By Ayuka Tamaki
Do you think there are any characteristics of women’s way of speaking? Do you know these characteristics of women in your country? I think every country has something in common as a feature of women’s way of speaking. So, I decided to investigate the characteristics of women in conversation about women in Japan, the United States and Korea.
First, it is about Japan. Imanishi (2006) indicated that Japanese women try to avoid making decisions. “～かしらね” is words of agreement. This word is used to be considerate of those around there. Also, they like to use sweet adjectives and pretentious adverbs. “かわいい” and “すごーい” are often used among women. Imanishi (2006) said that Japanese women make ambiguous expressions. More likely to use king expressions than men.
Second, it is about the United States. Kim (2005) said that the United States’s women often use uncertain, ambiguous, and unsure words. For example, “I guess”, “I think”, “I wonder” are used. They use these phrases for self-defense. In addition, Kim (2005) indicated that the use of exclamations, adverbs, and adjectives unique to women is seen. For example, there are “oh dear”, “oh fudge”, “so much”, “adorable”, “charming” and “lovely”. Also, the use of euphemisms or derogatory expression is seen. “Close the door.” is a euphemisms or derogatory expression: “Won’t you close the door?” In this way, characteristics of the United States’s women way of speaking can be expressed.
Finally, it is about Korea. Kim (2005) indicated that there are many characteristics of women in Korea. For example, they use ambiguous expressions. Kim (2005) said that it has the effect of reducing the mental burden on the listener by making ambiguous expression. In other words, this can convey the nuance of leaving it to the other person’s judgment. This is an expression that doesn’t show yourself completely. What king of words are there? “글쎄” is Korean word. This mean is “well” and “hm”. Also, “ㄴ 것 같다” is “ it looks like~”. That’s why, Korean women use ambiguous expressions. In addition, Korean women use emphasize expression. Why do Korean women use such an emphasis expression? Kim (2005) said that they tend to emphasize their senses and to make their confidence stand out. Also, Kim (2005) indicated that it is known that women are more likely to agree.
I compared three countries; these countries have something common. This is to use euphemisms. Japan, the United States and Korean which country use this expression when they talk to people. Also, they use gentle expression. The reason why we use these methods is to be considerate of the other person, to leave the decision to the other person, and to avoid getting into a flight. I learned something while researching these three countries. This means that women were treated differently in society, which is expressed in words. Imanishi (2006) said that In Japanese, there is a traditional belief that men are in a higher position than women, so women sometimes use honorific language for men. In this way, it is thought that because each country has businesses like Japan, there are characteristics in the language used by women. Since the characteristics of the three countries were very similar, I thought the same could be said of other countries.
References
Imanishi, Y. (2006) Views on women reflected in women’s words” common to English and Japanese. Japan: Aichi Shukutoku University Graduate School of English Literature Society
Kim, S. (2005) Current status and problems of linguistic gender difference research in Korea. Japan: Department of International Plural Cultures, Graduate School of International Languages and Cultu
