An Introduction to The National Language Research Institute:
A Sketch of its Achievements
Third Edition(1988)/
HTML Version(1997)
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II.1.19 Social Changes and Standards
of Honorific Behaviour in Japan
(Report 86, 1986. 322 pages)
In this report on sociolinguistic survey research, we
investigated the connection between the social changes in Japan
after World War II and the changes in honorifics which
occurred during these changes. This research proceeded
from two different perspectives. The first, described in
Chapters 2 and 3, was a macroscopic point of view. We examined
the changes in standards for honorific behaviour and traced
these back through changes in Japanese social structure and
social ties during the 40 years since the war. The second,
described in Chapters 4 through 6, consisted of research from
a microscopic point of view. In these chapters we described
the present situation of and changes in life style and life
awareness of regional citizens and in honorific awareness and
usage, and contrasted these results with a previous survey
conducted before the war in the 2 regional societies, Kita
Akita-gun, Kamikoani-mura in Akita Prefecture, and Higasi
Tonami-Gun, Kamitaira-mura in Toyama Prefecture. We
reconstructed events related to urbanization, changes in
industrial structure, and the shift in generations, and based
our analysis on a statistical analysis of these data from a
sociological point of view. We described changes in social
relationships from SIN, 'familiarity' to SO, 'distance' as
reflected in the honorific behaviour amidst these sociological
changes (for example, a change from consideration of KAKAKU,
'family background' to greater consideration of age).
Chapter 1 Outline of the Study (WATANABE)
Chapter 2 Macroscopic Survey of Changes in the Social
Structure and Honorific Behaviour in Postwar Japan
(WATANABE)
Chapter 3 History and Present Conditions of Honorific
Expressions in Reference to the Imperial Family in Newspaper
Articles (WATANABE).
Chapter 4 Social Changes and Standards for Honorific Behaviour in
a Northern Rural Village of Akita Prefecture (WATANABE,
MOTIZUKI)
Chapter 5 Social Changes and Standards for Honorific
Behaviour in the Mountain Village of Ettyu~ Gokayama
(WATANABE, SANADA, SUGITO)
Chapter 6 Linguistic Life and Attitudes Towards Language of
Children in a Northern Rural Village of Akita Prefecture
(MOTIZUKI, WATANABE)
The writing of this report was directed by WATANABE Tomosuke,
SUGITO Seizyu, MOTIZUKI Sigenobu and SANADA Sin'zi.
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