Standard Japanese Research Articles

The Construction of a Grammatical System for Japanese Linguistics in the Context of Big Data

Abstract This paper first outlines the concept of teaching Japanese grammar according to the Japanese language talent cultivation standard and the current dilemma in teaching Japanese language in colleges and universities. Secondly, on the basis of big data technology, considering the effective availability of the initial data of Japanese grammar, it is necessary to preprocess the language grammar learning data and, at the same time, according to the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, determine the Japanese grammar evaluation affiliation function. Then, for the problem of an incomplete and inaccurate traditional fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, they proposed to construct a comprehensive evaluation model of the Japanese linguistics grammar system based on the bat algorithm and carried out research and analysis on the Japanese linguistics grammar system. The results show that on the evaluation model, the comprehensive evaluation score of the Japanese language grammar system is C=2.65, which belongs to the E2 level. On the statistical analysis, the mean value of all the scores of the concise class was higher than that of the standard Japanese class, and all of them showed significant differences (p=0.002, 0.000, and 0.047, all less than 0.05).

The Perspectives Of Native Kansai Dialect Speakers Towards The Kansai Dialect And Standard Japanese

This research analyzes the Kansai dialect, Standard Japanese, and the perspectives of native Kansai dialect speakers towards both languages. The purpose of this study is to find out what native speakers of Kansai dialect feel about their dialect and their views on Standard Japanese. This research uses a qualitative method with a thematic analysis approach. The data for this study were gathered from comments on threads and questions posted on the jp.quora.com website. The researcher's conclusion is that native Kansai dialect speakers have a sense of pride in their language and do not hold any particular views towards Standard Japanese.

Investigation of the Development of Robots for Training Dialect Communication Listening in Nursing Care Situations: A Case Study of Mikawa Dialects

This study aims to provide listening training and comprehension support using a communication robot for young and overseas staffs who have problems understanding dialects in medical and nursing care settings. In this study, we conducted an impression survey of university students in a region where dialects are used using a robot and a person who speaks standard Japanese and a dialect (Mikawa dialect). Moreover, a nationwide impression survey using only a robot was also performed. In the dialect-using region, the robot speaking the dialect gave the impression of being cute but difficult to understand, whereas no difference in impression was observed in the nationwide survey. However, the analysis of the free text showed that the dialect and motion of the robot gave a positive impression. Based on the factors contributing to the positive impression of the dialect, we aim to construct a training program that motivates young and foreign personnel.

First Northwest Pacific Record of the Apogonid Fish, <i>Pristiapogon taeniopterus</i> (Actinopteri: Kurtiformes) from Minamidaito Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

A single specimen of apogonid fish, Pristiapogon taeniopterus (Bennett, 1836) (Actinopteri: Kurtiformes) previously reported from Micronesia, Polynesia, Melanesia, the Hawaiian Islands, Madagascar and Indian Ocean, was recently caught at Minamidaito Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. This specimen is the first record of the species from the Northwest Pacific including Japan and is now the most northerly record. Pristiapogon taeniopterus differs from its congeners in having developed gill rakers 15–17; circumpeduncular scales 15–18; upper-jaw length 17.9–21.5% SL; distinct dark stripes on both dorsal, anal and both lobes of caudal fin; dark vertical bar posterior to the base of caudal fin incompletely developed or interrupted at the central portion of the fin; dark band or blotch on posterior part of caudal peduncle just anterior to caudal-fin base; and pectoral-fin rays usually 13. The new standard Japanese name “Sumihiki-ishimochi” is proposed for the species.

First Japanese Records of the Indo-Pacific Scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae) <i>Scorpaenodes corallinus</i>, with a Re-evaluation of Coronal Spines as a Diagnostic Character

Fifteen specimens (70.9–95.5 mm standard length) of the Indo-Pacific species Scorpaenodes corallinus Smith, 1957, previously recorded from Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, the Seychelles, Indonesia, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, and recently collected from Okinawa Island (Okinawa Islands) and Yoron Island (Amami Islands), represent the first Japanese records of the species. Examination of a wide range of specimens indicated that the presence of coronal spines (formerly considered diagnostic of the species) was inconsistent. The new standard Japanese name “Ichigo-isokasago” is proposed for the species.

Context-Dependent Script Choice in Emails: The Case of Sumimasen

ABSTRACT This study examines how pragmatic factors influence Japanese script choice by focusing on the representation of ‘sumimasen’ – a phrase used to express apology and gratitude. In standard Japanese, this term is written in hiragana, but use of katakana for the term has been observed. Through a quantitative survey targeting 200 undergraduate Japanese-L1 students and investigating their impressions of different representations of sumimasen in Japanese emails, this study examines how context influences reader impressions of sumimasen representations. Here, ‘context’ specifically refers to three pragmatic factors of communication: situation, writer-reader relationship, and purpose. Through examining how alterations to the situation and relationship factors influence survey responses, the study reveals that reader impressions of katakana sumimasen differ depending on the respondent’s preferred politeness strategy. In focusing on this understudied question of how L1 readers respond to orthographic variation in context, the study expands on existing accounts of how katakana creates meaning by recognizing that interpersonal factors can influence the intent and reception of script variation. Additionally, the study finds that the social meaning of a given script variant can be dependent on the word it represents, with terms like sumimasen becoming active and accepted vehicles for meaning negotiation.

Japanese? Language? and Gender?

This essay offers an overview of language and gender research as it unfolded in a particular ‘Place’: Japan. In the past thirty years, Japanese language and gender/sexuality relations have been characterised both domestically and globally as special, sometimes as unique, due to the existence of distinct joseigo ‘women’s language’ and danseigo ‘men’s language’. A preferential focus on the surface-segmentable forms (pronouns, sentence final particles, etc.) over discursive features and a limited focus on Standard Japanese in the early years of Japanese language and gender research has led to a tendency to view ‘the’ Japanese language as a homogeneous unity and to the reification of the three critical categories, ‘Japan’, ‘language’ and ‘gender’. In this essay, I discuss the problematic nature of the three critical terms, and suggest ways in which Japan-as-Place might profitably be renarrated as the complex place it is and Japanese language, gender and sexuality relations revisited as they operate within that complexity.

MAKNA RAGAM BAHASA JEPANG DANSEIGO DALAM KOMIK DORAEMON VOLUME 3

Japanese has a different form of conversational skills from other languages ​​in the world, namely the Danseigo language variety and the Joseigo language variety. Danseigo is a language variety that is often used by men in Japan when communicating. Danseigo is a male language that tends to be rude and informal. Danseigo is rarely found during formal events. Usually men use standard Japanese or use keigo if the other person is a respectable person. The formulation of the problem in this study is what is the meaning and function of shuujoshi in danseigo found in the Doraemon comic volume 3? The purpose of this research is to find out the meaning and function of shuujoshi in danseigo found in Doraemon comic volume 3. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The source of data used in the analysis of this research is a written source, namely the comic "Doraemon volume 3". In this comic, a form of conversation is found that uses a variety of languages ​​and seigo. In addition, the use of shuujoshi (sound at the end of sentences) (~sa, ~kana/na, ~yo, ~ze, ~zo) and the use of ninshou daimeishi (boku, kimi, omae, aitsu, soitsu) were also found. This is because the comic characters are dominated by boys. Therefore, the use of danseigo is found in the Doraemon comic Volume 3.

Cross-linguistic constraints and lineage-specific developments in the semantics of cutting and breaking in Japonic and Germanic

Abstract Semantic variation in the cutting and breaking domain has been shown to be constrained across languages in a previous typological study, but it was unclear whether Japanese was an outlier in this domain. Here we revisit cutting and breaking in the Japonic language area by collecting new naming data for 40 videoclips depicting cutting and breaking events in Standard Japanese, the highly divergent Tohoku dialects, as well as four related Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama). We find that the Japonic languages recapitulate the same semantic dimensions attested in the previous typological study, confirming that semantic variation in the domain of cutting and breaking is indeed cross-linguistically constrained. We then compare our new Japonic data to previously collected Germanic data and find that, in general, related languages resemble each other more than unrelated languages, and that the Japonic languages resemble each other more than the Germanic languages do. Nevertheless, English resembles all of the Japonic languages more than it resembles Swedish. Together, these findings show that the rate and extent of semantic change can differ between language families, indicating the existence of lineage-specific developments on top of universal cross-linguistic constraints.

Is discourse made up of sentences? Focusing on dependent grafted speech in modern standard Japanese

AbstractThe idea that discourse is made up of sentences has been widespread among linguists. Does this traditional discourse perspective (“sententialism”) apply to casual language in daily communication? This paper examines the validity of sententialism by focusing on a type of speech called “dependent grafted speech” in Japanese conversation. Close examinations of various words, phrases, and sentences reveal that dependent grafted speech is different from sentences on two points: (i) Generally, the lexical accent of the copula at the beginning of dependent grafted speech is a high tone; and (ii) the interaction particle at the end of dependent grafted speech is not uttered with a falling intonation unless it is proceeded by a very abrupt rising intonation (“leaping” intonation). These findings cast doubt on the status of dependent grafted speech as a sentence. Moreover, they demonstrate a new conception of discourse as a mixture of diverse constituents, including sentences, dependent grafted speech, and other utterance types.

Stability and change in the colour lexicon of the Japonic languages

Abstract Previous work on colour lexicons focussed on universal patterns in their structure and evolution. We collected new colour naming data in Japanese and three under-described Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Miyako and Yaeyama) to investigate semantic variation and change in the colour lexicon of related languages in a modern context. We found several new colour terms (e.g., midori and guriin for ‘green’) in the lexicon of Ryukyuan speakers, apparently resulting from contact with Standard Japanese and English. A comparison of our data with historical data suggests that modern Ryukyuan colour systems are closer to modern Japanese than they are to their historic pasts. However, we also found that modern-day Ryukyuan languages are more similar to each other than they are to Japanese. These findings show the scope of semantic changes that can occur through outside influence and highlight the need for fresh empirical data in the study of semantics in related languages.

Accuracy and Stability in English Speakers' Production of Japanese Pitch Accent.

Standard Japanese uses pitch accent to distinguish words such as initially-accented hashi “chopsticks” and finally-accented hashi “bridge.” Research on the second language acquisition of pitch accent shows considerable variation: in accuracy scores in identification, in different dominant accent types in production, and in the unstable accent types of repeated words. This study investigates pitch accent production in English-speaking learners of Japanese, asking how accuracy and stability vary (a) with amount of Japanese experience and (b) between learners. Two groups of learners (13 less experienced; 8 more experienced) produced 180 words in three contexts (e.g., ame “rain,” ame da “it’s rain,” and ame ga furu “rain falls”). Three Japanese phoneticians identified the accent types of the words that the learners produced. The results showed no difference in accuracy or stability between the two groups and little inter-learner variation in accuracy: all had low accuracy. Although some learners had relatively high stability, they did not maintain accent type contrasts across contexts. These results suggest that first language English speakers do not encode pitch accent in long-term memory, raising questions for future research and language teaching.

A new species of Astronesthes (Actinopterygii, Stomiidae, Astronesthinae) snaggletooth from the tropical western Pacific, with comments on the occurrence of Astronesthes luetkeni Regan and Trewavas in Japanese waters

A new species of snaggletooth, Astronesthes kiyofujii, is described from a single specimen (98.5 mm in standard length, SL) collected from the tropical western Pacific off the Republic of Palau. It belongs to the Astronesthes luetkeni group and differs from other congeners in having the following combination of features: chin barbel very long (64.9% SL), distinctly longer than head length; barbel bulb slightly swollen, without any filaments; luminous tissue on gill cover forming slender vertical line along hind margin of preopercle, partly discontinuous ventrally; longitudinal stripe of subcutaneous luminous tissue extending midventrally from chest to belly; serial photophores numerous and closely spaced; photophores from isthmus to pectoral-fin base (IP) arranged in almost straight line, only slightly arched in front of pectoral-fin base; photophores from above anal-fin base to caudal-fin base (AC) forming continuous line, not broken into sections; anal-fin origin distinctly behind vertical through dorsal-fin insertion; dorsal-fin base slightly longer than (1.4 times) anal-fin base; dorsal-fin rays 16; anal-fin rays 16; pectoral-fin rays 8; vertebrae 34 + 15 = 49; body uniformly black except for luminous tissue patches; barbel stem pale, except proximal end with scattering of external melanophores; barbel bulb with diffuse patch of external melanophores on one side, paler on the other side. In addition, we report the first voucher-based records of the Indo-Pacific Astronesthes luetkeni Regan and Trewavas 1929 from the Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, proposing a new standard Japanese name for the species.

Fine and gross motor skills predict later psychosocial maladaptation and academic achievement

BackgroundDifficulties in fine and gross motor skills are often overlooked as developmental problems, although approximately 6–13% of all school-age children have poor motor coordination. Understanding motor coordination is important from the perspective of school adaptation. This longitudinal cohort study aimed to determine whether fine and gross motor skills in preschool children predict later academic achievement and psychosocial maladaptation. Methods & ProceduresParticipants were 2,501 children from nursery and elementary schools (5–13 years old). The motor skills of preschool children were assessed by their nursery teacher immediately before entering elementary school. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and a standardized Japanese test were administered annually throughout elementary school. ResultsEarly motor difficulties in preschool children had significant effects on their academic achievement and psychosocial maladaptation up until the sixth grade. Gross motor difficulties in preschool were associated with the later peer problems and worsened emotional symptoms. ConclusionsMotor skills in preschool children are useful as a predictor of later psychosocial maladaptation and academic achievement.

西表島で撮影された水中写真に基づくEgglestonichthys rubidus（ハゼ科）の北半球からの初記録，およびEgglestonichthysの新標準和名ライテイハゼ属

西表島で撮影された水中写真に基づくEgglestonichthys rubidus（ハゼ科）の北半球からの初記録，およびEgglestonichthysの新標準和名ライテイハゼ属

Standard Japanese names of three species of Plectrogenium recently described from Japan

Standard Japanese names of three species of <i>Plectrogenium</i> recently described from Japan

Factors in the introduction of the “À la carte” system into the standardized Japanese university entrance exam: Focusing on the reform process of the Joint First-Stage Achievement Test for National and Public Universities by the Japan Association of National Universities

Factors in the introduction of the “À la carte” system into the standardized Japanese university entrance exam: Focusing on the reform process of the Joint First-Stage Achievement Test for National and Public Universities by the Japan Association of National Universities

ニシン目のSpratelloididaeに対する標準和名キビナゴ科（新称）の提唱

ニシン目のSpratelloididaeに対する標準和名キビナゴ科（新称）の提唱

Sociocultural linguistic approaches to code switching in Japanese women’s talk in interaction: Region, gender, and language

AbstractThis article takes a sociocultural linguistic approach to code switching in investigating discursive functions of shifts between Standard Japanese and a regional dialect (Iwate Dialect) in women’s activity-centered, naturally occurring interactions. The paper extends previous scholarship to a consideration of how shifts are used for discursive functions such as expressing or seeking alignment; provides support for taking a talk-in-interaction theoretical perspective on code switching; and articulates a basis of support for this theoretical perspective by suggesting a methodological approach that combines close analysis of stretches of talk (DA/CA) with contextual information that informs our understanding of such talk (ethnography of communication). Furthermore, the paper illustrates the intersection of gender, region, and competing language ideologies; and contributes to the lacuna of language-in-use research on dialects in Japan. Excerpts are drawn from a data set of naturally-occurring interactions compiled over two years of fieldwork in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.

Exploring invariant durational structure for voiceless and voiced stop quantity distinction in Kagoshima Japanese

Hirata and Whiton [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 118, 1647–1660 (2005)] found that the durational ratio of stop closure to word (C/W ratio) is an invariant parameter for disyllabic words that differentiates voiceless single and geminate stops in Standard Japanese, a mora-timing language. The present study examines whether C/W ratio is an invariant parameter for voiced as well as voiceless stop quantity distinction in disyllabic words in Kagoshima Japanese, a syllable-timed dialect in Japanese. A production experiment was conducted in which three native speakers of Kagoshima Japanese (ranging from 54 to 86 in age) uttered in carrier phrases 27 disyllabic words, including 4 minimal pairs for voiceless stop quantity (e.g., popo versus poppo) and 4 minimal pairs for voiced stop quantity (e.g., kogo versus koggo). The rest of them were filler words. C/W ratio and five other possible parameters were calculated based on duration of each segment. Results of statistical analysis [classification accuracy, Akaike's information criterion (AIC), and Bayesian information criterion (BIC)] indicated that C/W ratio most accurately distinguishes single and geminate stops in Kagoshima Japanese as well as in Standard Japanese. [Work supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, JSPS.]