"Boku" as a pragmatic marker: How did it develop as a first person term and why is it a problem?

Description: Special Lecture sponsored by JALT Progmatics SIG, GALE SIG and West Tokyo Chapter, at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies TUFS Research lecture building, language laboratory Rm. 419 (map).

As some critics (e.g. Takao Suzuki 1972 & 1995) have pointed out, one of the incommensurables between Japanese and English lies in self-referencing: Japanese has, according to a dictionary, more than one hundred forms for ?I. This gap presents serious problems in many areas of practice, such as translation and language teaching. The problem urgently needs the attention of researchers in view of rapidly globalizing communication. In this study, the presenter approaches the issue from the perspective of historical pragmatics with particular focus on boku, attempting to better understand the nature of Japanese self-referencing. Reynolds will present data to show (i) that boku was pragmaticalized as an expression of modern self by intellectual leaders of the Meiji Restoration, (ii) that it has become dysfunctional by taking on contradictory meanings in the process of standardization. In conclusion, the presenter suggests that self-referencing in Japanese may be on its way to a new system like that found in English.

Katsue Akiba Reynolds holds a Ph. D in linguistics from UCLA (1978), and is currently a professor of Japanese linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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Other Past Events (Archive) for Pragmatics JALT SIG

Sunday, June 24th, 2007

The First JALT Pragmatics SIG and Teaching Old Learners SIGs joint mini-conference

Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM