“Japanese Female Speech” and Language Policy in the World War II Era

要旨

Abstract Language evolves naturally over the course of human communication. However, certain aspects of language are molded artificially. France and Germany provide classic examples of the artificial modification of language: each, in the course of building a nation-state, established its own national tongue purified through the elimination of dialectal elements and foreign loanwords. A similar process began in Japan at the end of the nineteenth century, when developments in Germany and the rest of Europe were followed with interest. The state, specifically the Ministry of Education, launched a series of surveys to lay the groundwork for the establishment of a standardized national language.

主題