists, and that Japanese society in general, and language use in particular, are much more diverse and heterogeneous than previously understood. This volume brings together studies that substantially advance our understanding of the relationship between Japanese language and gender, with particular focus on examining local linguistic practices in relation to dominant ideologies. Topics studies include gender and politeness, the history of language policy, language and Japanese romance novels and fashion magazines, bar talk, dictionary definitions, and the use of first-person pronouns. The volume will substantially advance the agenda of this field, and will be of interest to sociolinguists, anthropologists, sociologists, and scholars of Japan and Japanese.

Exciting... This book is an important and refreshing addition to the existing work on Japanese language and gender. It not only scrutinizes the language and gender topic from a newer and broader perspective but it also aims at and succeeds in showing the reader that Japanese language and gender research is a continuous dynamic rather than a sequence of unrelated stages. In addition to these, the book also introduces the reader to the work of a number of key Japanese scholars who have influenced the research on language and gender in Japan and put it on a sounder, more innovative track but whose work has not been readily available in English. ...fresh, interesting, and groundbreaking. --Linguist List 16.1676

Shigeko Okamotois Professor Linguistics and Japanese in the Department of Linguistics, California State University, Fresno.