Introduction: An Indexical Approach to Language and Language Socialization

Taking an indexical approach, this book examines how learners of Japanese as a foreign language (henceforth JFL learners) and their host family members express their identities through uses of the so-called 'addressee honorific' masu form (verbal ending) during dinnertime conversation. I define 'indexicality' as the function of language that points to an aspect of the social dimension in the immediate situation at hand. As the same linguistic form can be used in varied situations, an indexical approach takes the view that a linguistic form evokes multiple indexical (or social) meanings. This book explores multiple social meanings of the masu form in Japanese.

This book differs from previous research on learners' acquisition of the honorifics in important ways. First, the focus of the book is not on the statistical analysis of learners' development of sociopragmatic competence (e.g. Rose & Ng Kwai-fun, 2001; Takahashi, 2001; Tateyama, 2001), but rather on ways in which the learners and their host family members use linguistic resources to construct their social identities in the daily routine of dinnertime talk. The pragmatic development of foreign language learners is intricately interwoven with their social identity in the target community (Kasper, 2001). In order to understand how foreign language learners acquire appropriate use of the masu form in interaction with host family members, 'it is critical to observe learners in social engagements and include the co-participants' situated actions in the analysis' (Kasper & Rose, 2002: 301). Secondly, this book questions the conventional and widely accepted meaning of the masu form as a marker of politeness or formality. It demonstrates that the masu form is not limited to politeness or formality but has multiple social meanings, and that these meanings are also fluid and context-dependent (cf. Cook, 1998). To approach the topic of how JFL learners are socialized to use the masu form, it is essential to analyze use of the form in interaction. This study examines use of the masu form under the assumption that it occurs in conversation among people in close relationships and plays an important role in socializing learners. Previous studies on JFL learners' pragmatic development assume that the masu form only occurs in talk with people in distant relationships (soto 'out-group/outside' context) and does not occur in conversation with people in close relationships (uchi 'in-group/inside' context). To date, studies that examine learners' use of the masu form in conversation with people in close relationships are scarce. Thirdly, this book is different from previous research on learners' acquisition of the masu form in that the data come from naturally occurring conversation outside of the classroom. Previous studies collected data from formal settings such as classroom interactions (Ishida, 2001) and interviews (Marriott, 1993, 1995). The significance of examining learners' use of the masu form in dinnertime talk with the host family is that this informal setting is paralleled by the context of family conversation in which L1 Japanese children first learn to use the masu form (Clancy, 1985; Cook, 1996a, 1997).

By going beyond the assumption that masu is uniquely a form related to honorifics, this book contributes to our knowledge of the nature of honorifics and their functions. This book draws on language socialization (Ochs, 1988, 1990, 1996; Ochs & Schieffelin, 1995; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986, 1996) and a theory of indexicality (e.g. Hanks, 1990, 2000; Ochs, 1990; Silverstein, 1976), both of which are founded on the assumption that language is an integral part of the social world. This introduction briefly discusses the indexical approach and language socialization as they relate to the study of this book. It also summarizes the significance of an indexical approach in examining the so-called 'addressee honorific form' in Japanese.

An Indexical Approach: Language as an Integral Part of the Social World

In an indexical approach, language is a socially organized phenomenon, and meaning is not a sole property of language but is situated and negotiated in social context (cf. Duranti & Goodwin, 1992; Gumperz & Levinson, 1996; Hanks, 1990, 2000). A linguistic form has the potential of taking on a variety of meanings. For example, the linguistic expression here points to a place closer to the speaker, which is the literal meaning of here. When this meaning is used in context, the indexical function of language can evoke multiple social meanings. If the speaker is standing by the table in the room here refers to the area where the table is located. If the speaker is standing by the door, here denotes the area where the door is located. If the speaker points to the window by her side and utters 'Here!', then this expression refers to the window. In each instance, the linguistic expression here indexes a different object in the immediate situation. This function of language has also been referred to as deictic function, and classic examples of deixis are person, place and time (cf. Levinson, 1983). The indexical function, however, is not limited to person, place or time deixis. For example, the utterance 'Can you hold this for me?' is usually understood as an indirect request in ordinary conversation, but may be understood in a clinical setting as a question asking the addressee's ability to use his or her arm (in particular, if the patient is asked this question by a nurse or a doctor). The fuzzy boundary between linguistic form and context indicates that all linguistic forms are potentially indexical, i.e. that the meaning of the linguistic form is relativized to social context.

The notion of 'context' needs some clarification. Duranti and Goodwin (1992: 3) define 'context' as 'a frame (Goffman, 1974) that surrounds the event being examined and provides resources for its appropriate interpretation'. The frame that surrounds the event is not merely the setting that statically surrounds an utterance but the social and psychological world in which the participants of a speech event interact at a given moment. In other words, context is comprised of the setting, participants, language ideology, activity type, the sequential organization of talk and the state of knowledge of the interlocutors in the social interaction. Throughout this book, the term 'context' is used in this sense. The complexity of context provides an ongoing interactive process. Within the...