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Pragmatics: Online-First Articles

Transcending the senpai ‘senior’/kōhai ‘junior’ boundary through cross-speaker repetition in Japanese

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This study explores the role of cross-speaker repetition in creating interpersonal connections between interactants in Japanese. The analysis focuses on Japanese non-reciprocal conversations between senpai ‘senior’ and kōhai ‘junior’ interactants, where the kōhai are normatively expected to speak using the honorific desu/masu markers. The analysis demonstrates that in such conversations, the kōhai sometimes drop the honorific markers while repeating the senpai’s utterances, thereby momentarily transcending the vertical boundary separating them from the senpai. Two types of plain form repetition are presented: (1) the kōhai repeat the senpai’s funny and/or questionable comments to savor the expressions, and (2) the kōhai repeat the senpai’s ideas, wishes or assessments to synchronize with the senpai. The analysis explicates how cross-speaker repetition allows the kōhai to drop the honorific markers in a way that is acceptable to the senpai. This study underscores the significance of the cross-speaker repetition device for creating harmonious relationships in Japanese.

Keywords: discourse analysis, cross-speaker repetition, honorific markers, vertical relationship, speech style shift, interactants’ relationships, Japanese conversation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous studies
    • 2.1Cross-speaker repetition in Japanese conversations
    • 2.2The honorific desu/masu markers in Japanese
  • 3.Data
  • 4.How cross-speaker repetition creates and enhances bonds between peers
  • 5.How cross-speaker repetition connects interactants in a mild vertical relationship
    • 5.1The kōhai repeat the senpai’s funny and/or questionable comments
    • 5.2The kōhai repeat the senpai’s ideas, wishes or assessments
    • 5.3Summary of the kōhai’s plain form repetition of the senpai’s utterances
  • 6.Discussion – How cross-speaker repetition removes the senpai/kōhai boundary
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 20 April 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.21063.mac
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