Original scientific paper
How Are Speech Styles Elaborated for Presenting Individual Personality While Bearing in Mind Social Norms? Certain Cases in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, Japan
Kimie Shin
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine how speech styles are elaborated for presenting
individual personality. Through the narratives of ten selected interviewees, some social
norms internalised by them emerged. Age, status and career are associated to the
joo/ge (upper/lower) and the senpai/koohai (senior/junior) relationships. Whether it is
the first meeting and the length of relationship are associated to shin/so (intimacy/distance)
and uchi/soto (in-group/out-group). In particular the notion of shin/so takes a
role for adjusting speech styles. According to the narratives of individual episodes, there
are several factors of determination of speech style, which are not necessarily following
social norms. The way of constructing relationships, keeping power relations, protection
and so on are influenced by regional characteristics, which include factors of determination
of speech style such as generation, gender, solidarity, and jibunrashisa (like myself,
personality) and so forth.
Keywords
speech styles; social norms; Japan; attitudes
Hrčak ID:
27948
URI
Publication date:
24.6.2004.
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