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Gender differences in spoken Japanese
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The Japanese language is unusual among major languages in the high degree to which the speech of women seen collectively differs from that of men. Differences in the ways that girls and boys use language have been detected in children as young as three years old (Tannen).
Such differences are sometimes called "gendered language." In Japanese, speech patterns peculiar to women are sometimes referred to as onna kotoba (???, "women's words") or joseigo (???, "women's language").
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The Japanese language is unusual among major languages in the high degree to which the speech of women seen collectively differs from that of men. Differences in the ways that girls and boys use language have been detected in children as young as three years old (Tannen).
Such differences are sometimes called "gendered language." In Japanese, speech patterns peculiar to women are sometimes referred to as onna kotoba (???, "women's words") or joseigo (???, "women's language"). The use of "gender" here refers to gender roles, not grammatical gender. A man using feminine speech might be considered effeminate or homosexual, but his utterances would not be considered grammatically incorrect. In general, the words and speech patterns considered masculine are also seen as rough, vulgar, or abrupt, while the feminine words and patterns make a sentence more polite, more deferential, or "softer" (countering abruptness).
There are no gender differences in written Japanese (except in quoted speech), and almost no differences in polite speech (teineigo), except for occasional use of wa (and except for the fact that women may be more likely to use polite speech in the first place).
Major differences in the use of Japanese
Words for "I" or "me"
Words for "you"
See also Japanese pronouns
Sentence finals
Traditional characteristics of women's speech
The word onnarashii, which is usually translated as "ladylike" or "feminine," refers to the behaviour expected of a typical Japanese woman. As well as behaving in particular ways, being onnarashii means conforming to a particular style of speech, the features of which are, according to Eleanor Jorden, "repeated like a liturgy in writings everywhere." Some of the features of women’s speech include speaking in a higher register, using more polite forms and using polite speech in more situations, and the use of particular "intrinsically feminine" words (Mangajin).
Feminine speech includes the use of specific personal pronouns (see table, above), omission of the copula da, use of feminine sentence finals such as wa, and the more frequent use of the honorific prefixes o and go.
According to Katsue Akiba Reynolds, ladylike speech is instrumental in keeping Japanese women in traditional roles and reflects Japanese society’s concept of the difference between women and men. For example, there is the potential for conflict for women in the workplace in that, in order to be onnarashii, a woman must speak politely, submissively and humbly, yet in order to command respect as a superior, she must be assertive, self-assured, and direct, even when dealing with male subordinates. Miyako Inoue is also critical of the way gender difference in speech is portrayed in Japan.
Traditional characteristics of Japanese men's speech
Just as there are modes of speaking and behaviour that are considered intrinsically feminine, there are also those that are considered intrinsically masculine. In speech, being otokorashii (????, "manly" or "masculine") means speaking in a lower register, using fewer polite forms and using them in fewer situations, and using intrinsically masculine words.
In particular, men use particular masculine personal pronouns, use the informal ("da") in place of the copula desu, use masculine sentence finals such as zo, and use honorific prefixes less frequently than women.
Gender differences in modern society
As women gain an increasing leadership role in Japanese society, notions of onnarashisa and otokorashisa, that is, what is deemed appropriate behavior for men and women, have evolved over time. Although comparatively more extreme movements call for the elimination of gender differences in the Japanese language, convergence in usage is considered unlikely and may not even be desirable. Instead, trends in actual usage indicate that women are feeling more comfortable using traditional characteristics of female speech (such as wa) while still maintaining an assertive attitude on par with men. In other words, there is a gradual decoupling of language forms and traditional cultural expectations.
Although the characteristics of Japanese male speech have been largely unaffected, there has been an increasing sensitivity regarding certain usages (such as calling mature women -chan) that may be considered offensive.
Regional dialect may often play a role in the expression and perception masculinity or femininity of speech in Japanese.
Another recent phenomenon influencing established femininity in speech is the popularity of ??? Okama, very feminine men as popular ??? Geinoujin (television personalities). While homosexuality and transgenderism is still a fairly taboo subject in Japan, lesbians with male traits, or cross-dressers, are referred to as onabe or tachi.
Problems for Japanese learners
Perhaps because the vast majority of Japanese language teachers are women, or perhaps because of other association with Japanese women, such as learning the language from a girlfriend or female partner, non-native male learners may inadvertently pick up "women's Japanese", which may sound awkward or cause embarrassment. Of course, the reverse situation is also true. This may also be because Japanese women generally use polite speech more frequently than men, even in fairly casual situations. Compounded with the fact that most courses and textbooks spend a great deal of time enforcing polite speech, non-native males may tend to sound feminine in casual situations.
It is important for non-native learners to spend time with males and females who speak Japanese natively in order to better comprehend the linguistic differentiations.
In addition to the use of pronouns to refer to oneself and others, the use of titles such as -san, -chan, and -kun also is strongly influenced by gender-based overtones and is another source of potential problems for the non-native speaker.
The situation is complicated by the fact that in actual usage many of the above gender differences are not as easy to delineate as they have been in the above chart. For example, in many regions of Japan it is common for older men to refer to themselves as boku or older women to refer to themselves as ore. Similarly, both men and women use particles pronounced wa, although the meaning and pronunciation is different.
Problems with localization of video games
These gender differences in spoken language cause unique problems in the localization of video games. Spoken language in a video game is often displayed as text messages on the screen. To avoid awkwardness, games created in Japan use neutral or simple and functional messages when they may be spoken by both male and female characters. When this method is not feasible, different messages for each sex — and sometimes for each character — are created. Because of this, localization from Japanese is constrained only by the translators' ability or by technical difficulties in displaying enough characters on the screen.
However, games created outside Japan, especially in America and Europe, generally use the same messages for both sexes. When such non-Japanese games are localized into Japanese, localization efforts have two choices: make neutral messages usable by both sexes, or reduce messages to understandable form and strip all meanings that can not be localized in the limited display area. When the quality of translation is inadequate, a game may display a feminine message despite the character speaking it being male. The reverse is usually more acceptable, at the cost of making the female character seem unrefined or overly aggressive.
In games such as MMORPGs, in which a player's character can be customized to have any age, appearance, and sex, this problem is further complicated by the obvious lack of honorifics and titles in non-Japanese versions. Such a simple phrase as "I will help you" is a potential localization nightmare if a barbarian male warrior, who might normally use ore, and a cultured female wizard, who might normally use watakushi, are both forced to use watashi as the compromise. If additional translated words are similarly neutral, this male barbarian gains an unexpected refinement while the female wizard loses some of her nobleness. Depending on the characters involved, the entire sentence may be grammatically correct, but socially unacceptable.
See also
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