Native Japanese Speakers Research Articles

Correlation between cultural distance and acceptance of transliteration : Comparison of Korean menu translation in English and Japanese

This study identified correlation between cultural distance and acceptance of transliteration by surveying reader response to Korean menu translation in English and Japanese. First, the study reviewed the standard translation guideline for translating the names of Korean foods to English and Japanese released by the National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL). The portion of transliteration strategy in English (1.7%) was much lower than that in Japanese (11.5%). Second, the study conducted a quantitative survey of 300 respondents to examine the understanding and acceptance levels of native speakers. Native English speakers displayed a very low acceptance for transliteration (meaning-19.0%, expression-21.6%) compared to Native Japanese speakers (meaning-39.3%, expression-38.6%), and respondents who were more familiar to Korean culture showed higher acceptance to transliteration, empirically proving that there is an inverse correlation between cultural distance and acceptance of transliteration. The study showed that reader response research to transliteration can be used as a tool for gauging the cultural distance between source culture and target culture.

Hard-to-learn conjunctive expressions for advanced learners: a survey on storytelling in I-JAS

Abstract There are basic grammatical items that are difficult to learn even for advanced learners, although they are introduced early at the beginning of their learning. Conjunctive expressions that imply speakers’ subjective feelings such as suruto ‘then,’ sokode ‘then and there’ are one such item. We use storytelling data from the “International Corpus of Japanese as a Second Language” to investigate how Japanese native speakers and Japanese L2 learners whose first languages are Chinese and Korean use conjunctive expressions at the turning moments of a story. The results indicate that even learners at an advanced level do not use conjunctive expressions that native Japanese speakers do to make stories vivid and lively. We explain this phenomenon using the concept of “subjective construal.” We further consult previous research on Japanese teaching practices and consider how to instruct this type of expression.

An Acoustic Phonetic Study on the Korean loanwords Pitch-Accent Realization by Native Japanese Speakers

The purpose of this study is to examine Korean loanwords of which pronunciation is similar to Japanese by analyzing Japanese Korean learners’ pitch patterns with objective values. Considering the point that in Japanese, a word’s accent is maintained in a sentence while in Korean, it is not kept in a sentence, this researcher performed an experiment on loanwords by dividing the cases of sentence unit speech from those of word unit speech. According to the results of analyzing sentence unit speech, in the parts where postpositions are combined, Japanese, the mother tongue’s pitch patterns have negative influence. In the case of single word utterances, a significant difference was found due to the difference in the descending width rather than the difference according to the pattern type. The findings of this study imply that when teaching Japanese learners about Korean pitch patterns, we should consider the phenomena of mother tongue transfer shown in different forms according to the environment of speech and also words’ pitch patterns along with combined postpositions’ pitch patterns.

Self-addressed questions and honorifications: The case of Japanese daroo-ka/desyoo-ka

Abstract Japanese self-addressed questions (SAQs) are either marked with SAQ question particles (i.e. kana, yara) or marked with modals daroo or desyoo. The present paper argues that the pragmatic profile of Japanese SAQs should not be limited to solitary contexts. The paper presents an experiment examining whether daroo-ka/desyoo-ka can be perceived as SAQs in the accompanied contexts. The results of the experiment indicate that Japanese SAQs can be felicitously uttered in the presence of a second (socially higher) person. Apart from the experimental study, this paper also presents a pilot study of comparing daroo-ka questions and plain information-seeking questions (i.e. those without daroo-ka) in urgent situation contexts. The preliminary results shed light on the fact that Japanese native speakers interpret daroo-ka questions as canonical questions in the performance of indirect speech acts.

Cognitive Commonalities and Differences between Native Korean Speakers and Native Japanese Speakers of ‘meokda’ and ‘taberu/kuu’

Cognitive Commonalities and Differences between Native Korean Speakers and Native Japanese Speakers of ‘meokda’ and ‘taberu/kuu’

Facilitation of processing darenimo 'any/everyone' negative Japanese sentences using prosodic entrainment.

The present study examined how prosody affects Japanese speakers' processing of the polarity item darenimo 'any/everyone'. Upward (LHHH pitch) and downward (HLLL pitch) prosody for darenimo associates with negative and positive polarity, respectively. In Study 1, a corpus search showed that darenimo is more often associated with negative than positive polarity. In Study 2, subjective acceptability judgments indicated that darenimo is also more likely to be perceived as acceptable by native Japanese speakers when used with negative polarity. In line with Study 2, Study 3 showed that upward prosody with negative polarity was more accurately and quickly processed than was downward prosody with either positive or negative polarity. These three studies showed a one-sided distribution of upward prosody with negative polarity, and further indicated that only upward prosody facilitates listeners' processing of negation. Early heightened pitch of darenimo provides a cue to predict an ending negation -nai in the head-final Japanese language, resulting in faster speed and higher accuracy for the processing of negative sentences (i.e.,a facilitation effect) compared to their corresponding affirmative sentences.

How Pause Duration Influences Impressions of English Speech: Comparison Between Native and Non-native Speakers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the subjective impression of English speech would change when pause duration at punctuation marks was varied. Two listening experiments were performed in which written English speech segments were rated on a variety of evaluation items by both native-English speakers and non-native speakers (native-Chinese speakers and native-Japanese speakers). The ratings were then subjected to factor analysis. In the first experiment, the pauses in three segments were made into the same durations, from 0.075 to 4.8 s. Participants rated the segments on 23 evaluation items on a rating scale from 1 to 10. A varimax rotation after PCA (principal component analysis) led to two factors that were related to speech style. These two factors could be interpreted as representing speech naturalness and speech rate. Speech segments with a pause duration of 0.6 s received the highest naturalness evaluation, while perceived speech rate decreased as the physical pause duration increased, without any changes in utterance segments. In the second experiment, a full-factorial design of pause durations (0.15, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, and 2.4 s) within and between sentences, i.e., for commas and for periods, was implemented in two speech segments. The original speech segments and speech segments without any pauses were also included as control conditions. From ratings on 12 evaluation items, similar to Experiment 1, two factors representing speech naturalness and speech rate were obtained. The results showed again that the perceived speech rate decreased with an increase only in pause duration. As for speech naturalness, the highest evaluations occurred when pause durations were 0.6 s within sentences, and either 0.6 or 1.2 s between sentences. This recommends fixing all pause durations to 0.6 s as a practical way to train non-native speakers to make their spoken English appear more natural.

Preference for Deletion vs. Epenthesis in Japanese Phonological Adaptations

This study investigated phonological adaptation of non-loan words in Japanese and their preference for either deletion or epenthesis. Earlier studies argue that non-loan Japanese words prefer deletion while loanwords prefer epenthesis. Studies further show that the input medium affects the adaptation; text-input leads to epenthesis while sound-input to deletion. The present study experimented with text-input of non-loan nonce words and investigated how native Japanese speakers adapt their causative, passive, and potential forms. Results showed a strong preference for deletion in causative forms, a relatively weak preference for deletion in potential forms, and no significant preference in passive forms. The outcome indicates that deletion is not present by default, and further investigation is needed to define factors that influence the selection.

Using L2 interactional-pragmatic resources in CMC: A case of Japanese orthography and emoji

Increasingly prevalent use of technologies such as instant messaging and online chat has transformed our traditional ways of learning and teaching pragmatics. This study presents an example of such transformation by demonstrating how computer-mediated communication (CMC) may be employed as a tool to provide second language (L2) learners opportunities to use interactional resources specific to the context of CMC, namely unique orthography and emoji. For the study, we introduced four university-level learners of Japanese to a language exchange messaging application and recorded their online text-based chat interactions with native Japanese speakers over a period of 12 weeks. We followed up the chat data with weekly stimulated verbal recalls (SVR) to investigate L2 learners’ intentions and perceptions surrounding their own and others’ use of unique orthography and emoji (48 SVR sessions total; average 30 minutes per session). Coding and thematic analysis of the chat data revealed learners’ agentive use of orthography and emoji as resources for communication. In addition, the SVR data revealed a variety of personal and interpersonal reasons behind their use, including learners’ concerns over self-presentation, interpersonal relationships, identity, and discourse management. The findings not only demonstrate how CMC can afford learners a unique environment for experimenting with a range of context-appropriate interactional resources to convey pragmatic meaning, but also shed light on the various, sometimes competing, considerations and complex processes underlying learners’ pragmatic choices in CMC.

The Effect of Chinese Proficiency on Determining Temporal Adverb Position by Native Japanese Speakers Learning Chinese.

The present study aimed to investigate how native Japanese speakers learning Chinese choose preferred positions for temporal adverbs depending on their level of Chinese proficiency. A naturalness judgment task conducted on native Chinese speakers showed that the most natural position for Chinese temporal adverbs was before the subject and that placement after the locative prepositional phrase was incorrect. The same task applied to native Japanese speakers found the most natural position for Japanese temporal adverbs was also before the subject. Further, when they appear at the beginning of a sentence, they provide the time for the entire sentence. Accordingly, temporal topicalization appears to influence naturalness decisions by both native Chinese and Japanese speakers. A point of difference was that in Japanese, a temporal adverb placed after a locative prepositional phrase was judged to be acceptable. When the same task was given to native Japanese speakers learning Chinese divided into three Chinese proficiency level groups, placement before the subject was the most preferred by the higher Chinese proficiency group. In addition, placement after the locative prepositional phrase was unfavored by them while the same position was frequently selected by the lower level group. As Chinese proficiency increases it appears that the preferred temporal adverb position is before the subject and the placement after the locative prepositional is judged to be unnatural. Thus, a sense of suitable temporal adverb positions in Chinese is influenced by the level of Chinese proficiency of native Japanese speakers.

“Physical” Features of Invitation Discourse on SNS: A Contrastive Study between Native Speakers of Japanese and Malay

“Physical” Features of Invitation Discourse on SNS: A Contrastive Study between Native Speakers of Japanese and Malay

A Comparative Study of Native Speakers of Japanese and Italian Learners of Japanese as a Second Language: Acoustic Realizations of Rendaku Voicing in Compounds

A Comparative Study of Native Speakers of Japanese and Italian Learners of Japanese as a Second Language: Acoustic Realizations of Rendaku Voicing in Compounds

Research Note] Teaching Critical Thinking in Consideration of Native Japanese Speakers' Views on Politeness Strategies

Research Note] Teaching Critical Thinking in Consideration of Native Japanese Speakers' Views on Politeness Strategies

Element of Politeness in Intercultural Communication: The Case Study of Japanese and Malaysian Tourists

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Malaysia has consistently ranked in the top ten over the last 20 years. Japan has been the country of choice for Malaysian tourists over the previous ten years. It is, therefore, crucial that tourism communication in the cross-cultural context between Malaysia and Japan is used as a reference to improve the cross-cultural communication skills of the tourism employees involved. This article discusses the external structure of Japanese conversation between native Japanese speakers and Malaysian tourist guides and native Malay speakers with Japanese tourist guides. This study is qualitative and uses the discourse analysis approach. A total of four conversation sessions in the form of Free Independent Travel (FIT) tourism were held in Malacca and Tokyo. The conversations were recorded, and the researchers also made notes throughout the conversation to see the sentence structures and non-linguistic elements to complete the data. The recording was then transcribed and encoded before being analysed. Only the conversations by tourist guides were analysed and included in the contents of this article as the focus of the study is more on the external form and politeness of the Japanese language used by Malaysian and Japanese tourist guides in demonstrating solidarity and similarities in the context of cross-cultural conversation. Data analysis shows many similarities in the selection of vocabulary and specific verb forms by Japanese and Malaysian tourist guides to show courtesy and friendliness in the conversation. This proves that Japanese language skills by Malaysian tourist guides are almost on par with Japanese tourist guides. Malaysian tourist guides also have a vast knowledge of the culture and nature of the Japanese language.

Japanese and Javanese Perceptions of the Concept of Politeness in Their Languages: Cross-Cultural Analysis

ABSTRACT Brown and Levinson’s theory on politeness stated that politeness is universal. However, through cross-cultural analysis, the findings in some languages differ. This language differentiation of the politeness use raises some interesting questions concerning the evaluation by its native speakers on the concept of politeness in both languages. This study uses an open questionnaire form to collect data both for Japanese native speakers and Javanese native speakers. In total 153 participant have submitted the completed questionnaire, and the aged ranged were from 18 to 60 years old. The questionnaire consist of five questions on the perception of politeness in daily communication. Although Japanese and Javanese both have honorific levels and both as a negative politeness-oriented language. Due to cultural and social differences, the point of view of how they use hierarchical levels differs. In this study, significant findings also found that Javanese people think using honorific speech were polite. However, in Japanese, being polite means using Keigo and showing a good attitude and respect to the interlocutor.

Dependency Distance and Its Probability Distribution: Are They the Universals for Measuring Second Language Learners’ Language Proficiency?

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that dependency distance and its probability distribution can be applied as syntactic indicators of English as interlanguage. However, the universal application of these indicators has not been verified from the perspective of language typology. The issues are addressed in the present study based on a treebank of Chinese interlanguage of English and Japanese native speakers. The findings are as follows: (1) with the improvement of L2 proficiency, the MDDs of learners with different native language backgrounds gradually approach that of the target language in different patterns, and dependency distance is of universal significance as a metric to measure the development of interlanguage’s syntactic complexity; (2) Chinese interlanguage also follows the principle of least effort, and its probability distribution of dependency distance, like those of natural languages, presents a power–law distribution, which can successfully fit the Zipf-Alekseev distribution; (3) the right truncated modified Zipf-Alekseev distribution can be used to measure Chinese interlanguage proficiency, and the fitting parameters of the probability distribution of dependency distance as a metric of interlanguage proficiency are also of universal value.

What characteristics of recasts facilitate accurate perception when overheard by true beginners?

In this study, 118 native speakers of Japanese watched 48 separate video clips in which a teacher provided recasts on phonological or lexical errors to students in Portuguese, a language with which the participants were unfamiliar. In the video clips, six recast characteristics were manipulated: length, segmentation (segmented/whole), prosodic emphasis (stressed/non-stressed), intonation (declarative/interrogative), head movements (nodding/shaking), and gestures (beat/deictic/metaphoric). Participants judged whether or not the teacher had corrected errors and stated the reasons for their decisions. Multiple regressions extracted segmentation and gestures as being significant variables for both phonological and lexical errors. Precisely speaking, recasts were more likely to be accurately perceived as correction when they were provided in sentence-length discourse along with deictic gestures. Additionally, head-shaking and beat also contributed to improved accuracy of phonological errors. The analysis of their reasoning indicates that the participants actively compared errors with recasts when judging the presence of a recast. The overall results indicate that contrary to the common belief suggesting that shorter recasts are better than longer ones, when true beginners overhear recasts, they may find it easier to notice the corrections when they are provided in sentence-length discourse; as such recasts facilitate more accurate perceptions.

The Usage of 'Otsukare' among Japanese Students

Greetings are one of the keys to strike a conversation. The relationship between the speakers could be measured through the greetings used. Therefore understanding greeting usage is necessary for maintaining an interpersonal relationship. Nevertheless, there seems to be a difference between greetings thought within Japanese textbooks and greetings in daily usage. Thus, this study will discuss the usage of ‘otsukare’ in Japan, especially amongst Japanese university students. The textbook "Minna no Nihongo" will be used to comprehend how aisatsu is taught to Japanese language learners. In this research, Japanese university students will answer a questioner regarding the usage of ‘otsukare’. A questionnaire was designed based on sociolinguistics concepts to discover how Japanese university students use ‘otsukare’, such as when to whom, and in what manner. 40 university students of native Japanese participated and as the result, four points were discovered regarding the usage of ‘otsukare’ First, ‘otsukare’ is used to greet seniors, juniors, and friends. Second, native Japanese speakers prefer to use ‘otsukare’ on departing. Third, nevertheless, some people also use ‘otsukare’ to greet people as an opening greeting. Native Japanese speakers consider the usage of ‘otsukare’ in the morning as opening greetings is not against the rule of greetings. Finally, the gap between Japanese teaching abroad is that ‘otsukare’ is not proper to be used as an opening greeting.

Perception of non-native quantity contrasts by Cantonese and Japanese speakers

This paper reports on the findings of a pilot study which investigated Cantonese and Japanese speakers’ ability to perceive non-native quantity contrasts. Our goal was to examine whether L1 phonology affects the perception of non-native sound contrasts at a discrete, categorical level or a gradient, “featural” level. We recruited native Cantonese and Japanese speakers for a series of AXB discrimination and identification tasks. Cantonese has partial quantity contrasts (i.e., where duration is not the primary acoustic cue) in a few vowel pairs, whereas Japanese has systematic two-way quantity contrasts in both vowels and consonants. The synthesized stimuli were Japanese (non-native for Cantonese speakers) and Estonian (non-native for both groups) nonce words contrasting in vowel and consonant quantity. For Estonian, quantity is a three-way distinction (short, long, overlong). The results showed that while Japanese speakers outperformed their Cantonese counterparts in discrimination, their identification accuracy for overlong Estonian vowels was anomalously low. These findings are discussed with reference to the “feature hypothesis” in L2 phonological acquisition.

Effects of vowel devoicing on the closure duration of japanese singleton and geminate stops

Closure duration is an acoustic variable known to distinguish Japanese singleton and geminate stops. It has been established that the closure duration varies with speaking rate. However, it has not been determined whether the closure duration is affected by devoicing of vowels preceding or following the stops. To determine the effects of such vowel devoicing, a production experiment was conducted with 20 Japanese native speakers. They pronounced four minimal pairs of onomatopoeic words contrasting singleton and geminate stops at various speaking rates. Devoiced vowels were found to affect closure duration preceding the stops, such that the closure with a devoiced preceding vowel is longer than that with a voiced preceding vowel, although the effect is weak for singleton stops. However, devoiced vowels do not affect the duration when they follow stops. These results suggest that vowel devoicing interacts with an acoustic variable of stop consonants, especially in the case of geminate stop.