Language Policy in Japan: The Challenge of Change

223 Pages·2011·3.308 MB·

by  Professor Nanette Gottlieb

LanguagePolicyinJapan
TheChallengeofChange
Overthelastthirtyyears,twosocialdevelopmentshaveoccurredthathave
ledtoaneedforchangeinlanguagepolicyinJapan.Oneistheincreasein
thenumberofmigrantsneedingopportunitiestolearnJapaneseasasecond
language, the other is the influence of electronic technologies on the way
Japaneseiswritten.Thisbooklooksattheimpactofthesedevelopmentson
linguistic behaviour and language management and policy, and at the role
of language ideology in the way they have been addressed. Immigration-
induced demographic changes confront long-cherished notions of national
monolingualism, and technological advances in electronic text production
haveledtotextualpracticeswithramificationsforscriptuseandforliteracy
ingeneral.Thebookwillbewelcomedbyresearchersandprofessionalsin
languagepolicyandmanagement,andbythoseworkinginJapaneseStudies.
nanettegottliebisProfessorofJapaneseStudiesintheJapanProgramof
theSchoolofLanguagesandComparativeCulturalStudiesattheUniversity
ofQueensland.Shehaspublishedwidelyininternationaljournalsintheareas
oflanguagemodernisation,scriptreform,scriptpolicyandtheimpactofword
processingtechnologyinJapan.HerrecentpublicationsincludeLanguageand
SocietyinJapan(Cambridge,2005)andLinguisticStereotypingandMinority
GroupsinJapan(2006).

Language Policy in Japan
The Challenge of Change
NanetteGottlieb
TheUniversityofQueensland
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(cid:2)c NanetteGottlieb2012
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Firstpublished2012
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Gottlieb,Nanette,1948–
LanguagepolicyinJapan:thechallengeofchange/NanetteGottlieb.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-00716-1(hardback)
1.Secondlanguageacquisition–Japan. 2.Linguistics–Studyandteaching–Japan.
3.Languageandculture–Japan. 4.Citizenship–Japan. 5.Japan–Languages.
6.Languagepolicy–Japan. 7.Japaneselanguage–Politicalaspects. I.Title.
P57.J3L37 2012
306.44(cid:3)952–dc23 2011033047
ISBN978-1-107-00716-1Hardback
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Idedicatethisbook to thememory ofmy dearfriend,
KobayashiYo¯ko.
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Contents
Preface pageix
Acknowledgments xiv
1 Languageideology,planningandpolicy 1
2 Thelanguageneedsofimmigrants 33
3 ForeignlanguagesotherthanEnglishineducationand
thecommunity 64
4 Technologyandlanguagepolicychange 98
5 Nationallanguagepolicyandaninternationalising
community 123
Conclusion 161
Notestothetext 167
References 180
Index 205
vii

Preface
ThisbookexaminestwolanguageissuesinJapantodaywhichhavearisenfrom
significantdevelopmentsinthesocialenvironmentoverthelastthreedecades
andhavepointedtoaneedforachangeinlanguagepolicy.Oneistheincrease
inthenumberofmigrantsneedingopportunitiestolearnJapaneseasasecond
language(JSL),theotheristheinfluenceofelectronictechnologiesontheway
Japaneseiswritten.Immigration-induceddemographicchangesconfrontlong-
cherishednotionsofnationalmonolingualism,andtechnologicaladvancesin
electronic text production have led to textual practices with ramifications for
script use and for literacy in general. My central concern is to show whether
and how language policy authorities in Japan are moving to accommodate
thesesocialandculturalchanges.Boththeintegrationofimmigrantsandnew
practices affecting literacy are important to the social fabric; it is essential,
therefore, that expectations about language in these areas are clear and that
policy addresses the realities of the present rather than harking back to an
earliersocialcontext.
Inoneofthesetwoareas,anationalpolicyalreadyexists;intheother,itdoes
not.Inoneoftheseareas,thenationalpolicyhasbeenrevisedtoacknowledge
change;intheother,nonational-levelpolicyhasyetbeendeveloped.Inthearea
ofkanjipolicy,deeplyrootedinJapaneselanguageideologyandimportantto
ethnicmainstreamJapanesecitizensasitis,thewidespreaduptakeofelectronic
text production has been viewed as necessitating a revision of the List of
CharactersforGeneralUse,whichhasjustbeenexpandedtoacknowledgethat
largernumbersofkanjiarenowroutinelyusedthanwasthecasewhenwriting
by hand alone. In the second, more contentious area, that of providing JSL
instructionformigrantstoJapanatanationalratherthanlocallevel,nopolicy
currently exists, in large part because such a move goes against deep-seated
nationallanguageideologiesofmonoethnicityandmonolingualism.Itisonly
veryrecentlythatthenationalgovernment–incontrasttolocalgovernments,
which have been active in this area for years – has begun to make sporadic
provision for language training in certain clearly defined areas relating to
employment.
ix