Dissertations, Department of Linguistics

UC Berkeley Dissertations, Department of Linguistics Title Attunement in Interaction: Sequential Use of Japanese Honorifics Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1tr3s67n Author Takekuro, Makiko Publication Date 2005 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Attunement in interaction: Sequential use of Japanese honorifics by Makiko Takekuro B.A. (Japan Women’s University) 1996 M.A. (Japan Women’s University) 1998 M.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 2000 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the GRADUATE DIVISION of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Committee in charge: Professor Robin T. Lakoff, Chair Professor Leanne Hinton Professor William F. Hanks Fall 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Attunement in interaction: Sequential use of Japanese honorifics Copyright 2005 by Makiko Takekuro Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The dissertation of Makiko Takekuro is approved: Chair Date Date Date University of California, Berkeley Fall 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Attunement in interaction: Sequential use of Japanese honorifics by Makiko Takekuro Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California, Berkeley Professor Robin T. Lakoff, Chair This dissertation examines the sequential use of Japanese honorifics in social interaction. It attempts to find a language in which to talk about unexpected or atypical uses of Japanese honorifics in social interaction. As an account for atypical uses of Japanese honorifics, I introduce the concept of “attunement” to mean a participant’s fine-tuned coordination with others in social relations, both linguistically and non-linguistically. This dissertation shows that attunement is one recurrent pattern in Japanese native speakers’ acts of honorific usage. In social interaction, participants tend to choose honorifics or non- honorifics sequentially, in order to maximize the effect of attunement, particularly when conventions or social expectations are suspended. For example, when one participant changes footing (Goffman 1974), by suddenly including an unexpected honorific form from the prior context of interaction, it triggers attunement sequences of the same honorific forms in other interlocutors’ speeches. It contributes to the emergence and maintenance of the newly established sequences in the middle of interaction. In dynamic processes of interaction, co-present Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. participants respond to and adjust each other’s honorific usage in the course of interaction. The conditions for the usage of Japanese honorifics do not depend exclusively on relatively fixed properties of context (e.g. formality of the speech situation, interlocutors’ social status or group membership, or the lack of intimacy among interlocutors). Current interlocutors’ use or non-use of honorifics is motivated by previous interlocutors’ use or non-use of honorifics, while influencing subsequent interlocutors’ use or non-use of honorifics. Relevant context for Japanese honorific usage is not pre-structured but arises spontaneously in response to prior utterances. Honorifics together with other speech forms are used as a means of achieving attunement as a goal of social relations and interaction. In this dissertation, attunement is regarded not as a product of application by a specific or formal rule, but rather as interactive ends to successful communication and better interpersonal relationships. The notion of attunement presented in this dissertation enables us to consider how human beings use linguistic resources to adopt themselves to changing and unpredictable circumstances, and to connect to others. Professor Robin T. Lakoff Dissertation Committee Chair Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements This dissertation would never have been possible without significant individual and institutional support. First and foremost, I am grateful to the members of my dissertation committee, each of whom has been an incredible source of support. My adviser, Robin Tolmach Lakoff, has provided me with her knowledge, critical advice, and much-needed direction throughout my graduate studies. She has read my drafts of not only this dissertation but also of grant proposals and conference papers, and has constantly given me invaluable comments. I owe most to her time, patience, and trust. William F. Hanks has been my inspiration. He has shared his broad knowledge and the joy of being involved in intellectual activities. Each time I come away from discussing some matter with him, the world looks entirely new. I thank him for his time, enthusiasm, and positive energy. Leanne L. Hinton has been immensely helpful, providing me with her constructive criticism and encouragement. Her intellectual guidance took me in the right direction and kept me focused. Outside my dissertation committee, many people read this dissertation and gave me important suggestions. Susan Philips of the University of Arizona read several chapters of this dissertation despite no obligations to do so. Her knowledge of linguistic anthropology and honorifics helped me to reshape my thought. I am deeply grateful to her time and detailed comments. Yasuyuki Motoyama was extremely helpful as a dissertation-writing support team member. Regular meetings with him enabled me to keep my work on i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. schedule. He offered constructive criticism and insights that perhaps could only have come from someone working in a discipline other than my own. Over the years of my student career, many people have given me their guidance and emotional support. Sachiko Ide of Japan Women’s University provided my first introduction to the field of sociolinguistics. Her aspiration and dedication to the field motivated me to come as far as I have and go forward to the future. I am also indebted to Masako Hiraga, Yoko Fujii, Kyoko Inoue, and Keiko Matsuki, who taught me the foundations of pragmatics and linguistic anthropology. Jie Zhang and Masanori Deguchi have been great friends and mentors of linguistics ever since we met at the LSA Summer Linguistic Institute in 1997. Their encouragements first brought me to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in linguistics and made it possible for me to finish the program with this dissertation. I could not have completed this endeavor without their ongoing support and friendship. Suzanne Wertheim, my senpai (senior) of sociolinguistics in the Department of Linguistics at UC Berkeley has always given me mentorship on dissertation-writing and academic life in general. During my graduate studies, I was blessed with loving friends. It is impossible to name all, but thanks to Aida Molina, Andrea Martens, Carl Freire, Chuan Goh, Eli Lebow, Feng Helen Liang, Gwen Le, Johnson Wu, Juergen Polle, Keiko Naruoka, Manu Sridharan, Maranatha Ivanova, Michiel De Hoon, Reijiro Shibasaki, Takemichi Okui, Tom Caradonnna, Tsuyoshi Ono, Yasunori Nomura, and Yuko Hori for their wisdom, kindness, and humor. My heartfelt thanks go to ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Margaret Pagaduan and Marga Vega Rodriguez. Margaret together with Matt Lodewick have shared with me their family, positive perspectives, and artistic inspiration. Margaret, who reads most of my writings, has given me helpful suggestions, even though her expertise has nothing to do with linguistics or Japanese. Marga has been incredibly generous and gracious. No words could express my appreciation of her sincerity and maturity. My research could have never been possible without participants. I appreciate all the participants for their time, insightful metalinguistic commentaries, and interesting conversations. Financial support to conduct fieldwork was generously provided by the Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley. During my graduate career, the Japan-United States Educational Commission (Fulbright Grant), the Department of Linguistics and Graduate Division at UC Berkeley, and International House Berkeley have given me financial and institutional support, for which I am grateful. I thank the faculty and staff in the Department of Linguistics at UC Berkeley for their help and support. In particular, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Belen Flores who has given me detailed advice, starting since my entrance to the program to the last-minute submission of this dissertation. Finally, my parents, Ichiro Takekuro and Kyoko Takekuro have been an invaluable well-spring of encouragement and creativity. They have constantly encouraged me to develop a critical mind, uniqueness, and self-confidence. I dedicate this dissertation to them, without whose love and support in every aspect of my life, nothing would have been possible. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Notes on orthographic convention 1. The style of Romanization in Japanese is Hepburn. 2. Macrons indicate long vowels. However, macrons are omitted in commonly used words:

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