First of all, I wanted students of the Japanese language who were studying abroad to realize that women didn't necessarily use the so-called the "feminine" language presented in Japanese language textbooks and, second, I wanted to convey to readers that the sex ist language in Japanese, far from an essential and natural aspect of Japa nese, was in fact constructed by a specific social-historical system. Ultimately, that particular proposal never came to fruition, but my own ambition to clarify the nature of Japanese discriminatory language for non-Japanese readers grew stronger. Suzuki Kazuki in the editorial department of Japan Quarterly, I published a short essay titled "Sexism in Japanese-Language Dictionaries." Almost as soon as the article appeared in print, a publisher in England suggested that I write a book on the same theme.
Differences in language usage by men and women (by sex and age) Differences in language usage by men and women (by sex) Comparison of Meiji and Showa women's speech patterns Comparison of winners of the Akutagawa Prize by gender Comparison of numbers of literary works, by gender of author Printed in the United States of AmericaĬhapter 1: Women and the Ancient LanguageĬhapter 2: Women's Language in the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods: Actualization of Gendered Language DifferencesĬhapter 3: Women's Language in the Edo Period: Reinforcement of Restrictions on Women's SpeechĬhapter 4: Women's Language in the Meiji and Taisho Periods: The Entrenchment of Women's Language in EducationĬhapter 5: Women's Language in the Showa Period: From Asobase to the Easing of Gender DifferfencesĬhapter 6: Women's Language Today: Women Coining Words, Women Playing with Language
This publication meets the AN SI/N ISO Standards for Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives (Z39.48- 1992). 57) Includes bibliographical references and index.
(Michigan monograph series in Japanese studies no. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Endo, Orie, 1938 A Cultural history of Japanese women's language / Endo Orie. Published by the Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan 1007 E. Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies Number 57 Center for Japanese Studies The University of MichiganĪ Cultural History of Japanese Women's LanguageĬ en ter for Japanese Stud ies T he U niversity of M ichigan A nn A rb o rĬopyright © 2006 by The Regents of the University of Michigan All rights reserved