Kawaii discourse

要旨

Abstract With a point of departure in the Japanese keyword kawaii , roughly, “cute”, this chapter explores contemporary Japanese social discourse. Using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage to explicate kawaii , the two kawaii compounds ita-kawaii and otona-kawaii and the related keywords itai and otona , this study breaks new ground into the understanding of the conceptual basis of kawaii and its elaborations in discourse. As the conceptual configurations of kawaii and related concept are analysed, a view on Japanese socialization and gendered discourse is simultaneously developed, and the value of ‘being kawaii ’ is being scrutinized through the stability and innovations of kawaii in discourse.

主題