JAPAN 326
Japanese Language in Society
Asian and Near Eastern Languages
College of Humanities
Course Description
Overview of Japanese pragmatics and sociolinguistics with application to using Japanese appropriately in a variety of contexts.
When Taught
Winter
Grade Rule
Grade Rule 8: A, B, C, D, E, I (Standard grade rule)
Min
3
Fixed
3
Fixed
3
Fixed
0
Title
Appropriate use of Japanese in Context
Learning Outcome
Students will be able to use theories from pragmatics and sociolinguistics to explain appropriate and inappropriate use of Japanese in a variety of common social contexts including popular media, formal informational presentations, informal interactions, and institutional settings. These explanations will show sensitivity to the importance of both linguistic correctness and cultural appropriateness.
Title
Analyzing Japanese conversations
Learning Outcome
Students will be able to analyze natural conversations to generate evidence-based descriptions of
how meaning is created in context by linguistic elements such as honorifics, sentence-final particles, epistemic markers, and affective markers,
how Japanese conversations are interactionally organized, including turn-taking and turn-response, and
how Japanese users sequentially structure common social actions such as thanking, apologizing, requesting, and inviting.
Title
Intercultural communication and interaction
Learning Outcome
Students will be able to identify common areas of miscommunication between Americans and Japanese, and articulate important cultural assumptions and perspectives that contribute to them. Through this, they will develop a more informed awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, including how such diversity supports our common identity as Children of God and Disciples of Christ.
