Proud of Your Dialect

Tomomi Tsuchiya
Yih Yeh Pan
Course 150-3
July 24, 2008

Proud of Your Dialect

Introduction

I speak in a strong dialect which is very different from the “Standard Japanese”. I define the “Standard Japanese” as a Japanese language which is mainly used in Tokyo and on mostly radio or television. Most Japanese people can understand it (Sato, 1999). There are a lot of dialects in Japan such as Tohoku dialect, Kansai dialect, Tokyo dialect which is really close to the “Standard Japanese”, Kyushu dialect, and Okinawa dialect. My dialect is Yonezawa dialect in Yamagata prefecture which is categorized in Tohoku dialect group. When I spoke in my dialect in different places such as in Tokyo, I realized that many people stared at me and started laughing. Also in AIU, some of my friends from southern part of Japan make fun of my dialect. From my experience, I feel that there is some prejudice against dialects in Japan. I know many students from many different cities in AIU. However, it is difficult to judge their home prefectures from their way of speaking because they tend to use the “Standard Japanese”, my friends from Tohoku district especially, try to hide their dialects.

However, I think that each dialect has its own style. Therefore, one dialect should not be superior or inferior to another one. I believe that each dialect should be respected and preserved. In the first section of this research paper, I would like to write about reasons why dialects are discriminated and dying in Japan. In this section, I will clarify the background and present condition of Japanese dialects. In section two, I will give reasons why dialects should be preserved and respected.

1.Reasons why dialects are discriminated and dying in Japan

Traditional dialects in Japan are disappearing nowadays (Takayama, 2006). There are several reasons why dialects are being discriminated against and dying in Japan. The first reason is the political and educational promotion of “Standard Japanese” education. In the middle of the Meiji era, the government started a severe crusade against dialects and there was a penalty if people used their dialects (Sato & Yoneda, 1999). After World War Ⅱ, corrections for dialects into proper “Standard Japanese” were done in school education. Through the education, the government planted the idea that dialects are “evil” and “shameful” languages in the mind of people (Sato & Yoneda, 1999). This idea has been accepted by most Japanese people ever since, and it caused discrimination and stereotyping against dialects before long.

The second reason is the influence of the “Standard Japanese” through mass media and mass communication such as television, radio, and also the Internet (Takayama, 2006). Recently, the “Standard Japanese” is popularized in Japan thanks to these reasons. This phenomenon carries the decline of traditional dialects. In local areas, speaking “Standard Japanese” is penetrating especially into younger generation (Sato & Yoneda, 1999). In a survey, when people were asked a question: “Do you like your dialect?” as the interviewee’s age became younger, the number of positive answers decreased on average in the whole country (Sato & Yoneda, 1999). Thus, young people prefer to use the “Standard Japanese” rather than their dialects.

The third reason is the influence of economic power of Tokyo. Since Tokyo is the capital city, most of the economic power is concentrated in Tokyo and its suburbs (Takayama, 2006). With the economic growth of Tokyo, the transportation system was developed, and many people flowed into Tokyo area (Hanzawa, 1999). Thus, Tokyo became the economic central city in Japan. Therefore, the “Standard Japanese” spread out all over the country rapidly.

The fourth reason is that of nuclear family style and individualism. Traditionally, the Japanese family was big. There were at least three generations in one house so every family member used to talk with each other in a dialect. However, because nuclear family style is more popular and people become more individualistic in Japanese society these days, people have less opportunities to talk with old people (Takayama, 2006). Since a dialect is not a written language, it is difficult to learn and succeed a dialect without talking with anybody who can speak the dialect. The more people live apart from their home towns, the less chances of speaking dialects will be provided.

The last reason is that of strong inferiority complex concerning dialects. Especially people in Tohoku district have much stronger inferiority complex towards their dialects in Japan (Sato & Yoneda, 1999). The Tohoku dialect is a synonym for “countryside”, “non-sophisticated”, and “inferior”. As I mentioned above, the Meiji government planted the idea that dialects are “evil” and “shameful” languages in the mind of people (Sato & Yoneda, 1999). Therefore, people are unwilling to speak their dialects.

However, “Language is a flexible, changing, living organism that belongs to the people who speak it” (Simon, 1980, p.551). Is it really okay if the dialects vanished and there would be only one, plain language? Next, I would like to show the reasons why dialects should be preserved and respected.

2.Reasons why dialects should be respected and preserved

A dialect is strongly connected to people’s personal identity and cultural identity as a mother tongue. Here, I use the term:” identity” to refer to” how people understand their relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how people understand their possibilities for the future” (Norton, 1997, p.410). Also, Loss of dialect means the loss of their culture and historical identity. “When a language dies, we lose the unique local identity” (Goshgarian, 2007, p.24). Even though people speak in Japanese, each dialect has slightly different nuances. We are living in the structure which is constructed by language (Pinker, 1999). That is, the more the structure overlap, the more we understand and feel natural while they are talking.

Thus, dialects are the most important way to express a sense of belonging to a community which you are in (Morishita & Ohno, 2001). Each dialect has its own accents, pronunciations, and words which is different from the “Standard Japanese”. Sometimes, people do not even use the same word for the same thing. It is different not only from the “Standard Japanese”, but also different from region to region. For example, the word “Kowai”, which means “scary” in standard Japanese, means “stiff” or “tough” in Saitama prefecture. It also means “tired” or “hard” in some places in Tohoku district. It means “dangerous” in Kouchi prefecture and “clever” in Nigata prefecture. Like this, there are small differences on nuance in dialects. Nothing more clearly and exactly distinguishes one nuance from another than its own dialect. In other words, it is hard to translate the exact meanings of each dialect which has a lot of different nuance into the “Standard Japanese”. It is just like a Japanese word: “Setsunai” which is really difficult to translate into English. It is translated into “feel sad” (Taishukan, 2004), but actually this translation does not express the same meaning of Japanese people’s “Setsunai” feeling.

These nuances are very important to convey feeling properly. The “Standard Japanese” cannot express the small nuances as a dialect does. So, it is slightly different from real himself or herself when he or she uses the “Standard Japanese” instead of dialect. All of the uniqueness of dialects is necessary to tell each local culture and play an important role to make people’s relationship rich and deep (Sato, 1999). It ensures maintenance of the smooth relationship with others. Making use of dialects in daily life would make local areas flourish. “A dialect isn’t something to be avoided or cured” (Lederer, 2003). It should be spoken proudly and preserved.

Conclusion

Dialects are discriminated against and dying in Japan because of several reasons. The first one is the political and educational promotion of “Standard Japanese” in education. The second one is the influence of the “Standard Japanese” through media and mass communication. The third one is the influence of the economic power of Tokyo. The fourth one is the nuclear family style and individualism. The last reason is strong inferiority complex on dialects.

However, I think that each dialect should be respected and preserved. That is because each dialect is strongly connected to people’s personal identity and cultural identity. I am proud of my dialect in which I can convey my thoughts and feelings precisely and naturally. When I speak in Yonezawa dialect, I feel myself in my speech.

Reference

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Lederer, R. (2003). All-American Dialects. In Goshgarian, G., (Ed.), Exploring Language (pp. 541-546). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Esling, John. (1999). Everyone Has an Accent but Me. In Goshgarian, G., (Ed.), Exploring Language (pp. 558-562). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

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Retrieved July 14, 2008, from http://www3.u-toyama.ac.jp/takayama/class/2006/seminar_1/honron.htm