Gender and Language in Japanese Preschool Children

Abstract

This article explores the relation between gender and language use in Japanese preschool children. Gender-based differences in Japanese include phonological, lexical, and morphosyntactical differences, as well as differences in conversational style (e.g., Shibamoto, 1985). The data come from monthly naturalistic observations of 24 monolingual Japanese boys and girls (ages 3-6) engaged in same-sex peer play. The results show that appropriate usage of gender-based linguistic distinctions emerges quite early (e.g., use of different sentence-final particles, addressee-reference terms, lexical forms). In addition, as early as age 3, most children preferred to play with same-sex friends and had distinct preferences in their play activities. Analyses of boys' and girls' speech used during same-sex peer interactions show differences in communicative style and use of specific linguistic forms. Furthermore, language use was related closely to the nature of the play context.