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In:Informality in Japanese: Getting close in a formal context
Edited by Haruko Minegishi Cook and Momoko Nakamura
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 357] 2027
► pp. 230–255

Chapter 10
‘Hey! What are you doing now!’

Negotiating closeness and workplace relationships on Japanese TikTok

 | Sophia University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
When thinking about Japanese workplace culture, hierarchies and their associated linguistic forms are often emphasized. However, the reality within the context of the modern workplace in Japan goes beyond the rigid, simplistic rules of old-fashioned textbooks. This chapter examines how the deeply entrenched ideological tropes of the “traditional” workplace relationship between bosses and their subordinates can be understood more fully through the examination of short videos on social media. While shifts between honorifics and plain forms occur, suprasegmentals (such as intonation and volume shifts) alongside pragmalinguistic features such as imperatives and interjections also play a significant role. Additionally, the use of impoliteness, contextualized through entextualization, and the limited consequences within frames of interaction, showcase how workplace relationships, social media platforms, and digital editing contribute to a unique communication style. This study highlights the subtle negotiation between solidarity and formality, demonstrating how the context of social media influences workplace communication and challenges traditional perceptions of social rules in Japan.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Research on the workplace
    • 2.1The Japanese workplace
    • 2.2Discourse in the Japanese workplace
    • 2.3Humor and the modern Japanese workplace
  • 3.Bakhtin’s carnivalesque
  • 4.Data
  • 5.Analysis: The changing context and the carnivalesque
    • 5.1Subverting the formal
    • 5.2Layering the subversion
    • 5.3Adapting through subversion
  • 6.Discussion
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
References (45)
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