Japoński język kobiet - niechciany element mowy czy świadomy wybór

Abstract

The Japanese language of women – an unwanted component of speech, or a con- scious choice? In the western people’s imagination, the Japanese society appears as a hierarchized structure that cherishes the division of gender roles drawn from tradition, where the woman runs all the household errands, and the man is the breadwinner. The said Japanese family model has been in decline since the early 1990s known in Japan as the period of “bubble economy.” However, the process of dividing along the gen‐ der lines – into “female” and “male” – in Japan, does not only relate to household chores, but also to the language devised by both the sexes. According to Lakoff (1973), the weakness and marginalization of women find their expression in both the language they use and the expectations concerning the way in which they are allowed to express themselves. Their utterances are supposed to ac‐ centuate doubtfulness and triviality, in opposition to the men’s language, traditionally perceived as being transparent, precise and well-adjusted to making key decisions. In the present article, I aim at presenting a brief characteristics of the Japanese languages of men and women by emphasizing their most typical grammatical and stylistic forms, as well as their respective lexicons. I shall also discuss the stances towards the Japanese language of women adopted by such female researchers as Robin Lakoff (1973) and Sachiko Ide (1990), to finally present my own opinion on the topic in question, based on both – reading of the published research results dealing with the Japanese language of women, as well as on my own analysis of young Japanese females’ utterances published on their blogs. Thanks to the above, I am going to answer the following question: Do young Japanese females always use the language of women, or are there situations in which they would rather use the men’s speech, and if so, what determines their choice?