Dimensions of recipe register and native speaker knowledge
Observations from a writing experiment
This study investigates native Japanese speakers’ context-dependent linguistic knowledge of cooking recipes.
Recipes are a typical example of a register, defined as the use of language in a particular social situation for a specific
purpose. Thirty participants in the present study were asked to write a recipe for curry rice (a popular dish in Japan) or an
unnamed soup (shown in a photo) on a blank piece of paper without access to any resources. Most participants’ texts contained
specialized vocabulary and basic procedural organization. On the other hand, few integrated the typical grammatical features of
commercial recipes. It suggests that the latter details are not part of the communicative repertoires of most participants. The
grammatical characteristics of commercial recipes are likely a product of careful editing, aimed for clarity and consistency.
Professional editing appears to have a significant role in shaping the grammar of the written register.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Recipe register
- 2.1Organization
- 2.2Vocabulary
- 2.3Grammar
- 3.Data and methodology
- 4.Findings
- 4.1Organization
- 4.2Vocabulary
- 4.3Grammar
- 4.4Summary
- 5.Role of professional editing in recipe grammar
- 6.Concluding remarks
- Notes
-
References
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Matsumoto, Yoshiko
2021.
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