Diversity in Japanese Culture and Language

Diversity in Japanese Culture and Language PDF Author: John C. Maher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136160167
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
This is the first in-depth study of the "other" Japan - the diverse and complex culture that belies the conventional portrayal of Japan as a homogenous entity. Moving, fascinating and surprising, this book sets out the largely untold story of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity found in Japan today, where members of marginal societal groups are ignored by the mainstream on the grounds of physical, ethnic, religious or other differences. Among them are the Ainu, Koreans, "Buraku", women, returnees and the deaf, for all of whom this work serves as a forum to give eloquent voice to their history and present situation. This unique study describes the existing plurality in Japan in order to start balancing the perspectives which currently exist in the non-Japanese literature about Japan; to challenge the myth of Japanese uniqueness by focusing on very common experiences that Japanese people share with peoples in other parts of the world; and above all, to counteract the common tendency to see complexity as a threat by illustrating the value to society as a whole of diversity and cultural plurality.

Diversity in Japanese Culture and Language

Diversity in Japanese Culture and Language PDF Author: John C. Maher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136160167
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the first in-depth study of the "other" Japan - the diverse and complex culture that belies the conventional portrayal of Japan as a homogenous entity. Moving, fascinating and surprising, this book sets out the largely untold story of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity found in Japan today, where members of marginal societal groups are ignored by the mainstream on the grounds of physical, ethnic, religious or other differences. Among them are the Ainu, Koreans, "Buraku", women, returnees and the deaf, for all of whom this work serves as a forum to give eloquent voice to their history and present situation. This unique study describes the existing plurality in Japan in order to start balancing the perspectives which currently exist in the non-Japanese literature about Japan; to challenge the myth of Japanese uniqueness by focusing on very common experiences that Japanese people share with peoples in other parts of the world; and above all, to counteract the common tendency to see complexity as a threat by illustrating the value to society as a whole of diversity and cultural plurality.

Language and Society in Japan

Language and Society in Japan PDF Author: Nanette Gottlieb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521532846
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Language 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. Her 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.

Language Communities in Japan

Language Communities in Japan PDF Author: John C. Maher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192598538
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
This book offers a comprehensive sociolinguistic overview of the linguistic situation in Japan. Contemporary Japan displays rich linguistic diversity, particularly in urban areas, but the true extent of this diversity has often been overlooked. The contributors to this volume provide a new perspective, with detailed accounts of the wide range of languages spoken in different contexts and by different communities across the Japanese archipelago. Each chapter focuses on a specific language community, and systematically explores the history of the variety in Japanese culture and the current sociolinguistic situation. The first part explores the indigenous languages of Japan, including the multiple dialects of Japanese itself and the lesser-known Ryukyan and Ainu languages. Chapters in Part II look at community languages, ranging from the historic minority languages such as Korean and Chinese to the languages spoken by more recent migrant communities, such as Nepali, Filipino, and Persian. The final part examines languages of culture, politics, and modernization, from the use of English in international business and education contexts to the ongoing use of Latin and Sanskrit for religious purposes. The volume sheds new light on Japan's position as an important multilingual and multicultural society, and will be of interest to scholars and students not only of Japanese and sociolinguistics, but of Asian studies and migration studies more widely.

Searching for Japan

Searching for Japan PDF Author: Michele Monserrati
Publisher: Transnational Italian Cultures
ISBN: 1789621070
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This book pursues the specific case of Italian travel narratives in the Far East, through a focus on the experience of Japan in works by writers who visited the Land of the Rising Sun beginning in the Meiji period (1868-1912) and during the concomitant opening of Japan's relations with the West. Drawing from the fields of Postcolonial and Transnational Studies, analysis of these texts explores one central question: what does it mean to imagine Japanese culture as contributing to Italian culture? Each author shares in common an attempt to disrupt ideas about dichotomies and unbalanced power relationships between East and West. Proposing the notion of 'relational Orientalism, ' this book suggests that Italian travelogues to Japan, in many cases, pursued the goal of building imaginary transnational communities, predicated on commonalities and integration, by claiming what they perceived as 'Oriental' as their own. In contrast with a long history of Western representations of Japan as inferior and irrational, Searching for Japan identifies a positive overarching attitude toward the Far East country in modern Italian culture. Expanding the horizon of Italian transnational networks, normally situated within the Southern European region, this book reinstates the existence of an alternative Euro-Asian axis, operating across Italian history.

Living Japanese

Living Japanese PDF Author: Karen Colligan-Taylor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780300222661
Category : Japanese language
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Living Japanese: Diversity in Language and Lifestyles (Ikita Nihongo: samazama na kotoba, samazama na seikatsu) draws students into the lives of thirty-three Japanese from ages seven to seventy-five. As students listen to diverse viewpoints on cultural and social issues, they will develop an extensive vocabulary and become accustomed to natural speech and linguistic differences. The workbook contains a transcription of all interviews, a cultural introduction to each topic, a complete vocabulary list, and grammar explanations. Furigana are provided in the transcriptions and notes to facilitate reading. Discussion questions encourage students to research the topics further, to think about and discuss recurrent themes, to speak or write about the topic in terms of their own culture or experience, and to seek out the views of native speakers. The online media and workbook will facilitate development of the five major skill areas delineated in the National Standards for Japanese Language Learning. Spontaneous interviews exploring twenty topics are available for online viewing, including: · Family, living environment, household crafts, architecture · Farming for health, eating habits in a fast-paced society · Issues faced by children, working women, and the elderly · Student life; views of marriage among young people · Anime, manga, revival of traditional arts · Ways of viewing and valuing nature, environmental education · Buddhist thought on the interrelatedness of all things · Japanese songs and their context · Childhood memories, including school life during World War II · Linguistic differences, Japanese Sign Language

Education in Contemporary Japan

Education in Contemporary Japan PDF Author: Kaori Okano
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521626866
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
A balanced introduction to and examination of contemporary Japanese education. While the postwar system of schooling has provided valuable ingredients for economic success, it has been accompanied by unfavourable developments such as excessively competitive exams, stifling uniformity, bullying, and an undervaluing of non-Japanese ethnicity. This book offers up-to-date information and new perspectives on schooling in contemporary Japanese society, and uses detailed ethnographic studies and interviews with students and teachers. It examines the main developments of modern schooling in Japan, from the beginning of the Meiji era up to the present, and includes analysis of the most recent reforms. It develops a new picture of the role that schooling plays for individuals and the wider society. Essential reading for students and educators alike.

Multicultural Japan

Multicultural Japan PDF Author: Donald Denoon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521003629
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
This book challenges the conventional view of Japanese society as monocultural and homogenous. Unique for its historical breadth and interdisciplinary orientation, Multicultural Japan ranges from prehistory to the present, arguing that cultural diversity has always existed in Japan. A timely and provocative discussion of identity politics regarding the question of 'Japaneseness', the book traces the origins of the Japanese, examining Japan's indigenous people and the politics of archaeology, using the latter to link Japan's ancient history with contemporary debates on identity. Also examined are Japan's historical connections with Europe and East and Southeast Asia, ideology, family, culture and past and present.

Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society

Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society PDF Author: Victoria Bestor
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136736271
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
This Handbook is an interdisciplinary resource that focuses on contemporary Japan and the social and cultural trends that are important at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Language Change in East Asia

Language Change in East Asia PDF Author: T. E. McAuley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136844686
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
This book adopts a wide focus on the range of East Asian languages, in both their pre-modern and modern forms, within the specific topic area of language change. It contains sections on dialect studies, contact linguistics, socio-linguistics and syntax/phonology and deals with all three major languages of East Asia: Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Individual chapters cover pre-Sino-Japanese phonology, nominalizers in Chinese, Japanese and Korean; Japanese loanwords in Taiwan Mandarin; changes in Korean honorifics; the tense and aspect system of Japanese; and language policy in Japan. The book will be of interest to linguists working on East Asian languages, and will be of value to a range of general linguists working in comparative or historical linguistics, socio-linguistics, language typology and language contact.

Studies in Japanese Bilingualism

Studies in Japanese Bilingualism PDF Author: Mary Goebel Noguchi
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
ISBN: 185359489X
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
Studies in Japanese Bilingualism helps dissolve the myth of Japanese homogeneity by explaining the history of this construct and offering twelve empirical studies on different facets of language contact in Japan, including Ainu revitalisation, Korean language maintenance, creative use of Ryukyuan languages in Okinawa, English immersion, and language use by Nikkei immigrants, Chinese "War Orphans" and bicultural children, as well as codeswitching and language attrition in Japanese contexts.