Using Japanese honorific expressions

Abstract

We investigated, via experiment, knowledge of normative honorific expressions as used in textbooks and in practice by people. Forty subjects divided into four groups according to age (younger/older) and gender (male/female) participated in the experiments. The results show that knowledge about the use of normative honorific expressions in textbooks is similar to that demonstrated by the younger subject groups, but differed from that of the older subject groups. The knowledge of the older subjects was more complex than that shown in textbooks or demonstrated by the younger subjects. A model that can identify misuse of honorific expressions in sentences is the framework for this investigation. The model is minimal, but could represent 76% to 92% of the subjects' knowledge regarding each honorific element. This model will be useful in the development of computer-aided systems to help teach how honorific expressions should be used.