Loanwords and Japanese Identity

Loanwords and Japanese Identity: Inundating or Absorbed? provides an in-depth examination of public discussions on lexical borrowing in the Japanese language. The main objective of this book is to explore the relationship between language and identity through an analysis of public attitudes towards foreign loanwords in contemporary Japanese society. In particular, the book uncovers the process by which language is conceived of as a symbol of national identity by examining an animated newspaper controversy over the use of foreign loanwords. The book concludes that the fierce debate over the use of loanwords can be understood as a particular manifestation of the ongoing (re-)negotiation of Japanese national identity. This book will appeal to scholars and students in sociolinguistics, translation studies, and discourse analysis, while its cultural and geographic focus will attract readers in Japanese studies and East Asian studies.

Naoko Hosokawa is a postdoctoral fellow at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo. After obtaining a doctoral degree from the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, she worked at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), the European University Institute, as well as the University of Strasbourg, and took the current position in 2020. Her research focuses on the relationship between language and identity through the examination of media discourse. Her recent publications include "From reality to discourse: Analysis of the 'refugee' metaphor in the Japanese news media" in Journal of Multicultural Discourses as well as "The New Wild: Thinking Linguistic Globalization through the Ecology of Species" in The Manifold Nature of Bilingual Education.

Chapter 1: Loanwords in Japan 1.1 Western Loanwords and Japan Today 1.2 What are Gairaigo and Katakanago? 1.3 Gairaigo Controversies 1.4 Key Questions and Focal Points Chapter 2: For or Against? 2.1 Language and Identity 2.2: Public Opinions 2.3: Advantages and Disadvantages 2.4: Why the Polemic? 2.5: Gairaigo and Nihongo Dichotomy 2.6: Nihongo and Kokugo Chapter 3: Inundating or Absorbed? 3.1: Textual Data 3.2: Time Frame 3.3: Method of Analysis 3.4: Recurrent Verbs 3.5: Implications Chapter 4: Japanese or Foreign? 4.1: Nihongo, the Japanese language, and Gairaigo, Loanwords 4.2: Analysis 4.3: Summary Chapter 5: What Kind of Loanwords? 5.1: Loanwords as 'Outside Within' 5.2: Metaphors 5.3: Contrasts 5.4: Evolution of Japanese Identities Chapter 6: Loanwords and Identity in the Age of Diversity 6.1: French Discourse on Loanwords 6.2: Comparative Observations 6.3: Use of Katakana for Japanese Loanwords Abroad 6.4: From the 'Outside Within' to the 'New Wild'