Impact of globalization on japanese language and culture

Impact of Globalization on
Japanese Language and Culture
Crossroads in Cultural Studies 2002

Norio Ota
York University


Impact on Culture and Society
Judicial system reform
Empowerment, accountability, informed consent
Psychological analysis: ‘healing’, ‘co-dependency’
Aging, fixed contribution pension, portability of pension and
tax reform
Japan as a multi-cultural and multi-racial nation
Impact on education
Later marriage, fewer children and divorce
Political correctness
Restructuring, salary reduction, unemployment and
homeless
Asian Free Trade Zone – China, Korea and ASEAN ?


Impact on Language

Sociolinguistic and pragmatic changes
Confrontational and aggressive approach
From agreement-seeking to agreement-demanding
Other changes in communication strategies: more
–
–

–
–

Direct, Assertive
Argumentative, Provocative, Challenging, Competitive
Egalitarian [gender equal, rank equal]
Self-righteous, Non-apologetic


Impact on Language
New usage in idiomaticity

iken o suri-awaseru
‘rub opinions together’
mongon
‘statement’
hanzai ga okonawareta
‘a crime was committed’
denchuu to gekitotsu ‘crash with an electric pole (lit.)’
boosoo-zoku ga tsudou chuusha-joo ‘a parking lot
where mortorcycle gangs get together’

shashin o totta mikka-mae ni Osore-san ni itta. ‘He
went to Mt. Osore three days before the photo was taken.

saikin toku ni ninki ni natte ‘it has become popular recently’


Impact on Language
Loan words

fuurigan-taisaku
‘(anti-)hooligan measures
seegi no hiiroo
‘champion
(hero) of justice’
koosoku-dooro-dai-kurasshu ‘a big crash on a freeway’
honne-tooku
‘heart-to-heart talk’
riiku-suru
‘to leak’
happii-raifu
‘happy life’
akushidento
‘accident’
doggu-fuudo
‘dog food’
bureeku-suru
‘to get a break’

rajio
 reidio
enerugii  enajii
hoomuresu
reipu
sutoriito-chirudoren

‘radio’
‘energy’
‘homeless’

‘rape’
‘street children’


Japan as an agent of globalization
East Asia and Southeast Asia:
‘Doraemon’ , ‘Hello Kitty’, ‘TarePanda’, ‘Pokemon’
North America and West: ‘Sailor
Moon’ , ‘Pokemon’, ‘Nomo, ‘Ichiro’


References
岩淵功一 ｢グロ｢バリゼ｢ションの中の日本文化の｢い｢ 世界 1998 年 4 月｢ 69 － 81
岩波書店
Iwabuchi, Koichi (2001) “Japan, Globalization, and Cultural Imperialism”, paper
presented at ICAS2
Conference, Berlin.
Leung, Lisa (2001) “Gendering Transnationalism: Cultural politics of intra-East Asian
media
consumption, paper presented at ICAS2 Conference, Berlin.
Ota, Norio (1995) 'Cross-Cultural Communication through Japanese: Communicating
with Japan
through high school education', in D.J. Dicks (ed.) Communicating
with Japan:
Images Past, Present and Future - An Interdisciplinary Anthology,
Montreal:
Concordia University, 1995, 108-130.
__________ (1999) ‘Culture in Language Context’, JSAC web publication, 12 th Annual
Conference
of the Japan Studies Association of Canada, McGill

University, Montreal.
__________ (2000) ‘Coping with sociolinguistic and pragmatic changes in TJFL’, 13 th
Annual
Conference of the Japan Studies Association of Canada, University of
British
Columbia.