Pitch accent is an important but undertaught part of the Japanese language. Differing much from the stress accent found in most Indo-European languages, even learners well into the advanced stage...Show morePitch accent is an important but undertaught part of the Japanese language. Differing much from the stress accent found in most Indo-European languages, even learners well into the advanced stage struggle to utter sentences in a fully native-like manner. Therefore, in this thesis, I tackle the issue of What teaching methods are best suited for pitch accent acquisition (PAA) in the long-term for adult foreign learners of Japanese? I discuss several methods for acquiring pitch accent, and directly compare two of them: Practising with audio-visual stimuli and explaining the rules governing pitch accent. I examined 3 groups of foreign Japanese language learners (n=9) and gave each of them a different set of instructions (or no instruction, in case of thecontrolgroup).Inapretest, posttest, anddelayedposttest, theyweremadeto judge the pitch accent pattern of, and reproduce semi-randomly chosen, common Japanese words. The results suggest that explaining the rules is just as viable an option as compared to traditional training, and that textbook producers and teachers should not be afraid to expose students to the details pitch accent, even in the early stages of their learning. Further study is needed to support these conclusions, and explain what causes some students to respond better to one method over the other.Show less
As the game industry grows larger, game localization becomes more important. This thesis focuses on the way game localizers deal with the translation of Japanese role language in two entries of the...Show moreAs the game industry grows larger, game localization becomes more important. This thesis focuses on the way game localizers deal with the translation of Japanese role language in two entries of the popular Final Fantasy franchise.Show less
The aim of this research was to investigate the occurrence of rendaku in Japanese place names based on two aspects: the region in which a name occurs and the final element of the name. By using a...Show moreThe aim of this research was to investigate the occurrence of rendaku in Japanese place names based on two aspects: the region in which a name occurs and the final element of the name. By using a database from the Japan Post, 39 place names that showed variation in rendaku occurrence were investigated. It was expected that rendaku would occur in place names according to a core periphery model, where place names located in the core area would have a higher rendaku rate. The results showed that for many names, the rendaku rate was higher in the more central Kanto, Chubu or Kinki areas compared to the peripheral areas. Furthermore, it was expected that rendaku in names ending with the same element would show a similar geographical distribution across Japan. The results showed that all names ending with kawa behaved similarly, while for other elements the rendaku pattern varied per individual name. This thesis therefore concludes that rendaku in Japanese place names occurs according to a certain pattern, although this pattern varies per name. Further research, especially regarding accent patterns, is necessary in order to explain the variation of rendaku in Japanese place names.Show less
Abstract This thesis explores the effect that vowel devoicing has on pitch accent in Tokyo Japanese as well as in the Gifu (Tarui) and Koshikijima varieties. The relation between these two...Show moreAbstract This thesis explores the effect that vowel devoicing has on pitch accent in Tokyo Japanese as well as in the Gifu (Tarui) and Koshikijima varieties. The relation between these two phenomena is understudied despite being interesting due to the apparent paradox of a high tone in a devoiced mora, which by definition cannot have pitch. The data consists of recordings of spoken language from existing databases online and of my own data from a phonetic experiment. By analyzing spectrograms in Praat and using the same methodology consistently for all data, this study aims to research how the phonological pitch accent and the phonetic process of vowel devoicing interact in all three varieties and to effectively compare the results.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to analyze the procedures applied in regional dialect translation from Japanese to English, and the shift of stereotype traits due to localization. To achieve this, I base...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to analyze the procedures applied in regional dialect translation from Japanese to English, and the shift of stereotype traits due to localization. To achieve this, I base my research around the notion of yakuwarigo ‘role language’ for stereotypical traits in fictionalised orality (Kinsui, 2003). I focus on a specific southern dialect in Japan known as the Hakata dialect. Usage of this dialect has been popularized in recent popular media, which is why I take the Japanese manga ‘comic book’ called Nisekoi ‘False Love’ (Komi, 2011-2016) as material for my case study. The manga has two existing translations, one by the official publisher VIZ Media (2014-2018), and one by several unofficial translation groups known as scanlators (2011-2016). The case study consists out of two separate comparative analyses. The first analysis is in regards to the translation procedures applied by the different translators of the manga, mainly at what kind of eye dialect was adapted throughout the whole series. The second analysis is in regards to the transference of the stereotypical traits that were present in the original Japanese version to the English versions. This analysis is done through empirical research by means of a survey; one for native and fluent Japanese speakers; one for native and fluent English speakers. Through these comparative analyses, I would like to expand on the notion of regional dialect as role language and the effects of translation thereof.Show less
In 2003, Satoshi Kinsui published a book that would come to be the groundwork of Japanese role language, which he titled: “Baacharu nihongo yakuwarigo no nazo” (Virtual Japanese: The Mystery of...Show moreIn 2003, Satoshi Kinsui published a book that would come to be the groundwork of Japanese role language, which he titled: “Baacharu nihongo yakuwarigo no nazo” (Virtual Japanese: The Mystery of Role-Language). In this book, he introduced the concept of yakuwarigo and discussed several prominent role languages that occur in Japanese manga. However, the focus of this book, along with other research into yakuwarigo, has mainly been the occurrence of yakuwarigo in literature and mass media originating from Japan exclusively. Therefore, the aim of this thesis will be to examine yakuwarigo in Japanese translations of English literature. Herein, I will try to determine when and why yakuwarigo is present in a Japanese translation, whereas it is absent in the source language. In addition to that, I am going to examine the effect of the degree of fictionality on the presence of yakuwarigo in the Japanese translations. Kinsui states that yakuwarigo is ‘virtual language’, meaning that it is a fictional language that appears in fictional works. It is by no means a realistic portrayal of how Japanese people speak, which is exactly why ‘fictionality’ will add a significant layer of information. By analyzing and contrasting literary works that pertain to different genres, fantasy fiction versus realistic fiction, I hope to find out whether the degree of fictionality affects the presence of yakuwarigo. For reasons of space, I will focus on one role language within the large inventory of yakuwarigo, which will be hakasego (learned elder’s/doctor’s language). Altogether, this thesis will address the following research question: to what extent does the degree of fictionality affect the presence of yakuwarigo in Japanese translations of English literature?Show less
In this thesis the dialect attitudes towards the Kyoto dialect are studied. A list of stereotypical characteristics of the dialect, seen from the perspective of the Tokyo standard is provided,...Show moreIn this thesis the dialect attitudes towards the Kyoto dialect are studied. A list of stereotypical characteristics of the dialect, seen from the perspective of the Tokyo standard is provided, according to which the results of the study are evaluated. A survey on Japanese native speakers is used, which mainly confirmed the validity of the stereotype of the Kyoto dialect.Show less
The main topic of this thesis is yakuwarigo in translation. Yakuwarigo, the Japanese word for role language, is a type of language use often used in works of fiction which evokes the image of a...Show moreThe main topic of this thesis is yakuwarigo in translation. Yakuwarigo, the Japanese word for role language, is a type of language use often used in works of fiction which evokes the image of a certain type of character, such as an old man or a young girl, by using certain first-person pronouns, copula and sentence-ending particles (Kinsui 2013). Translating yakuwarigo can be extremely challenging because the Japanese language has many opportunities for variation where English does not. For that reason, yakuwarigo is often standardised in the target text, even though this negatively impacts the uniqueness of the characters (Terada, 2015). While there is quite a bit of literature available on yakuwarigo, hardly any research has been done on the topic of yakuwarigo in translation. In this thesis, the feasibility of translating yakuwarigo from Japanese to English using a foreignising translation strategy is examined. The research question is: “To what extent is it possible to translate yakuwarigo from Japanese to English with a foreignising translation strategy?”. The answer to this question is formed by two parts: a theoretical framework and a case study. In the theoretical framework, a number of different topics are discussed, such as translation strategies, equivalence, and stereotyping. In the case study, six characters of a manga (Japanese cartoon) are analysed in the original version as well as in a fan translation. Additionally, a new translation of is proposed based on the acquired information. It was found that despite the fact that it is impossible to translate yakuwarigo to English perfectly, it is possible to translate characters in such a way that their language reflects their main personality traits. This is done by adapting the font, punctuation and lexical choices, among others, to the character’s personality as a way of compensating for the original yakuwarigo.Show less
This thesis is focussed on the pronunciation and acquisition of second language phonology. More specifically, the acquisition of Dutch vowels in native Japanese speakers. A lot of research on...Show moreThis thesis is focussed on the pronunciation and acquisition of second language phonology. More specifically, the acquisition of Dutch vowels in native Japanese speakers. A lot of research on phonology acquisition, especially with Japanese, tends to look at consonants. However, in this paper vowel acquisition is addressed. Dutch has an extensive vowel system with twelve monophthongs and three diphthongs while Japanese has only five vowels. Japanese learners of Dutch were recorded and formant analysis was used to determine which phonological processes influence the pronunciation of target language phonemes.Show less
There are many irregularities regarding rendaku (sequential voicing) in Japanese surnames (Sugito 1965, Kubozono 2005, Tanaka 2017). A characteristic of Japanese surnames is that the final...Show moreThere are many irregularities regarding rendaku (sequential voicing) in Japanese surnames (Sugito 1965, Kubozono 2005, Tanaka 2017). A characteristic of Japanese surnames is that the final consonant of the first element of the name determines whether rendaku occurs. It is possible to categorize these surnames based on the natural class in which the consonant belongs. This classification can explain rendaku in surnames to a certain extent, but there are still many irregularities within a category and even within specific surnames, where names can occur both with and without rendaku. Therefore the purpose of this research is to have a clear overview of rendaku in surnames by investigating the variation within a category and within specific surnames. The first aim of this research is to investigate whether the rendaku rate depends on dialects, since an informal report of the Nikkei Shinbun suggests that a few surnames undergo rendaku more often in East Japan (Iwasaki 2013). The second aim of this research is to further investigate the occurrence of rendaku within a category in order to explain the irregularities. Furthermore, it is investigated if there is a connection between the regional variation of rendaku and the category to which a surname belongs. In order to investigate this, 231 native speakers of Japanese filled out a digital questionnaire in which they were asked for the region they came from and to convert 80 surnames written in kanji into hiragana. The results indicate that the region seems to determine variation within a surname. However, there is no connection between a category and regional variation. This thesis presents three possible explanations for the irregularities within a category. Firstly, the word type of the first element might have an effect on rendaku. Secondly, for some morphemes it is lexically specified whether they undergo rendaku or not, regardless of the category. Thirdly, external factors such as the names of people in the surroundings or well-known place names might also influence the results.Show less
This thesis focuses on the use of wasei eigo, or so called 'English made in Japan' in Japanese commercials and music. With a framework of the different catagorizations that can be made in wasei...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the use of wasei eigo, or so called 'English made in Japan' in Japanese commercials and music. With a framework of the different catagorizations that can be made in wasei eigo I will try to see if there is any difference in the use between the two media.Show less
