Conversation Topics on Contact Situation in Introductory Conversations Between Indonesian and Native Japanese Language Speakers

要旨

Conversations between speaking partners from different cultures, such as Indonesian and native Japanese language speakers, may include many different topics. However, due to the differences in cultural values between the speakers, the Indonesian Japanese language speakers may speak with a topic that might intrude upon the native Japanese language speakers' privacy, not knowing sensitive topics. This issue may cause a misunderstanding between the speakers. This survey study aims to identify what conversation topics the Indonesian Japanese language speakers may speak to native Japanese speakers in an introductory conversation on the first meeting. An open-ended questionnaire was distributed to 73 students of the Japanese Language Education Department at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta to collect the data. The questionnaire included questions on conversation topics that an Indonesian student would like to discuss with Japanese students in five different situations, namely conversations in a cultural exchange event, conversations in Indonesian tourism spots, conversations in Japanese education fairs in Indonesia, conversations in Japanese cultural fairs in Indonesia, and conversations in Indonesian public transportation. Additionally, a follow-up interview to gather detailed answers was conducted with 14 students based on the questionnaire. The survey results showed that Indonesian students wished to discuss personal topics with Japanese students. Therefore, Indonesian students had a high chance of being misunderstood when communicating with Japanese students because they would consider the topic they have chosen to intrude on their privacy. However, as not all personal information is considered privacy-intruding, future survey studies on the Japanese students are necessary to identify private topics.

主題