Language and Society in JapanLanguage and Society in Japan deals with issues important to an understanding of language in Japan today, among them multilingualism, language and nationalism, and literacy and reading habits. It is organised around the theme of language and identity, in particular how language is used to construct national, international and personal identities. Contrary to popular stereotypes, Japanese is far from the only language used in Japan, and does not function in a vacuum, but comes with its own particular cultural implications. Language has played an important role in Japan's cultural and foreign policies, and language issues are intimately connected both with technological advance and with minority group experiences. Nanette Gottlieb is a leading authority in this field. This 2005 book builds on and develops her previous work, and promises to be essential reading for students, scholars, and all those wishing to understand the role played by language in Japanese society. |
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accessed activities Ainu culture Ainu language areas Buraku Liberation League Burakumin century Chinese communication context countries course debate developed dialect dictionaries disabilities discriminatory documents English ethnic example foreign language gairaigo global groups guage high school hiragana Hokkaido increase international language Internet issues Japan Foundation Japanese language Japanese society Japanese writing system kambun kana kanji katakana Kokugo Shingikai Korean language and identity language in Japan language policy learning literacy loanwords Maher major Meiji Period MEXT Ministry of Education minority modern National Language Council native speakers newspapers Nihongo Nihonjinron non-Japanese number of characters Okinawan Okinawan language okurigana overseas particular person postwar read and write referred relating role sangokujin saw in Chapter script reform social speak speech spoken standard language survey taught tion today's Tokyo University users women word processor writing system zainichi
Popular passages
Page 47 - The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.
Page 53 - Language planning is the activity of manipulating language as a social resource in order to reach objectives set out by planning agencies which, in general, are an area's governmental, educational, economic, and linguistic authorities
Page 54 - Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behaviour of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of their language codes
Page 122 - To become functional a technology has to find a place within the moral economy of the household specifically in terms of its incorporation into the routines of everyday life. That incorporation may release time for other things (see Gershuny, 1982); it may facilitate 'control...
Page 53 - Most scholars limit the term language planning to "the organized pursuit of solutions to language problems, typically at the national level
Page 84 - ... most difficulty with mastering the over 4,000 On/Chinese and Kun/ Japanese readings of Kanji. If so, they may still be able to read popular magazines and newspapers with sufficient comprehension, for one can often obtain the meanings of some Kanji without being able to read them correctly aloud. So, the mastery of Kanji by Japanese students and adults is far from perfect, despite the effort and time expended on it. Kanji are extraordinarily complex and confusing, in shape, meaning, and especially...
Page 2 - ... the Japanese language is somehow purer, and has been less involved in the course of its history with the normal process of language change and language mixture that has been the common fate of all other known human languages; or that the Japanese language is endowed with a distinctive character or special inner nature that makes it possible for Japanese society to use it for a variety of supralinguistic or nonverbal communications not enjoyed by any other society — a variety of communication...
Page 151 - Toward a definition of language planning. In: J. FISHMAN (ed.), Advances in language planning. The Hague, Mouton, 1974, 101-24.
Page 13 - English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL...
Page 30 - ... Maintaining Japanese identity as English becomes the language of the global economy was discussed in the 2002 Japanese Minister of Education's report, "Developing a strategic plan to cultivate 'Japanese with English Abilities'."30 The report recognized the importance of English in the global economy: "With the progress of globalization in the economy and in society, it is essential that our children acquire communication skills in English, which has become a common international language, in...
Bibliographic information
| Title | Language and Society in Japan Contemporary Japanese Society Language and Society in Japan, Nanette Gottlieb |
| Author | Nanette Gottlieb |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2005 |
| ISBN | 0521532841, 9780521532846 |
| Length | 169 pages |
| Subjects | › › Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics Social Science / Regional Studies Social Science / Sociology / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |