Japanese Communication: Language and Thought in Context

by Senko K. Maynard, Jean Calabrese (Designer)

Japanese Communication: Language and Thought in Context opens with a comparison of basic American and Japanese values via cultural icons. Maynard examines topics such as masculine and feminine speech, swearing, expressions of ridicule and conflict, adverbs of emotional attitude and the eloquence of silence.


From book cover:
"In the last two decades, there has been a burgeoning interest in pragmatics, a field of linguistics that concentrates on language use and is separate from the investigation of the intrinsic structure of language (syntax). This book of Japanese pragmatics is an ambitious undertaking which brings to the fore some of the prominent factors which figure in language use. Importantly, it sets out to explore the elusive connection between language and thought...A welcome and worthy addition to Japanese pragmatics...Highly recommended." --Journal of Asian Studies

"This inspiring book will give a deep insight into the Japanese language as well as its culture, society and people....Not only useful to those studying and teaching Japanese but also those studying linguistics and cross-cultural studies, professionals who associate with Japanese clients, and people who are generally interested in Japanese culture, society and language." --South Pacific Journal of Psychology


Cover illustration by Taki

Genres: Japan, Linguistics, Japanese Literature, Nonfiction

253 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

About the author

Senko K. Maynard is professor of Japanese language and linguistics at Rutgers University. She received her bachelor's degree from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and her doctorate in linguistics from Northwestern University. She has published extensively in the field of Japanese linguistics, especially in the area of discourse analysis and conversation analysis. Among her books are Japanese Conversation: Self-contextualization through Structure and International Management (1989), An Introduction to Japanese Grammar and Communication Strategies (1990), and Discourse Modality: Subjectivity, Emotion and Voice in the Japanese Language (1993). Author of numerous articles in Japanese, U.S., and international scholarly journals, Professor Maynard is the founding and current editor of Japanese Discourse: An International Journal for the Study of Japanese Text and Talk.