A cultural history of Japanese women's language / Endō Orie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Endō, Orie, 1938-

Series:

Michigan monograph series in Japanese studies ; no. 57.

Michigan monograph series in Japanese studies ; no. 57

Standardized Title:

Onna no kotoba no bunkashi. English

Language:

English

Japanese

Subjects (All):

Japanese language--Sex differences.

Japanese language.

Women--Japan--Language.

Women.

Japan.

Physical Description:

vii, 139 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor, MI : Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan, 2006.

Summary:

Among Japanese nostalgic for older times, as well as students and scholars of Japanese, it is commonly assumed that the Japanese language possesses special words reserved for women. Did these "women's words" actually exist at the very beginnings of the Japanese language? If such words were in fact part of the language, what kinds of attitudes and treatment toward women were inscribed in them? In her endeavor to address these questions, Endô Orie explores Japan's early literary works to discover what they have to say about the Japanese language. Among her most significant conclusions is the finding that "womanly" language in Japan was socially mandated and regulated only with the beginning of warrior rule in the Kamakura period. Now, in contemporary Japan, critics charge that women's language has lost its "womanly" qualities and has veered perilously close to men's language. However, if we look at the evidence of history, what we may actually be witnessing is a return to the origins of the Japanese language when no sexual distinctions were made between users.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 113-129) and index.

ISBN:

1929280394

9781929280391

OCLC:

71244050