Implications of Representations of Casual Conversation: A Case Study in Gender-Associated Sentence Final Particles

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  • 教科書の中の話し言葉 : 性差を示唆する終助詞の使用をめぐって

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One of the key features by which Japanese speakers traditionally denote separate men’s and women’s languages is sentence final particles (SFPs). In recent years it appears that female speakers are shifting from using the traditional feminine forms to neutral and even masculine forms, whilst in Japanese language textbooks a more traditional, gender-specific portrayal of language is maintained. This study compares the distribution of gender-associated SFPs in Japanese language textbook dialogues with that in natural conversation across several age groups, to investigate the extent to which Japanese teaching materials reflect actual spoken language. Female characters in the textbooks examined used feminine SFPs more often than real female speakers from all age groups, indicating that textbooks are promoting a more traditional and stereotypical view of women’s language. In the natural conversation data, the younger the age group, the smaller was the number of feminine SFPs used, with the youngest group’s usage of SFPs actually resembling that of male characters in the textbooks. It is argued that the discrepancy found between Japanese language as presented in foreign language textbooks and as spoken in Japanese society has significant implications for Japanese language teaching.

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