TY - JOUR
T1 - Native speakers' perceptions of the second person pronoun anata 'you' in Japanese
AU - Yonezawa, Yoko
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - This study examines native speakers’ perceptions of the second person pronoun anata ‘you’ in Japanese.
It uses the results of a questionnaire given to speakers of the Tokyo variety of Japanese in January, 2014.
 The respondents indicated that as a regular address term, they very rarely used anata in any of the
following cases: when referring to an addressee of higher status; when referring to an addressee of lower
status; and when referring to an addressee of equal status. Instead, they expressed a number of perceived
incongruities in the use of the term. Their perceptions included such contradictory views as ‘it is rude’ or
‘it sounds too formal’.
 An analysis of these results supports the notion that the use of anata absolutely specifies a second
person without indexing any social attributes of the interlocutors. It does not inherently have the property
of indicating the speaker’s biographical characteristics or of indicating the degree of politeness. The
study explains the mechanisms that lead to anata having such a socially inert role, which in turn allows
its use to occur in limited contexts as well as to create disparate perceptions among native speakers. This also explains why anata has never been accepted as a general form of second person address even after The National Language Council of Japan defined anata as a ‘standard’ address term in the proposal Kore kara no Keigo (Honorifics From Now On) in 1952.
AB - This study examines native speakers’ perceptions of the second person pronoun anata ‘you’ in Japanese.
It uses the results of a questionnaire given to speakers of the Tokyo variety of Japanese in January, 2014.
 The respondents indicated that as a regular address term, they very rarely used anata in any of the
following cases: when referring to an addressee of higher status; when referring to an addressee of lower
status; and when referring to an addressee of equal status. Instead, they expressed a number of perceived
incongruities in the use of the term. Their perceptions included such contradictory views as ‘it is rude’ or
‘it sounds too formal’.
 An analysis of these results supports the notion that the use of anata absolutely specifies a second
person without indexing any social attributes of the interlocutors. It does not inherently have the property
of indicating the speaker’s biographical characteristics or of indicating the degree of politeness. The
study explains the mechanisms that lead to anata having such a socially inert role, which in turn allows
its use to occur in limited contexts as well as to create disparate perceptions among native speakers. This also explains why anata has never been accepted as a general form of second person address even after The National Language Council of Japan defined anata as a ‘standard’ address term in the proposal Kore kara no Keigo (Honorifics From Now On) in 1952.
U2 - 10.20721/nihongokyoiku.163.0_64
DO - 10.20721/nihongokyoiku.163.0_64
M3 - Article
VL - 4
SP - 64
EP - 78
JO - Nihongo Kyoiku Gakkai
JF - Nihongo Kyoiku Gakkai
ER -