The speech act of political self-praise has received scant attention in East Asian contexts, unlike other speech acts. This study aims to explore the strategies of self-praise used by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The 2016 US presidential debates were analysed quantitatively to examine if there are any differences in using self-praise strategies. This was followed by a qualitative analysis to explore how these strategies are linguistically realised. Three main self-praise strategies were used: unmodified explicit self-praise, modified explicit self-praise and indirect self-praise. Within the third category, the data revealed a new self-praise strategy, which we called “criticism-based self-praise”. Moreover, the findings highlighted differences in using self-praise strategies in American political discourse. While Trump employed unmodified explicit self-praise more than his opponent, Clinton used modified explicit self-praise strategies far more than Trump. Trump, however, adopted implicit self-praise strategies more than Clinton. Differences could be attributed to gender stereotypes as well as the candidates’ experience and personality. The study may help East Asian people better understand American political discourse, presidential debates in particular.

Previous studies in the domain of (im)politeness have extensively examined face-threatening acts, face redressive actions, and impoliteness strategies. Nevertheless, there is a need for more studies on the implementation of strategies related to self-oriented face-saving in response to face-threatening acts. Adopting a qualitative research methodology, this study attempts to bridge this gap by investigating the self-face-saving strategies utilised by the interviewees on the Yang Lan One-on-One show. Key findings demonstrate that interviewees employ a diverse range of strategies, with notable differences observed in the strategies used by male and female guests. The study also highlights the dual audience dynamics – the interviewer and the public – necessitating a more nuanced approach than might be observed in private interactions. This research contributes to the broader understanding of (im)politeness strategies in non-Western contexts and offers valuable insights into the complexities of managing face in public discourse.

This study investigates the use of kinship terms for addressing family members among native speakers of three Northeast Asian languages: Chinese, Korean and Japanese. A comparative analysis was performed with responses from an online survey on how respondents address their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, focusing on similarities and differences across these languages. The findings indicate that Chinese speakers adhere most closely to traditional norms in using kinship terms to address elder relatives. Japanese speakers demonstrate greater flexibility in their address practices, especially towards their uncles and aunts. Korean speakers exhibit slightly more flexibility than Chinese speakers, but less than the Japanese. Our findings align with the broader tendency of using kinship terms to address senior kin. However, the extent of adherence exhibits variations in each language, reflecting the distinctive perspectives of speakers on interpersonal relationships and their linguistic approaches to them.

This study explores lǐmào (礼貌), Chinese politeness, focusing on interactions among insiders who often deviate from traditional norms of tactfulness and discretion. The paper analyses the strategies of a woman director of a neighbourhood committee who alternates between being discreet and confrontational with face-attacking remarks. Despite instances of her rudeness, she remains well-liked by residents. Her success is attributed to creating insider status through “interpersonal anaphora” (Chan, 2000), such as switching from nín (您, vous) to nǐ (你, tu), using kinship terms and the inclusive pronoun zán (咱). These strategies transform her rudeness into “rapport” impoliteness. The study concludes that Chinese lǐmào is selective and conditional: it is a formal performance with outsiders, while honesty often takes precedence over adherence to the norms with insiders.

Response particles have been recognised as highly variable in terms of both form and function. It is particularly so for particle-rich languages like Mandarin Chinese, where multiple phonetic variants of a particle can be observed. A question that arises is whether phonetic variants are idiosyncratic uses or distinctive resources in the construction of listener responses. Two of the most frequently used response particles in Mandarin, o and a, are thus examined. Integrating the framework of conversation analysis and a corpus-based approach, this study reveals that the nasal variants, õ and ã, display more passive recipiency (such as plain information receipt and continuer) compared with the regular o and a. The glottal variants, oʔ and aʔ, intensify the change of state being implemented and project immediately following talk from the same speaker. Based on frequency and sequential analyses, this study suggests that phonetic features like nasalisation and glottalisation can be an important force shaping the interactional functions of response particles and contributing to the emerging process of new variant forms in interaction.

Acquiring pragmatic competence poses significant challenges for Japanese language learners. In Indonesia, university students now have the opportunity to enter an internship program at selected companies, including placements in Japan. This immersion allows students to experience the language and culture firsthand. This study explores how such experiences affect the pragmatic competence of Indonesian learners of Japanese. Despite the difficulties in achieving native-like proficiency, internships provide valuable exposure to the target language and culture. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyzed conversations between native speakers and Indonesian learners who participated in internship programs in Japan to investigate “interlanguage pragmatics.” The focus was on understanding how learners use Japanese discourse markers. The study involved 165 minutes of recorded interview conversations with 11 pairs of participants and native Japanese speakers. The analysis, based on Nakajima's theory, showed varied use of discourse markers among students based on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Those with minimal interaction with native speakers demonstrated lower usage and minimal communication skills. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of immersive experience in developing pragmatic competence in language learners.

Japanese tea ceremony, or chadō, is a revered form of traditional culture. It embodies a synthesis of the arts, including cuisine, calligraphy, and flower arrangements. Like many hospitality traditions, chadō has experienced a decline despite its cultural significance. This decline may be partially due to factors such as the high cost of participation and substantial time commitment. Additionally, misconceptions and misunderstandings about chadō persist in the general public and within some scholarly communities, largely because of limited access to chadō classes and activities to deepen understanding its objectives and expectations. This study aims to illustrate the interactional organization and types of learnables accomplished through the pragmatic power of gesture, talk, and objects in beginning-level chadō lessons. Using a combination of ethnographic field notes and video recordings of chadō lessons, this study aims to (a) demonstrate the connection between temae, or tea procedure instruction and the concept of omotenashi (hospitality) and (b) illustrate three types of learnables and correctables that emerge in temae instructions.

This study explores how speaker identity emerges in interactions within kodomoshokudō (children's diners) in Japan, focusing on the speech patterns of Chikako Nakamoto, who operates Motomachi no Ie in Hiroshima prefecture, providing meals and support to juveniles in special circumstances. The data are primarily drawn from a documentary capturing Nakamoto's interactions with children and minors who come to eat. The study analyzes routine phrases and shifts between dialect, standard variety, and honorifics in Nakamoto's speech. Through qualitative analysis, this study reveals how Nakamoto's unique linguistic practices contribute to her identity as Bacchan (“Granny”) and create a supportive environment. The findings illuminate the complex interplay between language, identity, and local communicative contexts in kodomoshokudō, demonstrating how nonstandard speech can foster intimacy and authenticity in these community-based food-sharing spaces.