Understanding Japanese First-Person Pronoun Usage with Regards to Age and Social Hierarchy

Understanding Japanese First-Person Pronoun Usage

with Regards to Age and Social Hierarchy

Stephany Qiouyì Lu

April 30, 2009

1 Introduction

The Japanese language is rich with gender-laden lexical items and syntactic structures; most, if

not all, aspects of Japanese can be inflected with characteristics that are commonly tied to gender.

First-person pronouns in particular provide a wide range of gender expression and gender iden-

tification. Moreover, in “Japanese Junior High School Girls’ and Boys’ First-Person Pronoun Use

and Their Social World”, Ayumi Miyazaki claims that use of gendered first-person pronouns is

more fluid and flexible than initially believed.

However, Miyazaki’s ethnography sample was very homogeneous in age, and the pronoun

fluidity and flexibility that she observed may not be present in older groups. Additionally, it may

not be perceived in the same way, or as accepted, across other age groups. Thus, a number of

claims made by Miyazaki were tested with the additional factor of age in mind. Additionally,

some of Miyazaki’s observations regarding the strict hierarchy of social power based on first-

person pronoun usage were tested to see whether or not they were also perceived and applicable

in a wider, more diverse social context. For the most part, age ended up being not as significant of

a factor as initially believed; additionally, the rigidity of the social hierarchy that was illustrated

in Miyazaki’s article was not perceived as strongly in the larger respondent pool.

1

Understanding Japanese First-Person Pronoun Usage Stephany Qiouyì Lu

1.1 Note regarding terminology

In this paper, the term “trans-gender” will be used as an adjective to refer to the use of a pronoun

across gender lines, such as a female using a masculine first-person pronoun. The more “extreme”

pronouns are ore and atasi, which occupy opposite ends of the gendered pronoun spectrum; the

“intermediate” pronouns are boku and uti, which occupy middle-ground space on the spectrum.

2 Background

Miyazaki’s article “Japanese Junior High School Girls’ and Boys’ First-Person Pronoun Use and

Their Social World” provided the impetus for my research. Miyazaki derived her findings from

an ethnography that she conducted with one gakkyuu, or junior high school class. Each class is a

close-knit set of peers that spends most of their time together; social life is centered around the

peers in the individual’s gakkyuu. (Miyazaki 2004:259) Miyazaki discovered a number of interest-

ing occurrences regarding the first-person pronoun usage of students in the gakkyuu—a number

of girls used ore ‘[other-deprecatory, highly masculine] I’ and boku ‘[masculine] I’ to refer to them-

selves, and this trans-gender pronoun usage was not as stigmatized as one boy’s usage of atasi

‘[feminine] I’.

Miyazaki also supplied a number of metapragmatic generalizations regarding the use of vari-

ous first-person pronouns. The use of certain pronouns, such as ore by boys, was seen in a variety

of ways: Although ore is generally considered as other-deprecatory, many boys did not feel that

there was a deprecatory element to their use of ore (Miyazaki 2004:264).

Finally, Miyazaki presented a case study of a boy who would attempt to switch between boku

and ore in order to try to gain the respect of boys who used ore. Her use of this case study is meant

to illustrate the power dynamic that was constructed in the gakkyuu regarding boys’ use of specific

first-person pronouns.

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3 Background for data collection

3.1 Hypotheses

Miyazaki’s ethnography and findings were derived from a very particular situation: one gakkyuu

an hour away from Tokyo, and one case study from another, similar gakkyuu. Her findings regard-

ing the treatment of students of one gender using personal pronouns pertaining to the opposite

gender may have been unique to the environments she was investigating; these attitudes may not

be reflected by a more general, diverse population.

3.1.1 Age dependency

Miyazaki’s findings were that male ore users tended to look down on male boku users as more

effeminate and as weaker (Miyazaki 2004:265). However, because the age demographic of the stu-

dents in the gakkyuu was fairly uniform—all around 12 years old—it is unclear whether this depre-

cation of male boku users extends to older demographics. Furthermore, Miyazaki emphasized that

male ore users tended to be very hostile to male boku users, as the ore users considered themselves

socially superior (Miyazaki 2004:264). However, again, because of the limited age demographic,

it was unclear as to whether this attitude extended to a more diverse, older population.

Hypothesis 1. Exclusion by male ore users of male boku users is age-dependent. Be-

cause younger children are at a stage in their lives when inclusion and gender identity

is development and critical to social standing, younger boys will be expected to divide

more clearly along ore and boku lines. Older men will not be expected to display as

much hostility based on pronoun usage, nor will they be expected to be denigrated as

much based on their first-person pronoun usage.

Along similar lines, Miyazaki’s ethnography revealed that usage of masculine pronouns, par-

ticularly boku, by girls, was largely accepted. Usage of ore by girls was questioned more, but not

denigrated as much as usage of atasi by a boy.

Hypothesis 2. It becomes less acceptable for women to adapt more masculine pro-

nouns as they get older. It is hypothesized that childhood is a more flexible time for

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girls to experiment with pronouns, and that, as they get older, expectations toward

femininity are stronger. Therefore, women using ore and boku are expected to be less

accepted than girls using ore and boku.

3.1.2 Gender dependency

Miyazaki’s ethnography revealed that female usage of masculine pronouns was fairly accepted,

while male usage of feminine pronouns was unaccepted and denigrated.

Hypothesis 3. It is fairly universal that the use of a feminine pronoun by a man is

more stigmatized and less accepted than the use of a masculine pronoun by a woman.

Additionally, it is hypothesized that this trend is not age-dependent.

3.2 Methodology

3.2.1 Format of data collection

In order to assess respondents’ attitudes towards certain first-person pronouns, an in order to

have flexibility in providing a number of different scenarios for respondents to judge, the survey

method was used. Additionally, in order to gather a large number of responses from a diverse

range of people, the survey was created and dispersed online.

3.2.2 Target respondent pool

The primary website through which the survey was dispersed was Livejournal. Livejournal is a

social network based on blogging; the advantage that Livejournal has over other blogging web-

sites is that users can find communities that are based on specific interests. For example, users who

are interested in language and linguistics can join linguaphiles, where like-minded users discuss

topics related to language and linguistics, and where people can post questions to be answered.

These communities function as forums. From here on, communities will be notated using sans

serif fonts.

The survey was dispersed to four communities on Livejournal: asianstudies, which focuses

on all Asian studies disciplines; correctjapanese, a community dedicated to helping others learn

Japanese by correcting drafts and sentences; japanese, a community for discussion of Japanese

4


as a whole; and linguaphiles, a language and linguistics community. Users were provided with

a link to the Surveymonkey survey; users were also given the incentive of being entered into a

drawing for 6 months of Livejournal paid account time (worth $15) or a $20 gift certificate to

another website of their choice.

It was expected that the use of Livejournal as the primary source of respondents would cre-

ate an age bias. However, other demographic biases soon became apparent; these biases will be

discussed in section 4.2 (Confounding Factors).

3.2.3 Contents and intent of survey

The survey was hosted on Surveymonkey.com and was divided into six parts.

Part 1. The first page of the survey contained a number of demographic questions. First-person

pronoun usage and perception of first-person pronoun usage can vary by age; additionally, age

is a key factor in the various hypotheses. Gender also influences first-person pronoun selection

and perception. Moreover, whether or not the respondent is a native speaker is also important in

assessing the real-world perception of first-person pronoun usage, as native speakers tend to have

more exposure to the language and unique situations, and therefore have a better understanding

of the target questions. However, non-native speakers also have various sources of exposure to

Japanese which influence their understanding of first-person pronoun usage, and this was taken

into consideration by including a question that asked respondents to name their primary sources

of exposure to Japanese.

Finally, regional differences also contribute to respondent judgment of acceptability of cer-

tain pronouns, as well as respondent familiarity with more unconventional pronouns. Options

were given to allow respondents to specify the area in which they were raised, or, if a non-native

speaker, where the teacher who was most influential on their Japanese was raised. Additionally,

respondents were able to specify where they currently live.

Part 2. The second and third pages of the survey contained a number of hypothetical situations.

The two sets of situations were identical except for the hypothetical age of the speakers. Both

situations presented two male ore users in conversation; another ore user or boku user, both of the

5


same social distance to the two initial ore users, would then join the conversation. The intent of the

questions was to understand (1) whether respondents would feel that pronoun usage would make

a difference in the attitude of the response of the two initial ore users, and (2) whether perceptions

of hostility would differ depending on age.

Furthermore, there were two questions that intended to test the extent to which respondents

thought ore users would consider themselves as SSS (socially superior to the speaker) of boku

users, and the extent to which boku users would consider ore users as SSS to themselves. The

latter question was also designed to measure respondents’ perception of the desirability of the ore

persona to the boku user, as Miyazaki stated that a boku user in the gakkyuu she studied stated that

ore is something that boku users aspire to (Miyazaki 2004:264–265).

Part 3. The third part of the survey was placed as a control to see if the respondent pool had any

particular bias towards certain pronouns. Users were asked to rate the perceived masculinity of

ore, boku, and watasi ‘[neutral, polite] I’. These results would be matched with the known, prescrip-

tive spectrum of first-person pronoun masculinity; if there were a discrepancy, such as a notable

skew towards feminization of boku, for example, that skew would be noted.

The second half of the third part asked users to rate the desirability of the personality personas

created by usage of certain first-person pronouns by males. This question functioned primarily

to see if attitudes from this wider sample regarding the metapragmatics of first-person pronouns

were consistent with Miyazaki’s sample’s attitudes; Miyazaki stated that the usage of ore was often

perceived differently by girls than by boys, with girls feeling that boys who used ore were not so

much cool as they were arrogant and overcompensating (Miyazaki 2004:265).

Part 4. The fourth part asked respondents to rate the acceptability of various gender, pronoun,

and age (“young”, defined as around 12 years old, and “man”/“woman”, defined as around 25

and older) combinations on a spectrum with one end standing for “uncommon, awkward, strange,

uncomfortable” and the other end standing for “normal, standard, conventional, encouraged”.

This was intended as a measure to test hypotheses 2 and 3, which involved female use of male

pronouns and the acceptability of such across different age ranges.

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Part 5. The fifth part asked respondents to briefly describe the kind of person that they feel would

use the various first-person pronouns that had shown up previously in the survey. This part was

intended to understand the metapragmatics of first-person pronoun use of the respondent pool. It

was expected that the metapragmatics would be different and perhaps more rigid than the relative

fluidity of the metapragmatics of Miyazaki’s group (Miyazaki 2004:265). Additionally, this section

functioned primarily to provide possible explanations for why the results ended up being the way

they were, as respondents’ explanations would aid in forming additional hypotheses if the results

were not as predicted.

Part 6. The last part of the survey was an option for respondents to fill in contact information

(their e-mail address) if they were interested in being entered into the drawing and/or receiving

a copy of the results.

4 Results

4.1 Responses

Most questions were based on asking respondents to choose a value on a scale from 1–9 with

each end representing a different extreme of a spectrum, depending on the situation and ques-

tion asked. The numerical values that were subsequently graphed were the averages of these

responses. Thus, all numbers represent the average of all responses and is a point on a scale from

1–9.

4.1.1 Male ore-user hostility to male boku users

It was expected that respondents would perceive a third ore user as more of an in-group to the

two ore users, and therefore perceive the third boy with less hostility, than a boku user. Miyazaki

emphasized that, in the gakkyuu she studied, male boku users were often made fun of by male ore

users and treated with hostility, especially in the case of Taku, a boy who primarily used boku but

attempted to use ore as well (Miyazaki 2004:266).

However, this hypothesis turned out not to be the case for the respondent pool. In actuality,

the opposite effect occurred—respondents felt that ore users would treat a third ore user with signif-

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Figure 1: Perceived ore-to-ore vs. ore-to-boku hostility

icantly more hostility than they would treat a boku user. (See Figure 1) Moreover, respondents felt

that older men would respond with slightly more hostility towards a third ore user than younger

boys, which went against the hypothesis that older men would be less concerned with first-person

pronoun usage and identity than younger boys.

One possible explanation for this result is based on the very nature of the pronoun ore itself—

since ore is taken to be other-deprecatory, respondents may have felt that the challenge of being

deprecated by a third ore user, particularly one with whom the two initial ore users were not very

familiar, could spark more hostility. This possible explanation challenges Miyazaki’s findings in

that, for her environment, boys did not consider ore to be other-deprecatory or hostile, but rather

a standard pronoun for boys (Miyazaki 2004:264).

4.1.2 Perception of ore as SSS of boku

In Miyazaki’s gakkyuu, boys who used ore as their default first-person pronoun among peers were

seen as cool and strong, and therefore higher up on the social hierarchy than boys who used boku

as their default first-person pronoun among peers, who were seen as weaker and perhaps more

effeminate. Boku users’ understanding of this social hierarchy was also apparent in that boku users

often felt as if they were not masculine or cool enough to use ore (Miyazaki 2004:265–266).

However, because Miyazaki’s sample was very homogeneous and limited in age, the ques-

8


tion arose of whether this perceived social hierarchy was unique to Miyazaki’s sample’s age

group. That is, it was expected that respondents would find the rigid social hierarchy presented

in Miyazaki’s gakkyuu environment to be less controlling among men than among boys. It was

expected that respondents would find boku to be perceived as significantly weaker than ore in the

boys’ group, whereas this difference in power would be much less noticeable in the men’s group.

Moreover, it was expected that respondents would feel that boys who used boku would admire

and aspire to be like boys who used ore, whereas this admiration would be less apparent, if at all

existent, in the men’s group.

The actual results were somewhat consistent with the hypotheses. With 1 standing for “on the

same level as the ore users” and 9 standing for “very much considered weaker and inferior to the

ore users”, respondents scored the perceived inferiority of boku users in both age groups with 4.58

or 4.59. Thus, respondents felt that boku users were seen as slightly inferior to ore users, which is

consistent with Miyazaki’s article and the hypothesis. However, the apparent fact that age was not

seen as an important factor in this hierarchy was unexpected and contrary to the hypothesis. This

may suggest that power structure and social hierarchy play a more significant role in ore users’

perception of boku users than age.

However, respondents felt that, at a younger age, male boku users would have more respect

and admiration for male ore users. With 1 standing for “ore is of a lower status/is undesirable”,

5 standing for “neutral/equal”, and 9 standing for “very much admired/desired”, respondents

rated a boy using boku’s admiration for a boy using ore as 5.62, whereas the same situation for

three men was rated as a 4.59. This is consistent with the hypothesis that aspirations for mobility in

social structure bear more importance on younger boys and suggests a confirmation of Miyazaki’s

hypothesis that first-person pronoun use forms a strong basis of identity and social status for

younger children (Miyazaki 2004:259).

4.1.3 Acceptability by age of nonconventional first-person pronoun usage

Miyazaki’s findings were particularly surprising because they suggested fluidity of first-person

pronoun choice and gender roles. However, this fluidity may have been unique to the environ-

ment that Miyazaki was in—it is possible that, when children are young, they have greater flexi-

9


Figure 2: SSS of Ore

Figure 3: Acceptability of various pronoun, gender, and age combinations

10


bility in playing with identity and constructing personas that may not be as accepted by a wider,

more diverse environment. In particular, there were two main expectations: (1) that respondents

would react more favorably to females using masculine pronouns than males using feminine pro-

nouns, regardless of the age of the speaker, and (2) that respondents would react less favorably

to older females using masculine pronouns than to younger females using masculine pronouns,

based on the hypothesis that gender roles and expectations are more solid at an older age.

Acceptability of trans-gender pronoun usage by gender. There were four possibilities of trans-

gender pronoun usage: (1) females using ore, (2) females using boku, (3) males using uti, and (4)

males using atasi. (1) and (4) represent opposite extremes of mixing of gender pronouns, whereas

(2) and (3) represent intermediates. Acceptability was measured on a scale of 1–9, where 1 stood

for “uncommon, awkward, strange, uncomfortable” and 9 stood for “normal, standard, conven-

tional, encouraged”.

1. Females using ore: There was no significant difference in acceptability between girls using ore

and women using ore; both were rated as strange and uncommon, with a score of 2.16 and

2.20, respectively. The average for females using ore was 2.18.

2. Males using atasi: Respondents felt that it was slightly more acceptable for a boy to use atasi

than for a man to use atasi, rating the former at 2.37 and the latter at 1.99. The average for

males using atasi was 2.18.

These findings were surprising in that the acceptability of trans-gender pronoun usage for

pronouns on either end of the gender spectrum was the same, with an averaged rating of 2.18. In

fact, it was slightly more accepted for a boy to use atasi than for a girl to use ore. The rating for

men using atasi was consistent with the hypothesis that men using feminine pronouns would be

more stigmatized; however, the other ratings do not provide strong support for that hypothesis.

Thus, it may be that Miyazaki’s gakkyuu were a unique environment, and that general perception

of trans-gender pronoun usage as a whole is that of discomfort.

One possible explanation that part 5 of the survey, which asked respondents to provide brief

descriptions of the persona of the person using the specific gender and pronoun combination

given, reveals, is that males using feminine pronouns are often seen as being jokers or entertainers,

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such as comedians and drag queens, whereas females using masculine pronouns are often seen as

more serious, being punkish, butch, defiant, etc. Thus, the acceptability of the more extreme trans-

gender pronoun usage may be affected by the intent of the speaker; acceptability may be raised

if the speaker is perceived as purposely intending to provide comedic effect, versus intending

to look tough or effeminate. Further analysis may seek to include personality or presentation in

addition to trans-gender pronoun usage.

It is also possible that the equality of discomfort on both ends of the trans-gender pronoun

usage spectrum were from a normative, prescriptivist perspective of the respondents. Nearly all

the respondents were non-native speakers, a confounding factor that will be elaborated on in part

4.2.1.

1. Females using boku: It was generally more accepted for young girls to use boku than for

women to use boku. The average for females using boku was 3.92.

2. Males using uti: It was generally more accepted for men to use uti than for boys to use uti.

The average for males using uti was 3.98.

The relative equality of acceptability of trans-gender usage of intermediate pronouns is con-

sistent with the previous finding of relative equality of the acceptability of trans-gender usage of

extreme pronouns. However, there are a number of difficulties with using uti as a measure of

acceptability. Many of the respondents were unfamiliar with uti as a first-person pronoun and

therefore guessed on what they felt the acceptability should be. Moreover, there may have been

some regional influence, as some respondents felt that male usage of uti was acceptable because

these male speakers were assumed to be from the country or from Kansai. Therefore, it is difficult

to draw clear conclusions regarding the acceptability of male usage of uti from the respondents’

answers.

Acceptability of trans-gender pronoun usage for females by age. Usage of ore by females was

considered by respondents to be unacceptable or strange, regardless of age. However, usage of

boku by young girls was more accepted than usage of boku by women. This finding is consistent

with the hypothesis that age affects acceptability of trans-gender pronoun usage by women; how-

ever, the results indicate that acceptability may also be determined by how masculine the pronoun

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is.

4.2 Confounding Factors

A number of unexpected factors came to light after the survey was implemented. Initially, the

intent of the survey was to gather the responses and gut instincts of native speakers of Japanese

towards these different situations. However, it soon became apparent that the respondents of the

survey would not be as evenly balanced as was initially expected. The target group of respondents

was meant to be (1) mostly native speakers with some learners tossed in, and (2) balanced with

regards to gender. Additionally, an expected confounding factor was the age of the respondent

group.

4.2.1 Native speakers vs. non-native speakers

Almost 100% of the respondents to the survey were non-native speakers who were generally

intermediate- to advanced-level learners of Japanese. A small number of the advanced learners

had lived in Japan for an extended period of time, defined as a minimum of six months. However,

for the most part, the respondents were based primarily in the United States and were exposed to

Japanese through popular culture, such as TV shows, music, anime, etc.

The main cause of this unexpected bias in the respondent pool was a lack of knowledge re-

garding the demographic of the various communities to which the survey was posted. The initial

assumption was that there would be a number of active members in the communities who were

native speakers of Japanese; in particular, it was expected that the communities japanese and

correctjapanese would have a number of native speakers who would volunteer their time to aid

learners. However, it turned out that the majority of the members in these communities—or, at

least, the members who were active at the time the survey was posted—are learners.

This bias may also be due to the fact that these communities use English as the primary lan-

guage of communication and are therefore biased towards members who are at least bilingual,

which would, by nature, exclude monolingual native speakers of Japanese.

Because the respondents were primarily non-native learners, there were a number of respon-

dents who were unsure regarding their judgments. Therefore, the responses cannot be considered

13


as a completely accurate reflection of the actual attitudes in Japan regarding first-person pronoun

usage.

However, the responses are still valuable, as they could be showing the normative influence

of Japanese popular media. That is, because learners are exposed to Japanese primarily through

popular media, their familiarity with first-person pronoun usage is garnered from those sources.

It may be valuable to note the data in light of the images and personalities that popular media

seeks to portray.

4.2.2 Gender bias

Almost 100% of the respondents to the survey were female. There were only a handful of respon-

dents who were either male or did not identify with either gender. This bias affects the data in that

women are often socially conditioned to have different responses towards first-person pronouns

than men.

This factor was due to a lack of foresight on behalf of the researcher. The demographics of

the Livejournal community as a whole, particularly users who are more sociable, tends to be

overwhelmingly skewed towards the female side of the gender spectrum. The website as a whole

has a 66.1:33.9 female:male ratio (“Statistics”). It had been assumed that there would be a higher

number of male respondents; however, knowledge of the actual demographic of the Livejournal

population proved otherwise. This skewing of data could be avoided in the future by picking

communities and networks that have a more balanced demographic.

4.2.3 Age bias

The majority of respondents were in their early 20s to mid-30s. This was the expected demo-

graphic range of respondents and is consistent with the demographics of the Livejournal commu-

nity as a whole (“Statistics”). It is difficult to gather responses of the young demographic, defined

as users under the age of 13, because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 restricts

the amount of freedom to interact on the internet that younger children have. Furthermore, the

older demographic, defined as users over the age of 40, tends to have less of a presence on so-

cial networking websites, particularly on Livejournal, where the age range is skewed towards a

14


younger age range. The age bias could skew results in that there was little to no data regarding

responses from people in the age ranges actually presented in the hypothetical situations (12-year-

olds and 40-year-olds).

This age bias could be avoided in the future by expanding to different websites, or by asking

members to contact people of different age ranges to fill in the survey. Alternative, methods that

do not rely on the internet, such as paper surveys, could also be implemented.

4.2.4 Unfamiliarity with uti

A number of the respondents were unfamiliar with the pronoun uti and therefore had difficulty

answering questions that involved rating the acceptability of uti. This was expected, as Miyazaki

noted that uti is a recently constructed first-person pronoun (Miyazaki 2004:260).

5 Conclusion

Understanding use of gendered first-person pronouns in Japanese is particularly rewarding for

Japanese sociolinguistics. A number of claims regarding first-person pronoun usage and social

hierarchy were evaluated with the new angle of age added on. Due to the various confounding

factors, some of the results were inconclusive; however, age was indeed a factor in determining

the perception and acceptability of a couple of claims, such as the acceptability of girls’ use of boku,

and the respect and admiration that boys who used boku had for boys who used ore.

In order to better understand the impact of social contexts on first-person pronoun usage, age

should be considered as a factor. A longitudinal study examining the influence of age on a person’s

understanding of gender, gender identity, and subsequent first-person pronoun usage would be

very revealing of the impact that age and social pressures have on conforming to gender identity.

Particularly, the Japanese language lends itself particularly well to measuring social pressure on

gender identity conformity, which in itself is a broad historical and anthropological topic, because

of its clearly marked, gendered language.

Additionally, it would also be noteworthy to pursue a study of the way gender is presented in

popular Japanese media. Because most of the respondents to this study were non-native speakers

whose primary exposure to Japanese tended to be through pop culture, it is likely that non-native

15


understanding of gender is primarily influenced by gender presentation in pop culture. Likewise,

it would interesting and beneficial to study the impact of gender presentation in pop culture on

actual Japanese youth, adolescents, and adults as well, perhaps in conjunction with a longitudinal

study on social pressures to conform to gender identity.

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Appendix A

Survey Materials

The survey and results given to respondents has been included.

However, text responses have been omitted for the sake of the

length of the paper.

17

LING563 - First-Person Pronoun Usage

1. Age:

Response

Count

112

answered question 112

skipped question 3

2. Gender:

Response

Percent

Response

Count

Male 8.0% 9

Female 89.4% 101

Other (please elaborate) 2.7% 3


skipped question 2

Page 1

3. Are you a native speaker of Japanese?

Response

Percent

Response

Count

Yes 2.6% 3

No 97.4% 111


skipped question 1

4. What are your primary sources of exposure to Japanese?

Response

Count

112


skipped question 3

Page 2

5. Which region of Japan were you raised in? If you are not a native speaker, to the best of your knowledge, where is the teacher who has had the most influence on

your Japanese from? (Please elaborate in comments if these options are insufficient.)

Response

Percent

Response

Count

Hokkaidoo 5.8% 6

Toohoku 2.9% 3

Kantoo 43.3% 45

Chuubu 5.8% 6

Kansai 22.1% 23

Chuugoku 1.0% 1

Shikoku 1.0% 1

Kyuushuu 5.8% 6

Native speaker, but raised outside

of Japan (please elaborate):12.5% 13


skipped question 11

Page 3

6. Where do you currently live?

Response

Percent

Response

Count

Hokkaidoo 0.0% 0

Toohoku 0.9% 1

Kantoo 2.7% 3

Chuubu 0.9% 1

Kansai 3.6% 4

Chuugoku 0.0% 0

Shikoku 0.9% 1

Kyuushuu 0.0% 0

Outside of Japan (please

elaborate):90.9% 100


skipped question 5

7. When in the presence of social equals, what is your default first-person pronoun of choice?

Response

Count

108


skipped question 7

Page 4

8. Which community were you referred from?

Response

Percent

Response

Count

asianstudies 11.6% 13

correctjapanese 8.9% 10

japanese 42.0% 47

linguaphiles 26.8% 30

thequestionclub 5.4% 6

Other (please specify) 5.4% 6


skipped question 3

Page 5

9. Two 12-year-old boys, A and B, are talking; both use 'ore' as their default first-person pronoun when talking to peers.

not at allvery

hostile

Rating

Average

Response

Count

A third boy, C, joins the conversation,

and he also uses 'ore' as his default

first-person pronoun. C is a casual

acquaintance of A and B, who are

both not very close to him. To what

extent do you think A and B will be

hostile to C joining in the

conversation?

7.5% (7)11.8%

(11)

18.3%

(17)

18.3%

(17)

12.9%

(12)

20.4%

(19)9.7% (9) 1.1% (1) 0.0% (0) 4.23 93

D, who is of the same social

distance as C, joins the

conversation. However, D's default

pronoun of choice when talking to

peers is 'boku'. To what extent do

you think A and B will be hostile to D

joining in the conversation?

20.4%

(19)

18.3%

(17)

21.5%

(20)

18.3%

(17)

10.8%

(10)4.3% (4) 4.3% (4) 1.1% (1) 1.1% (1) 3.23 93


skipped question 22

Page 6

10. Regarding the situation presented in question 1:

not at

all/on

the

same

level as

A and B

very much

considered

weaker

and

inferior to

A and B

Rating

Average

Response

Count

To what extent do you think that A

and B would consider D to be

weaker, inferior, or less masculine?

10.8%

(10)

14.0%

(13)4.3% (4)

16.1%

(15)

16.1%

(15)

17.2%

(16)

15.1%

(14)5.4% (5) 1.1% (1) 4.58 93


skipped question 22

11. Additionally:

'ore' is of a

lower

status/is

undesireable

neutral/equalvery much

admired/desired

Rating

Average

Response

Count

To what extent do you think a 12-

year-old boy using 'boku' will look up

to, respect, and admire a 12-year-

old boy using 'ore'?

1.1% (1)3.2%

(3)

4.3%

(4)

6.5%

(6)29.0% (27)

26.9%

(25)

24.7%

(23)

2.2%

(2)2.2% (2) 5.62 93


skipped question 22

Page 7

12. Two 40-year-old men, E and F, are talking; both use 'ore' as their default first-person pronoun when talking to peers.

not at allvery

hostile

Rating

Average

Response

Count

A third man, G, joins the

conversation, and he also uses 'ore'

as his default first-person pronoun.

G is a casual acquaintance of E and

F, who are both not very close to

him. To what extent do you think E

and F will be hostile to G joining the

conversation?

7.6% (6)10.1%

(8)

21.5%

(17)

11.4%

(9)

10.1%

(8)

13.9%

(11)

17.7%

(14)7.6% (6) 0.0% (0) 4.57 79

H, who is of the same social

distance as G, joins the

conversation. However, H's default

pronoun of choice when talking to

peers is 'boku'. To what extent do

you think E and F will be hostile to H

joining the conversation?

23.1%

(18)

17.9%

(14)

21.8%

(17)7.7% (6)

14.1%

(11)7.7% (6) 2.6% (2) 3.8% (3) 1.3% (1) 3.32 78


skipped question 36

Page 8

13. Regarding the situation presented in question 4:

not at

all/on

the

same

level as

A and B

very much

considered

weaker

and

inferior to

A and B

Rating

Average

Response

Count

To what extent do you think that E

and F would consider H to be

weaker, inferior, or less masculine?

14.1%

(11)

17.9%

(14)9.0% (7) 1.3% (1)

11.5%

(9)

20.5%

(16)

11.5%

(9)

11.5%

(9)2.6% (2) 4.59 78


skipped question 37

14. Additionally:

'ore' is of a

lower

status/is

undesireable

neutral/equalvery much

admired/desired

Rating

Average

Response

Count

To what extent do you think a 40-

year-old man using 'boku' will look

up to, respect, and admire a 40-

year-old man using 'ore'?

6.5% (5)14.3%

(11)

11.7%

(9)

6.5%

(5)40.3% (31)

10.4%

(8)

6.5%

(5)

3.9%

(3)0.0% (0) 4.36 77


skipped question 38

Page 9

15. A number of first-person pronouns are given as the default pronoun that a person uses among his peers. How masculine do you feel the person is, based on his

pronoun choice?

neutralvery

masculine

Rating

Average

Response

Count

ore 3.8% (3) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 2.6% (2) 5.1% (4) 5.1% (4)17.9%

(14)

26.9%

(21)38.5% (30) 7.58 78

boku 9.2% (7) 2.6% (2) 9.2% (7)10.5%

(8)

27.6%

(21)

19.7%

(15)

10.5%

(8)6.6% (5) 3.9% (3) 5.03 76

watasi51.9%

(40)9.1% (7)

13.0%

(10)6.5% (5)

13.0%

(10)3.9% (3) 1.3% (1) 1.3% (1) 0.0% (0) 2.43 77


skipped question 37

16. To what extent do you think you would like the personality of someone using the specified first-person pronoun as his default pronoun among peers?

undesirable/dislike

very much

highly

admired/desirable

Rating

Average

Response

Count

ore 1.3% (1)3.8%

(3)

14.1%

(11)

16.7%

(13)

34.6%

(27)

10.3%

(8)

11.5%

(9)

5.1%

(4)2.6% (2) 4.97 78

boku 0.0% (0)0.0%

(0)

0.0%

(0)

6.5%

(5)

32.5%

(25)

18.2%

(14)

19.5%

(15)

6.5%

(5)16.9% (13) 6.38 77

watasi 3.9% (3)3.9%

(3)

3.9%

(3)

6.5%

(5)

37.7%

(29)

16.9%

(13)

10.4%

(8)

7.8%

(6)9.1% (7) 5.56 77


skipped question 37

Page 10

17. Rate the acceptability of the following behaviors, with 1 conveying "uncommon, awkward, strange, uncomfortable" and 9 conveying "normal, standard,

conventional, encouraged". Please be honest and rate the situations based on your own, current feelings, and not based on what you think the ideal should be.

Generalizations are encouraged; do not try to think about what-ifs and individuals. The choices are for the individual's default pronoun usage among peers. "Young"

refers to a person of primarily middle/high school age, and "man"/"woman" refer to adults, generally age 25 and above. Please elaborate in comments if you have

additional thoughts or comments.

uncommon,

awkward,

strange,

uncomfortable

normal,

standard,

conventional,

encouraged

Rating

Average

Response

Count

A young boy using 'ore'. 0.0% (0)2.7%

(2)

6.7%

(5)

12.0%

(9)

16.0%

(12)

14.7%

(11)

14.7%

(11)

13.3%

(10)20.0% (15) 6.31 75

A young boy using 'boku'. 0.0% (0)0.0%

(0)

0.0%

(0)

2.6%

(2)

0.0%

(0)

1.3%

(1)

6.6%

(5)

14.5%

(11)75.0% (57) 8.55 76

A young boy using 'watasi'. 5.3% (4)5.3%

(4)

7.9%

(6)

5.3%

(4)

14.5%

(11)

13.2%

(10)

10.5%

(8)

15.8%

(12)22.4% (17) 6.13 76

A young boy using 'uti'. 25.0% (18)8.3%

(6)

16.7%

(12)

6.9%

(5)

20.8%

(15)

9.7%

(7)

6.9%

(5)

2.8%

(2)2.8% (2) 3.78 72

A young boy using 'atasi'. 42.7% (32)24.0%

(18)

16.0%

(12)

5.3%

(4)

5.3%

(4)

1.3%

(1)

2.7%

(2)

0.0%

(0)2.7% (2) 2.37 75

A man using 'ore'. 0.0% (0)0.0%

(0)

1.3%

(1)

5.3%

(4)

6.7%

(5)

6.7%

(5)

16.0%

(12)

22.7%

(17)41.3% (31) 7.64 75

A man using 'boku'. 0.0% (0)0.0%

(0)

2.6%

(2)

1.3%

(1)

6.6%

(5)

6.6%

(5)

15.8%

(12)

18.4%

(14)48.7% (37) 7.82 76

A man using 'watasi'. 4.0% (3)1.3%

(1)

2.7%

(2)

5.3%

(4)

8.0%

(6)

8.0%

(6)

10.7%

(8)

24.0%

(18)36.0% (27) 7.15 75

A man using 'uti'. 21.1% (15)5.6%

(4)

14.1%

(10)

7.0%

(5)

29.6%

(21)

7.0%

(5)

4.2%

(3)

5.6%

(4)5.6% (4) 4.18 71

A man using 'atasi'. 60.5% (46)18.4%

(14)

5.3%

(4)

6.6%

(5)

3.9%

(3)

1.3%

(1)

1.3%

(1)

1.3%

(1)1.3% (1) 1.99 76

Page 11

A young girl using 'ore'. 56.0% (42)16.0%

(12)

10.7%

(8)

5.3%

(4)

6.7%

(5)

1.3%

(1)

1.3%

(1)

0.0%

(0)2.7% (2) 2.16 75

A young girl using 'boku'. 17.1% (13)9.2%

(7)

13.2%

(10)

17.1%

(13)

10.5%

(8)

14.5%

(11)

9.2%

(7)

3.9%

(3)5.3% (4) 4.26 76

A young girl using 'watasi'. 0.0% (0)2.7%

(2)

0.0%

(0)

1.3%

(1)

2.7%

(2)

4.0%

(3)

5.3%

(4)

8.0%

(6)76.0% (57) 8.33 75

A young girl using 'uti'. 17.8% (13)8.2%

(6)

6.8%

(5)

11.0%

(8)

20.5%

(15)

4.1%

(3)

15.1%

(11)

9.6%

(7)6.8% (5) 4.70 73

A young girl using 'atasi'. 1.3% (1)1.3%

(1)

0.0%

(0)

2.7%

(2)

5.3%

(4)

10.7%

(8)

12.0%

(9)

20.0%

(15)46.7% (35) 7.69 75

A woman using 'ore'. 52.0% (39)21.3%

(16)

9.3%

(7)

6.7%

(5)

2.7%

(2)

2.7%

(2)

2.7%

(2)

1.3%

(1)1.3% (1) 2.20 75

A woman using 'boku'. 17.8% (13)13.7%

(10)

23.3%

(17)

17.8%

(13)

9.6%

(7)

8.2%

(6)

5.5%

(4)

1.4%

(1)2.7% (2) 3.58 73

A woman using 'watasi'. 0.0% (0)0.0%

(0)

0.0%

(0)

1.3%

(1)

0.0%

(0)

1.3%

(1)

2.7%

(2)

9.3%

(7)85.3% (64) 8.75 75

A woman using 'uti'. 13.5% (10)5.4%

(4)

8.1%

(6)

6.8%

(5)

28.4%

(21)

6.8%

(5)

12.2%

(9)

8.1%

(6)10.8% (8) 5.05 74

A woman using 'atasi'. 1.4% (1)0.0%

(0)

0.0%

(0)

8.1%

(6)

4.1%

(3)

6.8%

(5)

20.3%

(15)

17.6%

(13)41.9% (31) 7.54 74


skipped question 39

Page 12

18. ore, male

Response

Count

64


skipped question 51

19. ore, female

Response

Count

65


skipped question 50

20. boku, male

Response

Count

64


skipped question 51

Page 13

21. boku, female

Response

Count

66


skipped question 49

22. watasi, male

Response

Count

65


skipped question 50

23. watasi, female

Response

Count

64


skipped question 51

Page 14

24. uti, male

Response

Count

63


skipped question 52

25. uti, female

Response

Count

63


skipped question 52

26. atasi, male

Response

Count

64


skipped question 51

Page 15

27. atasi, female

Response

Count

64


skipped question 51

28. E-mail address:

Response

Count

60


skipped question 55

29. Which prize would you prefer? (optional)

Response

Percent

Response

Count

6 months Livejournal paid time 48.3% 29

$20 gift certificate to another

website (please give the URL of the

website you have in mind):

51.7% 31


skipped question 55

Page 16

30. Would you like a copy of the results?

Response

Percent

Response

Count

Yes 75.0% 48

No 25.0% 16


skipped question 51

Page 17


Bibliography

Miyazaki, Ayumi. “Japanese Junior High School Girls’ and Boys’ First-Person Pronoun Use and

Their Social World.” Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People.

Ed. Okamoto, Shigeko and Janet Shibamoto Smith. Cary, NC: Oxford University Press, Inc,

2004. 256–274.

“Livejournal Statistics.” Statistics. Livejournal, Inc. Web. 30 Apr 2009. <http://www.livejournal.com/

stats.bml>

26

Understanding Japanese First-Person Pronoun Usage with Regards to Age and Social Hierarchy

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