On the Interaction between Japanese Sentence-final Particle wa and Fundamental Frequency: A Characterological Perspective

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Date

2022-02

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Ohio State University. Libraries

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Abstract

Historically, Japanese sentence-final particle wa has been ascribed predominantly to female speakers, and as a result, it has developed a tendency to serve as a kind of exemplar of women's language in general. However, the use of wa among younger generations has been increasing, demonstrating a clear need to examine the role that it plays in recent linguistic data. In particular, this study evaluates how it presents in data drawn from popular media sources, as such an analysis allows for the ability to observe how wa interacts with language-based characterological stereotypes. Drawing on recent advances in the area of character-oriented linguistic research, this study engages with sentence-final wa by exploring its phonetic manifestation relative to the character type of its user, shedding light on importance of fundamental frequency and particle duration in the activation of potential indexical meanings.

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Sentence-final particles, popular media, indexicality, phonetics, character speech

Citation

Dahlberg-Dodd, Hannah E. "On the Interaction between Japanese Sentence-final Particle wa and Fundamental Frequency: A Characterological Perspective." Buckeye East Asia: Occasional Papers, vol. 1 (February 2022), p. 36-47.