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Pragmatics of Japanese: Perspectives on grammar, interaction and culture
Edited by Mutsuko Endo Hudson, Yoshiko Matsumoto and Junko Mori
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 285] 2018
► pp. 289–308

Chapter 12
How does a non-native Japanese literary writer dissimulate and diversify the Japanese language?

A case study of Hideo Levy

 | Princeton University
This chapter addresses an issue of linguistic dissimulation and diversity created by Nihongo Sakka with an exclusive focus on Hideo Ian Levy. My working hypotheses are: (i) the linguistic differences between the Nihongo Sakka’s native language and the Japanese language should provide him/her conflicting viewpoints that allow the writer to produce something newly amalgamated; (ii) trans-bordering Nihongo Sakka who mentally and physically move from Uchi-Language Space into Soto-Language Space are constantly engaged in translation; (iii) their individual styles are likely to bring in a fresh Japanese style that contributes to dissimulation and diversification of the Japanese language and its style; (iv) the Japanese language has already diversified itself diachronically and synchronically within its social milieu like any other human language.
Keywords: bilingualism, complex syntax, dissimulation, diversification, Nihongo Sakka (non-native writer of Japanese literature), border-crossing, Soto-Language Space, tense-shifting, Uchi-Language Space, Japanese
Article outline
  • 1.By way of introduction
  • 2.Working hypotheses
  • 3.Hideo Levy’s novels used for verifying the hypotheses
  • 4.Levy’s literary style and dissimulation and diversification of the Japanese language
    • 4.1 Bilingualism
    • 4.2 Cognitive tense shifting
    • 4.3 Complex syntax
  • 5.By way of summary
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.285.12mak
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