Article published in:
Language and Food: Verbal and nonverbal experiences
Edited by Polly E. Szatrowski
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 238] 2014
► pp. 233–256

Early experiences with food

Socializing affect and relationships in Japanese

This paper examines children’s early experiences with food in Japan. Focusing on meal and snack time in and around households and a preschool, it identifies three practices across these settings – talking about food, finishing all of one’s food, and behaving properly at the table – and examines the verbal (e.g. pragmatic particles, passive) and non-verbal resources (e.g. pointing), and strategies (e.g. assessment, reported speech) that caregivers and peers deploy in socializing children to these practices. The findings reveal how speakers deploy language resources and strategies within activities surrounding food to socialize children into how to feel towards and relate to others, food, and food-related objects.

Published online: 10 January 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.238.10bur
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