Language and the modern state : the reform of written Japanese
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Language and the modern state : the reform of written Japanese
(The Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese studies series)
Routledge, 1991
Available at 52 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
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Note
Bibliography: p. [303]-326
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The history of the Japanese language from the late 19th century to the present time is dominated by the dramatic change which took place in its written form. In little over 100 years, the diverse classical traditions found in the written language of public life were replaced by a unified modern grammar and vocabulary based on a standard spoken form. This ended the upper class monopoly on access to information, allowing the ordinary literate Japanese to participate in the public discourse surrounding the modernization, and the consequent economic dominance, of 20th-century Japan. Dr Nanette Twine has explored the relationship between language, change and modernization in Japan. She focuses on the small band of progressive intellectuals who overcame the cultural resistance of their peers to the hitherto despised vernacular. By convincing those in a position to bring about the change that the revered literary canons should be abandoned in favour of a simpler colloquial style to aid Japanese development, these intellectuals initiated a process of change in education and communication later pursued in all areas of society.
This book is intended to be of interest to advanced students and teachers of linguistics and Japanese studies.
Table of Contents
- Language and modernization - the Japanese experience
- pre-modern styles
- early stirrings - education and the press
- language and politics
- the role of literature
- the final stages
- the opposition
- the standardization debate
- the problem of orthography.
by "Nielsen BookData"