Style Shifting In Japanese Native Non Native Conversation

Download or read book Style Shifting in Japanese Native/non-native Conversation written by Jenna Lynn Smith and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are two distinct styles of predicates in Japanese: the long form and the short form. The former is associated with politeness/formality, while the latter is reserved for more intimate social settings. It is expected that when the relationship of the speakers and the setting remains the same, speakers will use one form. However, studies on native speakers show mixing of the two forms, known as style shifting, occurs even when the factors mentioned earlier remain constant. This study examines short and long form usage and style shifting in conversations between native and non-native speakers. Similar to native speakers, the majority of native/non-native dyads shared a dominant speech style, and all speakers (including the non-native speakers) engaged in style shifting. A closer look at individual conversations showed the non-native speakers' awareness of what forms they were using, and evidence of style shifting serving specific discourse functions.