The mysterious address term anata 'you' in Japanese / Yoko Yonezawa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yonezawa, Yoko, author.

Series:

Topics in address research ; v. 4.

Topics in address research (TAR), 2405-9269 ; volume 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anata (The Japanese word).

Japanese language--Address, Forms of.

Japanese language.

Forms of address.

Physical Description:

xii, 208 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Publishing Company, [2021]

Summary:

"The use of the second person singular pronoun anata 'you' in modern Japanese has long been regarded as mysterious and problematic, generating contradictory nuances such as polite, impolite, intimate, and distancing. Treated as a troublesome pronoun, scholars have searched for a semantically loaded meaning in anata, under the assumption that all Japanese personal reference terms are social-indexical. This book takes a new approach, revealing that anata is in fact semantically simple and its powerful expressivity is explained only in pragmatic terms. In doing so, the study brings to bear a thorough understanding of key issues in pragmatics, such as common ground, sociocultural norms, and shared understandings, in order to fully grasp the meaning and usage of this single linguistic item. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in a range of linguistic fields such as semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, anthropological linguistics, linguistic typology, cultural linguistics, as well as applied linguistics"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Introduction

1.1. The mystery of the address pronoun anata `you'

1.2. Scope, methodology, and data

1.2.1. Scope

1.2.2. Methodology

1.2.3. Data

1.3. Issues in existing approaches to the address pronoun anata

1.3.1. The formality ranking-based approach

1.3.2. The sociolinguistic approach

1.3.3. The deixis-based approach

1.3.4. The cognitive approach

1.3.5. Summary and filling the gaps revealed in the previous literature

1.4. Organization of the study

ch. 2 The history of anata, person reference terms in Japanese, and social norms in Japanese communication

2.1. Introduction

2.2. The history of anata

2.3. Person reference terms in Japanese

2.4. Social norms in Japanese communication

2.4.1. The issue of cultures'

2.4.2. Personhood in Japanese communication

2.4.3. A deeper look into vertical relationships in Japan

2.4.4. Politeness in Japanese communication

2.5. Summary

ch. 3 The perceptions of native speakers

3.1. Introduction

3.2. The survey

3.2.1. Aims of the survey

3.2.2. Participants

3.2.3. Methods of data collection

3.3. Results

3.3.1. The use of anata toward a superior

3.3.2. The use of anata toward an inferior

3.3.3. The use of anata toward an equal

3.4. Reasons for the avoidance of anata

3.4.1. Toward a superior

3.4.2. Toward an inferior

3.4.3. Toward an equal

3.5. Situational dimensions

3.5.1. Toward a superior

3.5.2. Toward an inferior

3.5.3. Toward an equal

3.6. Summary

ch. 4 Absolute specification in a socially undefinable relationship

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Referring to a general audience

4.3. Generic and `vague' uses of anata

4.4. Referring to a collective entity

4.5. Referring to a depersonalized addressee

4.6. Referring to an unfamiliar addressee

4.7. Summary

ch. 5 Absolute specification in a socially definable relationship

5.1. Introduction

5.2. The use of anata to reject a given social relationship

5.2.1. The case of a contractual relationship

5.2.2. The case of a kin relationship

5.2.3. The case of parliamentary debate

5.2.4. The case of jocular utterances

5.3. The use of anata to refer to an addressee's core self

5.3.1. The case of conveying a sincere message

5.3.2. The case of giving advice

5.4. Summary

ch. 6 Ideology, identity, reflexive processes, and the use of anata

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Language policy, emerging egalitarianism, and the use of anata

6.3. Public debates about the use of anata

6.3.1. Emerging egalitarians vs. norm upholders

6.3.2. The impossibility of the symmetrical use of anata

6.4. A wife's use of anata toward her husband

6.5. Summary

ch. 7 Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Other Format:

Online version: Yonezawa, Yoko. Mysterious address term anata 'you' in Japanese

ISBN:

9789027210500

9027210500

OCLC:

1259510169

Publisher Number:

99989029583