Onna Kotoba || Joseigo

A complex ensemble of practices, institutions,

representations, and power - in which the Japanese
woman is objectified, evaluated, staged, and
normalized - Miyako Inoue

Currently
Developed through history from speech patterns of Court Ladies
Modern nurturing of joseigo is often attributed to womens socialization
Polite
quieter/softer
Seeking assurance/gentle

Distinctions from gendered nature of romance languages and others

Not masculine and feminine words, but patterns that are more often followed by one or the other
Not mutually exclusive in all cases - situational

Sexist undertones
Maintain woman as lower status by constantly using polite forms which a man may also use, but
only to someone of much higher status than himself

Characteristics
Usually viewed as:
Softer
More polite/gentle
Features:
Pronouns such as Watashi/Atashi
Feminine Final Particles: Wa, no, ne, mashou, kashira
Prefixes: O and go (Politeness)
Rising intonation

Sexism while researching

Heres the girly version im going to embarrass myself by reading... tae kim
For males, in particular, it is important to use [ ] before or
to avoid sounding too feminine - guidetojapanese.org
Women are not singled out for discrimination in language - Japanese
thesis - Peal Ngan
Why Gaijin are Girly - Japan Talk

Some examples of differences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FLKmxA2Gb4
2:05
3:26

Sources/Further reading
Vicarious Language: Gender and Linguistic Modernity in Japan - Miyako Inoue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FLKmxA2Gb4
http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/1701
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/why-gaijin-are-girly
https://vimeo.com/4756279