"Omoiyari" : the key word of harmonious Japanese communication

Omoiyari is known as one of the most ideal ways of behaviour in Japanese society. The word has been translated in Japanese-English dictionaries as nouns: “consideration,” “sympathy,” “empathy,” “compassion,” and as adjectives: “thoughtful” and “sensitive.” Additionally, Rohlen (1974) suggested combinations of English words such as “concerned sensitivity,” “empathetic sensing,” “concerned empathy” and “concerned emphatic kindness.” However, as Travis (1992) showed in her work, none of these words correspond to the full meaning of omoiyari, which is described in Japanese primary schools’ curricula as “Omoiyari tte nan darou. Doushitara ii no” (“What is an omoiyari. What is the best thing to do?”) and by Lebra (1976) as a way of harmonious Japanese communication and coexistence with others. Omoiyari, similarly to other types of behaviour, needs to be taught to children by their families and schools. The paper aims to approach the meaning of omoiyari as a concept which Japanese linguists, like Lebra and Japanese teaching curricula and books like “Katei kyouiku techou” (“Home education notebook”), try to present to Japanese children and non-Japanese speakers. Furthermore, the paper aims to address the question whether omoiyari is a unique concept of communication typical only for the Japanese language or if it could be found in Polish as well. In order to illustrate that, the situations in which Japanese people perform omoiyari are presented and the typical reactions of Polish people in the same situations are described

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" - koncepcja "twarzy" czy "stanowiska"? : rodzaj grzeczności w japońskiej formule grzecznościowej

Brown and Levinson (1987) described politeness as a face-saving strategy and distinguished between its positive and negative variety. Supposedly universal, their model of politeness does not seem to be fully applicable to the way politeness is realized in the Japanese culture. For instance, it cannot completely account for the Japanese politeness formula yoroshiku onegaishasu. The way it is translated into other languages is heavily affected by the context of its use and researchers do not agree on how to describe the kind of politeness that the formula is meant to convey, describing it as a “form of dependence” (Matsumoto 1988), a “concept of a situation” (Fukushima 2000), “positive face behavior” (Pizziconi 2003) or the “tachiba concept” (Obana 2010). By examining selected examples of its use and contrasting them with the relevant Polish equivalents the article attempts to describe the formula at semantic-pragmatic and meta-pragmatic levels

Japoński język kobiet - niechciany element mowy czy świadomy wybór

The Japanese language of women – an unwanted component of speech, or a con- scious choice? In the western people’s imagination, the Japanese society appears as a hierarchized structure that cherishes the division of gender roles drawn from tradition, where the woman runs all the household errands, and the man is the breadwinner. The said Japanese family model has been in decline since the early 1990s known in Japan as the period of “bubble economy.” However, the process of dividing along the gen‐ der lines – into “female” and “male” – in Japan, does not only relate to household chores, but also to the language devised by both the sexes. According to Lakoff (1973), the weakness and marginalization of women find their expression in both the language they use and the expectations concerning the way in which they are allowed to express themselves. Their utterances are supposed to ac‐ centuate doubtfulness and triviality, in opposition to the men’s language, traditionally perceived as being transparent, precise and well-adjusted to making key decisions. In the present article, I aim at presenting a brief characteristics of the Japanese languages of men and women by emphasizing their most typical grammatical and stylistic forms, as well as their respective lexicons. I shall also discuss the stances towards the Japanese language of women adopted by such female researchers as Robin Lakoff (1973) and Sachiko Ide (1990), to finally present my own opinion on the topic in question, based on both – reading of the published research results dealing with the Japanese language of women, as well as on my own analysis of young Japanese females’ utterances published on their blogs. Thanks to the above, I am going to answer the following question: Do young Japanese females always use the language of women, or are there situations in which they would rather use the men’s speech, and if so, what determines their choice?Brass H. (2005). “Japanese women’s speech – Changing language, changing roles”. Journal of Undergraduate Research, (s. 1–18) – http://www3.nd.edu/~ujo urnal/archive/05‐06/print/ [dostęp: 14.11.2014]. Huszcza R., Ikushima M., Majewski J., Pietrow J. (2003). Gramatyka japońska. Podręcznik z ćwiczeniami. T. 2. Wyd. I. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Ide S. (1982). “Japanese sociolinguistics: Politeness and women’s language”. Lingua, nr 57, 357–385. Ide S. (1990). “How and why do women speak more politely in Japanese”. In: S. Ide, N.H. McGloin (eds.). Aspects of Japanese women’s language (s. 63–79). Tokyo: Kuroshio Shuppan. Ide S. (1993). „Sekai no joseigo, nihon no joseigo: Joseigo kenkyuu no shintenkai o motomete” („Język kobiet na świecie, język kobiet w Japonii: podążanie za nowymi badaniami w sferze języka kobiet”). Nihongo‐gaku, No 12 (6), 4–12. Lakoff R. (1973). “Language and woman’s place”. Language in Society, Vol. 2, No 1 (kwiecień, 1973), (s. 45–80) – http://www.jstor.org/stable/4166707 [do‐ stęp: 14.11.2014]. Mishina S. (1994). “A new perspective on women’s language in Japanese: An interview with Sachiko Ide”. Issues in Applied Linguistics, Vol. 5, No 2, 425– 435. Miyazaki A. (2002). “Relational shift: Japanese girls’ nontraditional first person pronouns”. In: S. Benor, M. Rose, Sharma D., Sweetland, J., Q. Zhang (eds.). Gendered practices in language. (s. 355–374). Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.Mulac A., Lundell T.L., Bradac J.J. (1986). “Male/female language differences and attributional consequences in a public speaking situation: Toward an explanation of the gender‐linked language effect”. Communication Mono- graphs, Vol. 53, 116–129. Okamoto S. (1995). “»Tasteless« Japanese: Less »feminine« speech among young Japanese women”. In: K. Hall & M. Bucholtz (eds.). Gender articulated: Langu‐ age and the socially constructed self (s. 297–325). New York: Routledge. Okamoto S. (2002). “Ideology and social meanings: Rethinking the relationship between language, politeness, and gender”. In: S. Benor, M. Rose, Sharma D., Sweetland J., Q. Zhang (eds.). Gendered practices in language, (s. 91–114). Stan‐ ford, CA: CSLI Publications. Reynolds‐Akiba K. (1993). Onna no nihongo. Tokyo: Yuushindo. Shibamoto J. (1985). Japanese women’s language. New York: Academic Press. Smith J. (1992). “Women in charge: Politeness and directive in the speech of Japanese women”. Language in Society, Vol. 21 (1), 59–82. Takasaki M. (1993). “Josei no kotoba to kaisoo”. Nihongo‐gaku, Vol. 12 (6), 169– 180. Tomomatsu E., Miyamoto J., Wakuri M. (2007). Donna toki dou tsukau nihongo hyougen bunkei jiten (Kiedy, co stosować – słownik japońskich form gramatycznych). Aruku. Wetzel P. (1988). “Are powerless communication strategies the Japanese norm?”. Language in Society, Vol. 17, 555–564. Wiley M.G. & Eskilson A. (1985). “Speech style, gender stereotypes, and cor‐ porate success: What if women talk more like men?”. Sex Roles, Vol. 12, 993–1007. Yamada H. (1997). Different games, different rules. Oxford: Oxford University Press.The Japan Foundation Japanese‐Language Institute – lista japońskich form i wyrażeń używanych w języku kobiet i mężczyzn – http://anime‐manga.jp/ CharacterExpressions/ Blogi licealistek http://torichann.blog.fc2.com http://ameblo.jp/kissable-lip-singer/ http://ameblo.jp/peanuts-3939 http://candy.am/pc/profileTop.html#amebaId=21300516 http://ameblo.jp/popnkuroneko/theme-10063692192.html http://blog.livedoor.jp/hati772/archives/52244119.html http://ameblo.jp/peanuts-3939/entry-11603537915.html http://ameblo.jp/yuka-yuka-0428/entry-11350853736.html http://ameblo.jp/min1467aa/entry-11539938693.html http://yaplog.jp/purin-kakumei/archive/515 http://yaplog.jp/dream_mine/archive/633 http://ameblo.jp/hrhrmk/entry-11393338515.html http://roseking.jugem.jp/?eid=184 http://394mylittlewing.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-267.html http://koukanndoinoti.blog84.fc2.com/blog-entry-21.html http://ameblo.jp/love-pink3strawberry/entry-11209424250.html http://ameblo.jp/rarara-ban/entry-11717167724.html http://ameblo.jp/ryo-ma-bo-heaven/entry-11719674600.html http://ameblo.jp/tichon/entry-11718254595.html http://ameblo.jp/umeharu-1010/entry-11717598525.html Blogi studentek: http://joshi-daisei.hatenablog.com http://kulumin.blog.fc2.com http://xsparkx.jugem.jp http://ameblo.jp/sakurajosi http://ameblo.jp/sasayakanakaerimichi/ http://hisfairlady.blog135.fc2.com http://yaplog.jp/maymay818/ http://mioriii.blog.fc2.com http://ameblo.jp/happy-sara/ http://nacchibiyori.blog99.fc2.com http://nadeseeko.seesaa.net http://ameblo.jp/sheepinthewhite/ http://ameblo.jp/smile-f2 http://blackangel312.blog.fc2.com http://41xx.blog.fc2.com http://miiinsdaily.blog.fc2.com http://yaplog.jp/aiaiaich/ http://ameblo.jp/beautifulexperience/ http://ameblo.jp/sanyomi http://yaplog.jp/yatyuuka/ Blogi trzydziestolatek: http://tokyolumix.blog60.fc2.com http://noah7474.blog.fc2.com http://taemismile.blog.fc2.com http://pocketbook777.blog.fc2.com http://ameblo.jp/urabebebe/ http://anotheryoustyle.blog.fc2.com http://ameblo.jp/komaari-toislesjours/ http://0000nakanaka.blog.fc2.com http://konkatu-tae.com http://allie1000.blog.fc2.com http://kumakuma.sekigaharablog.com http://ameblo.jp/nya-koo/ http://gateauopera1121.blog.fc2.com http://miruhat.jugem.jp http://kuronekotango77.blog.fc2.com http://hedgehoglife.blog.fc2.com http://ameblo.jp/yuco0415/ http://sakura090111.jugem.jp http://fu-nonikki.seesaa.net http://ameblo.jp/lumiere-de-nuit-etoilee

Is it the case that every bunkei presented in the dictionary or a textbook for Japanese language is a grammatical structure?

Not every bunkei presented in Japanese language textbooks is a grammatical structure which must be explained. The classification (as a bunkei) of the adverb takusan or the verbs kikoeru and mieru, presented in textbooks Minna no Nihongo and Genki can be considered as an example of this statement. In addition, despite numerous constructions containing the noun wake, which are presented in dictionaries (Sunakawa 1998; Tomomatsu, Wakuri 2010; Tanimori, Sato 2012) and textbooks (Oyanagi 2002), two bunkei with wake can be considered as completely separate grammatical structures. The classification of the construction ‘wake da’ and ‘wake niwa ikanai’ as a bunkei, due to the inability to deduce the meaning from the constituent parts of these forms, is justified. The examples of sentences quoted in this paper which contain the form ‘wake da’ in the sense of ‘conclusion’ and ‘in other words’ suggest that the meanings given in this bunkei may not be related to the meaning of wake but to the meaning of the particles used, which indicate the cause and effect relationship (‘kara’, ‘node’ – means ‘because’) and the adverb (‘tsumari’ – ‘in other words’). Other bunkei’s, as is suggested by examples of usage and by grammar explanations quoted in this article, are a usage of the noun wake (in the affirmative or negative form) combined with another grammatical form or with particles. The separate meanings assigned to wake might be related to other forms used in the examples, and not precisely to the noun wake. Moreover, the meaning of the structures ‘wake dewa nai’ or ‘wake ga nai’ directly stems from the components of the mentioned bunkei. Therefore, additional explanations of these structures are not necessary to understand their meanings. Therefore, not only the authors of textbooks for learning Japanese as a foreign language create bunkei’s that are not separate grammatical structures, but sometimes also the authors of dictionaries divide the existing structures into separate bunkei’s, although their semantic difference follows from the elements added to the sentence, not from the structure itself

Omoiyari – the key word of harmonious Japanese communication

Omoiyari is known as one of the most ideal ways of behaviour in Japanese society. The word has been translated in Japanese-English dictionaries as nouns: “consideration”, “sympathy”, “empathy”, “compassion”, and adjectives: thoughtful” and “sensitive”. Additionally, Rohlen (1974) suggested combinations of English words such as “concerned sensitivity”, “empathetic sensing”, “concerned empathy” and “concerned emphatic kindness”. However, as Travis (1992) showed in her work, none of these words correspond to the full meaning of omoiyari, which is described in Japanese primary schools’ curricula as “Omoiyari tte nan darou. Doushitara ii no.” (“What is an omoiyari. What is the best thing to do?”) and by Lebra (1976) as a way of harmonious Japanese communication and coexistence with others. Omoiyari, similarly to other types of behaviour, needs to be taught to children by their families and schools. The paper aims to approach the meaning of omoiyari as a concept which Japanese linguists like Lebra and Japanese teaching curricula and books like “Katei kyouiku techou” (“Home education notebook”) try to present to Japanese children and non-Japanese speakers. Furthermore, the paper aims to address the question whether omoiyari is a unique concept of communication typical only for the Japanese language or if it could be found in Polish as well. In order to illustrate that, the situations in which Japanese people perform omoiyari are presented and the typical reactions of Polish people in the same situations are described.Cutrone, P. (2011). Politeness and face theory: Implications for the backchannel style of Japanese L1/L2 speakers. University of Reading; Language Studies Working Papers, 3, 51–57. Bargiela-Chiappini, F. (2002). Face and politeness: new (insights) for old (concepts). Journal of Pragmatics, 35, 1453–1469. Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bruneau, T. (1995). Empathetic intercultural communication: State of the art and future potentiall. Intercultural Communication Studies, 8, 1–24. Cohen, R. (1978). Altruism: Human, cultural, or what? In L. Wispe (Eds.), Altruism, sympathy, and helping: Psychological and sociological principles (pp. 79–98). Academic Press. Eisenberg, N. (1979). Development of children’s prosocial moral judgment. Developmental Psychology, 15, 128–137. Eisenberg, N. (1986). Altruistic cognition, emotion, and behavior. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Eisenberg, N., & Mussen, P. H. (1989). The roots of prosocial behavior in children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fraser, B. (2006). Whither politeness. In R.T. Lakoff & S. Ide (Eds.), Broadening the horizon of linguistic politeness (pp. 65–87). Berkley, CA: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Hara, K. (2006). The concept of omoiyari (altruistic sensitivity) in Japanese. Relational communication. Meikai University, Japan. Hidetada, Sh. (2002). Japanese Cultural Psychology and Empathic Understanding. Implications for Academic and Cultural Psychology. Cambridge University Press. Hiraki, K. (2000). Omoiyari o hagukumu. Jidou shinrigaku, 54, 721–730. Inaba, K. (2010). [Omoiyari kakusa] shakai kara no dakkyaku – ritashugi no kanousei to sasaeai no katachi. Graduate School of Human Development and Environment. Kobe University. Retrieved on April 24, 2013, from http://keishin.way-nifty.com/jp/files/kandai201003.pdf. Lebra, T. (1976). The Japanese patterns of behavior. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. Lebra, T. (2004). The Japanese self in cultural logic. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. Matsui, Y. (1991). Omoiyari no kozo (The anatomy of omoiyari). In A. Kikuchi (Ed.), Gendai no esupuri: Omoiyari no shinri, No. 291 (Current espirit: The psychology of omoiyari No. 291: 27–37). Matsumoto, Y. (1988). Reexamination of the universality of face: Politeness phenomena. Japanese Journal of Pragmatics, 12, 403–426. Rohlen, T. P. (1974). For Harmony and Strength: Japanese White-Collar Organization in Anthropological Perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press. Sakai, R. (2006). Omoiyari ni kansuru kenkyuu no gaikan totenbou:koudou ni arawarenai omoiyari ni chuumoku suru hitsuyousei no teishou. Review of studies on “omoiyari”: Proposing the necessity to consider “omoiyari” that is not expressed in action. Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education. University of Tokyo, 45: 143–148. Retrieved on April 23, 2013, from http://ci.nii.ac.jp/els/110006389808.pdf?id=ART0008387768&type=pdf&lang=en&host=cinii &order_no=&ppv_type=0&lang_sw=&no=1366744181&cp=. Takekuro, M. (2005). Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Routine practice of the routine formula in Japanese. In R. T. Lakoff & S. Ide (Eds.), Broadening the Horizon of Linguistic Politeness (pp. 87–99). Berkley, CA: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Tamase, K., & Aihara, K. (2005). Sougo izonteki amae to omoiyari, kussetsu shita amae to jikoaiteki keikou. Interdependent Amae and Sympathy versus Distorted Amae and Narcissism. Department of Psychology, Nara University of Education.Retrieved on April 23, 2013, from http://near.naraedu.ac.jp/bitstream/10105/134/1/54-1-05_2005.pdf. Travis, C. (1998). Omoiyari as a core Japanese value: Japanese-style empathy? In A. Athanasiadou & E. Tabakowska (Eds.), Speaking Of Emotions: Conceptualization and Expression (pp. 55–81). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Travis, C. (1992). How to be kind, compassionate and considerate in Japanese. Unpublished Honours thesis. Department of Linguistics. Australian National University. Wierzbicka, A. (2007). Słowa klucze. Różne języki – różne kultury. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.Dictionaries http://kotowaza-allguide.com http://ejje.weblio.jp Sukina ji o jitsuyou kotowaza jiten (A dictionary of proverbs and sayings). Gakken 200

Japoński język kobiet : niechciany element mowy czy świadomy wybór

In the western people’s imagination, the Japanese society appears as a hierarchized structure that cherishes the division of gender roles drawn from tradition, where the woman runs all the household errands, and the man is the breadwinner. The said Japanese family model has been in decline since the early 1990s known in Japan as the period of “bubble economy.” However, the process of dividing along the gender lines – into “female” and “male” – in Japan, does not only relate to household chores, but also to the language devised by both the sexes. According to Lakoff (1973), the weakness and marginalization of women find their expression in both the language they use and the expectations concerning the way in which they are allowed to express themselves. Their utterances are supposed to accentuate doubtfulness and triviality, in opposition to the men’s language, traditionally perceived as being transparent, precise and well-adjusted to making key decisions. In the present article, I aim at presenting a brief characteristics of the Japanese languages of men and women by emphasizing their most typical grammatical and stylistic forms, as well as their respective lexicons. I shall also discuss the stances towards the Japanese language of women adopted by such female researchers as Robin Lakoff (1973) and Sachiko Ide (1990), to finally present my own opinion on the topic in question, based on both – reading of the published research results dealing with the Japanese language of women, as well as on my own analysis of young Japanese females’ utterances published on their blogs. Thanks to the above, I am going to answer the following question: Do young Japanese females always use the language of women, or are there situations in which they would rather use the men’s speech, and if so, what determines their choice

How to learn a foreign language? : 45 experts reveal the secrets of effective language learning

Poradnik "Jak nauczyć się języka obcego" jest dostępny dla wszystkich, za darmo i bez ograniczeń. To projekt 100% non profit, edukacyjny, stworzony z myślą o osobach uczących się języka obcego. Poniżej prezentujemy najciekawsze porady od osób, zajmujących się hobbystycznie i profesjonalnie językami obcymi i świetnie im to wychodzi! Poznajcie rady pasjonatów językowych i autorów najciekawszych stron o językach obcych! Wiele "tajemnych" porad i odpowiedzi na pytania dotyczące nauki języków obcych takich jak: Jak szybko nauczyć się języka obcego i czy to w ogóle możliwe? ; Ciekawe sposoby na naukę słownictwa, poprawę czytania/pisania/słuchania ; Jakie są najbardziej efektywne metody & techniki & sposoby nauki języka obcego? ; Polecane strony www / blogi & aplikacje mobilne & metody online i inne interaktywne formy nauki ; Książki & magazyny & wydawnictwa & YouTube/ TV / radio, które warto poznać aby opanować łatwiej język obcy ; Najważniejsze języki obce w 2015 r. - newsy z rynku pracy / edukacji w EU ; Jak zmotywować się do nauki języka

Jak nauczyć się języka obcego?

<p>Jak szybko nauczyć się języka obcego?; sposóby na naukę słownictwa; poprawę czytania/pisania/słuchania; Jakie są najbardziej efektywne metody & techniki & sposoby nauki języka obcego?; strony www / blogi & aplikacje mobilne; & metody online i inne interaktywne formy nauki języków; Książki & magazyny & wydawnictwa / TV / radio; które warto poznać aby opanować łatwiej język obcy; Jak zmotywować się do nauki języka?</p