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Programme: accepted abstracts

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Abstract ID: 114

Thematic Session (Papers belonging to this Thematic Session)

Linguistic Identity Constructions in the Japanese Workplace

Authors: Cook, Haruko M; Saito, Junko
Submitted by: Cook, Haruko M (University of Hawaii, United States of America)

A city can be characterized as a place to work. This thematic session empirically explores ways in which social identities are linguistically constructed in the Japanese workplace.

Taking the social constructionist approach, research on workplace discourse in Western societies has predominantly investigated identity construction in relation to gender. Many studies (e.g., Baxter 2008; Holmes 2006; Mullany 2007; Rees and Monrouxe 2010) have analyzed how gender identity is interactionally constructed in the workplace or how leadership identities are constructed through gendered language. For example, Baxter (2008) demonstrates that according to contextual parameters, both male and female leaders linguistically project stereotypical gendered leadership identities, whereas they simultaneously attempt to challenge such masculine and feminine figures. Her study indicates that identity construction is a highly complex and delicate process. Likewise, examining laughter in face-to-face interactions among physician tutors, students, and patients in the medical workplace, Rees and Monrouxe (2010) illustrate how the participants linguistically and non-linguistically construct their gender identity in the discourse of sexual humor. In addition, this line of research (e.g., Holmes and Stubbe 2003; Vine 2004), by demonstrating that workers strategically exert their authority, while paying attention to others’ face demands, often touches upon the correlation between power and politeness in workplace interactions. Such balance of power and politeness allows the workers not only to achieve their institutional goals but also to maintain good social relationships in workplaces (Holmes and Stubbe 2003).

In contrast, Japanese workplace discourse based on naturally occurring data has not been fully investigated. This is partly because the workplace is “a restricted research site” (Mullany 2007). Primarily due to confidentiality issues, it is highly challenging to record naturally occurring interactions in a workplace. To date, there have been only a few studies on Japanese workplace interactions (e.g., Geyer 2008; Saito 2011; Sunaoshi 1994; Takano 2005), of which only Takano’s study (2005) examines identity construction in a Japanese workplace. His study empirically demonstrates that female professionals construct their multiple identities through the use of diverse linguistic resources associated with both negative and positive politeness strategies. Social identities projected in workplace discourse are not limited to gender identity. Likewise, not all social identities are indexed through gendered language. Furthermore, it has been reported in previous research on Japanese institutional discourse (e.g., Takano 2005) that politeness is a display of power; female professionals use polite language to gain authoritative power. Since this research predominantly focuses on female professionals in managerial positions at work, it is vital to investigate how other workers manipulate power and politeness in workplace discourse. We still do not know exactly how power and politeness are negotiated and strategically balanced in the Japanese workplace. In sum, more empirical research is needed in order to understand how both female and male workers discursively construct their social identities through the use of various linguistic resources to achieve their professional goals in the workplace.

By qualitatively analyzing naturally occurring data, this thematic session examines the construction of social identities in workplaces in Japan, including business meetings and conversations between employees with same and different ranks. The thematic session contributes to a new understanding of the scholarship on workplace discourse in Japanese and other languages.

 

 The thematic session will address questions such as the following:

• How linguistic resources, such as speech style-shifting, honorifics, personal pronouns, and humor, are deployed in workplace discourse to index a range of social identities?
• How different social identities are made relevant in given institutional contexts?
• How power and linguistic politeness are strategically used in workplace interactions?

Selected References

 Baxter, J. (2008). Is it all tough talking at the top?: A post-structuralist analysis of the construction of gendered speaker identities of British business leaders within interview narratives. Gender and Language 2(2), 197-222.

Geyer, N. (2008). Discourse and Politeness: Ambivalent Face in Japanese. London: Continuum.

Holmes, J. (2006). Gendered Talk at Work: Constructing Gender Identity through Workplace Discourse. Malden: Blackwell.

Saito, J. (2011). Managing confrontational situations: Japanese male supervisors’ interactional styles in directive discourse in the workplace. Journal of Pragmatics 43(6), 1689-1706.

Takano, S. (2005). Re-examining linguistic power: Strategic use of directives by professional Japanese women in position of authority and leadership. Journal of Pragmatics 37, 633-666.

Vine, B. (2004). Getting Things Done at Work: The Discourse of Power in Workplace Interaction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.