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An important aspect of Japanese culture is a highly refined
consciousness of social relationships. This strong sense of hierarchy,
rank, and position is present at all times, and language is used
to establish and reinforce the relationship between speakers. In
the area of greetings, for example, the speaker chooses from a number
of possible forms depending on such factors as relative age of the
interlocutors, gender, relative social status, and group consciousness
(e.g., family, peer, business associate). In this unit, students
learn formulaic greetings and other polite expressions associated
with good manners and customs in the home. In doing so, they learn
about three levels of formality in Japanese interactions and practice
how to use them properly. They develop an awareness of the similarities
and differences in greetings in Japan and the United States, and
they demonstrate their understanding of the cultural significance
of the proper usage in the different Japanese social settings.
ACTIVITY SET 1: Greetings
Students are introduced to the various levels of formality in greetings
through Japanese comic books and videos. First, working in pairs,
students examine a Manga to identify how certain phrases
are used, depending on the person addressed. Here, the teacher can
give helpful hints to the students about the language of comic books,
which tend to be written in an informal level of speech. Pairs take
turns reporting their findings on the greetings in their Manga
to the whole group. The class hypothesizes (in English) about the
levels of formality and their significance.
Once learners are familiar with certain phrases, they see people
using them in videos. Students watch video clips from Nihongo
with the sound off and try to imagine—based on who is speaking—what
expressions are being used. Then, they watch the clip with sound
to confirm their guesses. As they listen again (as often as needed),
students write down the various expressions they hear used and by
whom they are used. They hear youngsters say, “Arigatoo”
to each other, but the sales person at the department store says,
“Arigatoo gozaimasu” to a customer, and a host
uses the very polite and formal, “Yoku irasshaimashita”
to welcome a guest.
Next, students watch another video clip from Yookoso, this
time with the sound on for novice-level learners since there are
some greeting phrases with which they are not familiar. (Intermediate
students can use the process described above: sound off, sound on.)
Again, students listen and write down the expressions that they
hear and who uses them with whom. In addition, their attention is
directed to kinesics, the body language accompanying the expressions.
They notice that Japanese people almost always bow when they are
greeting someone.
Cultural comparisons are a part of this activity set also. The
class notes differences and similarities in greetings in Japan and
the United States including the variety of expressions, body language,
and greetings among young people. They note the influence of English
on Japanese as they observe Japanese young people and children saying,
“Bai, Bai!” instead of, “Sayoonara!”
or “Ja, mata!”
ACTIVITY SET 2: Acting it Out
To illustrate their understanding of the various levels of formality
in greetings, students work in groups to develop a short situational
skit that includes greetings. Each group may be assigned different
“characters” for their skit based on age, gender, and
social status: children and parents, teacher and student, company
president and employee, etc. They use the list of Japanese greeting
expressions provided by the teacher along with those that they compiled
based on the Mangas and videos. Groups use their artistic
ability to create stick puppets for the characters, and they use
the puppets to practice and present their skit to their classmates.
ACTIVITY SET 3: Nenga-joo
This activity set introduces another instance of various levels
of formality used in greetings. To begin, students examine several
examples of Japanese New Year’s greeting cards, Nenga-joo.
They note that the cards include a New Year’s greeting, the
date, and one of the twelve signs of the Oriental zodiac (depending
on the year): the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse,
sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, or wild boar. These are compared with
a variety of American seasonal greeting cards. The most common greetings
corresponding to “Happy New Year!” are Shinnen omedetoo-gozaimasu
and Akemashite omedetoo-gozaimasu, both of which may be sent
to someone who is older. Shorter forms (without –gozaimasu)
are more appropriate for close friends of the sender or someone
who is younger. Students note that these distinctions are mostly
absent in American greeting cards and infer, once again, that recognition
of status plays a much greater role in Japanese society.
Once cultural comparisons have been completed, students have an
opportunity to design their own Nenga-joo. They include a
greeting appropriate for the person to whom they wish to send the
card, the date and the appropriate sign of the zodiac. The cards
are collected for assessment purposes and/or the teacher may give
awards for the most creative, funniest, most original, etc. Students
may also enjoy determining categories and voting on the awards themselves.
ACTIVITY SET 4: Manners and Customs
To delve further into the importance of clearly acknowledging the
social hierarchy in Japanese culture, the class is divided into
four groups for research purposes. Each group uses the Internet
to investigate related topics (see Resources) such as bowing, non-verbal
communication, good manners, customs in the home, etc. Research
groups share their findings with classmates in any way they choose:
oral presentation, pantomime, PowerPoint slide show, graphic organizer,
etc. Most important is that they reflect on the target culture perspective
implicit in the manners, customs, etc.
ACTIVITY SET 5: Creating a Guidebook for American Tourists
To demonstrate what they have learned about Japanese greetings and
politeness, each student prepares a phrase book designed for American
tourists traveling in Japan. They should present examples appropriate
for use in each of the contexts studied. They may illustrate the
book themselves or cut out pictures to use that exemplify the situations
in which each expression is appropriate.
- Communication:
Interpersonal, Interpretative, & Presentational Modes
- Cultures:
Practices & Perspectives, Products & Perspectives
- Connections:
Access to Information, Other Subject Areas
- Comparisons:
Concept of Culture, Influence of Language & Culture
- Communities:
Within & Beyond the School Setting, Personal Enrichment &
Career Development
- A list of Japanese greeting phrases with
English translations
- Videotapes of Japanese daily life (see
Resources) and a television/VCR
- Photocopies of Japanese comic books (Manga)
- Art supplies for stick dolls and New Year’s
greeting cards (Nenga-joo): tongue depressor, color pencils,
paper etc.
- Samples of several Nenga-joo and
American greeting cards
- Computer with Internet access
Communication: Interpersonal mode is
used in group work to write a skit and practice performing it. The
interpretive mode is used as students watch videos and read comics.
The presentational mode is used in performing skits, making Nenga-joo,
and creating phrase books.
Cultures: Students learn about the practice of using language
to express social relationships and the perspectives behind those
practices. They study how the practice manifests itself in products
such as greeting cards.
Comparisons: Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature
of language and the concept of culture as they compare and contrast
the practice of greetings in American and Japanese society. They also
note the influence of English on the Japanese language.
Communities: Students can practice their learned Japanese phrases
with students from Japan. They can also visit their homes; students
may want to develop their careers along international relations using
the Japanese language.
- Students find opportunities to use appropriate
greetings in a real context by visiting the home of Japanese friends,
the Japanese Educational Institute, and the Consulate-General
of Japan (in Houston).
- Students visit local Japanese restaurants,
order food from menus in Japanese, and use set phrases before
and after eating ( e.g., Onegaishimasu, Itadakimasu, and
Gochisoosama.)
Books
Association for Japanese-Language Teaching.
(1999). Japanese for busy people. Tokyo: Kodansha International.
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co.,
Ltd. (1985). Japanese language know-how. Tokyo: Gakusei-sha.
Mizutani, O. & Mizutani,
N. (1977). Nihongo notes 1: Speaking and living in Japan. Tokyo: Japan
Times.
Mizutani, O. & Mizutani,
N. (1979). Nihongo notes 2: Expressing oneself in Japanese. Tokyo:
Japan Times.
Videos
- Nihongo. (Tapes 1, 3, 4, 7 which
accompany the textbook Japanese for Busy People.)
- Yookoso! (1999). (Tapes #1, 2,
5, 6, 8, 10, 12 which accompany textbook of the same name). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Webliography
NOTE: These Internet
resources may have changed since publication or no longer be
available. Active links should be
carefully
screened
before
recommending to students.
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