Linguistic reflections of Japanese culture's specifics

MATELA, Jiří. Linguistic reflections of Japanese culture's specifics. In Constructing the Identity. Patterns of Japanese culture. 2017.

Basic information

• Original name: Linguistic reflections of Japanese culture's specifics
• Name in Czech: Lingvistické reflexe japonských kulturních specifik
• Name (in English): Linguistic reflections of Japanese culture's specifics
• Authors: MATELA, Jiří.
• Edition: Constructing the Identity. Patterns of Japanese culture, 2017.

Other information

• Original language: Japanese
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60200 6.2 Languages and Literature
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: Leták s programem konference
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords (in Czech): Japonsko; lingvistika; kultura; jazyková typologie; filologie
• Keywords in English: Japan; linguistics; culture; linguistic typology; philology
• Tags: International impact

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to critically evaluate some representative theories within the field of Japanese language studies that have proposed the language to be the medium that perhaps best reflects specifics and uniqueness of Japanese culture. The modern idea of Japanese uniqueness being encoded both in the structure of the Japanese language and in the ways it is used in communication dates back to at least the works of Nishi Amane or Yamada Yoshio and has been developed by number of scholars of various theoretical and methodological frameworks. This paper will especially focus on theories of subjectivity, become-language and locus-orientation, and will evaluate them from the perspective of modern cognitive linguistics.

Abstract (in Czech)

Hlavním cílem tohoto příspěvku je kriticky zhodnotit vybrané reprezentativní teorie na poli japonského zkoumání japonštiny, jež navrhují nahlížet na jazyk jako na něco, co zřejmě nejlépe odráží kulturní specifika a jedinečnost japonské kultury. Idea japonské výjimečnosti a jejího zakódování ve struktuře japonštiny i ve způsobu jejího užívání má kořeny přinejmenším v dílech Niši Amaneho či Jamady Jošia a byla rozvíjena bezpočtem badatelů různých jazykovědných směrů. Tento příspěvek se zaměří především na teorie subjektivity, jazyka "nastávání" a jazyka "místa", a zhodnoté je z perspektivy moderní kognitivní lingvistiky.

Abstract (in English)

The main goal of this paper is to critically evaluate some representative theories within the field of Japanese language studies that have proposed the language to be the medium that perhaps best reflects specifics and uniqueness of Japanese culture. The modern idea of Japanese uniqueness being encoded both in the structure of the Japanese language and in the ways it is used in communication dates back to at least the works of Nishi Amane or Yamada Yoshio and has been developed by number of scholars of various theoretical and methodological frameworks. This paper will especially focus on theories of subjectivity, become-language and locus-orientation, and will evaluate them from the perspective of modern cognitive linguistics.