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Part of
Questioning and Answering Practices across Contexts and Cultures
Edited by Cornelia Ilie
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 323] 2021
► pp. 71–106

Japanese politicians’ questions in parliament

Being polite yet forceful?

ORCID logo | Honorary Associate La Trobe University

This chapter addresses the paucity of research on parliamentary discourse in Japan by examining questions used in The House of Representatives Plenary Meetings (2014–2017). This study looks at grammatical, functional and turn-taking aspects to explore Japanese politicians’ questioning strategies and to ascertain whether the canonical ka-question is favored over other types of question forms. It also examines linguistic impoliteness which is noticeable in the discourse on both sides – the questioner and the answerer – or the opposition and the government. The analysis shows that Japanese politicians draw on very polarized questioning and answering strategies. Very polite forms are used but also aggressive linguistic strategies are deployed showing how language is used as a tool to attack the opposing members of Parliament and to defend own policies.

Keywords: Japanese, canonical questions, politicians, impoliteness, politeness, The House of Representatives
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Primary characteristics of the language in political settings with a focus on question-answer sessions
    • 2.1Politeness and impoliteness in parliament
  • 3.Syntax, function, turn-taking and politeness
  • 4.The language of Japanese politicians
  • 5.Characteristics of questions in Japanese
  • 6.The Japanese political system
    • 6.1House of Representatives committee meetings
  • 7.The data
  • 8.Results
    • 8.1Statistical results
    • 8.2Qualitative results
  • 9.Polite and impolite questioning-answering
    • 9.1Politeness strategies
    • 9.2Aggressive questioning: Impoliteness in parliamentary discourse
    • 9.3Use of irony or overt criticism at the start of politicians’ questions
  • 10.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 26 July 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.323.03tan
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