The Language of Food in Japanese

Cognitive perspectives and beyond

Editor

Kiyoko Toratani

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027210821 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027257994 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

Many studies on the language of food examine English or adopt discourse analysis. This volume makes a fresh attempt to analyze Japanese, focusing on non-discursive units. It offers state-of-the-art data-oriented studies, including methods of analysis in line with Cognitive Linguistics. It orchestrates relatable and intriguing topics, from sound-symbolism in rice cracker naming to meanings of aesthetic sake taste terms. The chapters show that the language of food in Japanese is multifaceted: for instance, expressivity is enhanced by ideophones, as sensory words iconically depicting perceptual experiences and as nuanced words flexibly participating in neologization; context-sensitivity is exemplified by words deeply imbued with socio-cultural constructs; creativity is portrayed by imaginative expressions grounded in embodied experience. The volume will be a valuable resource for students and researchers, not only in linguistics but also in neighboring disciplines, who seek deeper insights into how language interacts with food in Japanese or any other language.

[Converging Evidence in Language and Communication Research, 25] 2022. x, 347 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 13 January 2022

https://doi.org/10.1075/celcr.25

Table of Contents

Abbreviations | pp. vii–viii

Acknowledgements | pp. ix–x

Introduction to the volume

Kiyoko Toratani | pp. 1–23

Section I. Overview

Chapter 1. The language of food in Japanese through a linguistic lens

Natsuko Tsujimura | pp. 27–52

Section II. Mimetics and sound-symbolism in food names and food descriptions

Chapter 2. Analysis of the use of Japanese mimetics in the eating and imagined eating of rice crackers

Ryoko Uno, Fumiyuki Kobayashi, Kazuko Shinohara and Sachiko Odake | pp. 55–77

Chapter 3. The sound-symbolic effects of consonants on food texture: An experimental study of snack names in Japanese

Gakuji Kumagai, Ryoko Uno and Kazuko Shinohara | pp. 79–110

Chapter 4. Innovative binomial adjectives in Japanese food descriptions and beyond

Kimi Akita and Keiko Murasugi | pp. 111–132

Section III. Change in the language of food

Chapter 5. Verbs of eating: From active zones, cultures, metonymy, and metaphor to withdrawal

Toshiko Yamaguchi | pp. 135–160

Chapter 6. Naturalization of the Japanese loanword sushi in English: A cognitive account

Kiyoko Toratani | pp. 161–188

Section IV. Taste terms

Chapter 7. Clear is sweet: Defining aesthetic sake taste terms with a usage-based approach

Hiroki Fukushima | pp. 191–230

Chapter 8. A frame-semantic approach to Japanese taste terms

Kei Sakaguchi | pp. 231–260

Section V. Motion and force in the language of food

Chapter 9. Verbs of seasoning in Japanese, with special reference to the locative alternation in English

Daisuke Nonaka | pp. 263–291

Chapter 10. Motion expressions in Japanese wine-tasting descriptions

Yuko Yoshinari | pp. 293–317

Chapter 11. Applying force dynamics to analyze taste descriptions in Japanese online columns

Sayaka Abe | pp. 319–343

Index | pp. 345–347

“Much of the work on the linguistics of food has been conducted on the English language. This book makes a strong contribution to the field by providing an in-depth analysis of the language of food in Japanese. This analysis reveals innovative linguistic patterns and uses. For example, Japanese binomial adjectives (Chapter 4) are a novel ideophone construction that can be used in creative descriptions of food. Not only does the study of Japanese add to the field in terms of generalizability, but it also opens up fascinating new directions of research, by highlighting unique aspects of the Japanese language in relation to food. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and look forward to follow-up research that will no doubt emerge from this volume.”

Laura Speed, Radboud University

Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Akita, Kimi, Bonnie McLean, Jiyeon Park & Arthur Lewis Thompson

2024. Iconicity mediates semantic networks of sound symbolism. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 155:4 ► pp. 2687 ff.

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