Rituals is popularly associated with ceremonies, however, in real life, it plays a significantly more important role, reinforcing what people perceive as the appropriate moral order of things (Kádár, 2017). The purpose of... [ view full abstract ]
Rituals is popularly associated with ceremonies, however, in real life, it plays a significantly more important role, reinforcing what people perceive as the appropriate moral order of things (Kádár, 2017). The purpose of this study is to investigate how male Japanese speakers negotiate the distance among them by style-shifting between the desu/masu forms (i.e., addressee honorifics) and the plain form (i.e., non-honorific forms) in first-encounter conversations to manifest the moral order.
The Japanese language has two distinctive morphological verbal forms marked by the presence or absence of so-called addressee honorifics, which is referred to as desu/masu form and the plain form. Japanese speakers must choose one of these forms in a clause-final position when producing an utterance. The previous research has shown that desu/masu forms index formality, politeness and ‘outside’ relationships while the plain form marks informality, non-politeness and ‘inside’ relationships (Ide, 1989; Ide and Yoshida, 1999; Sukle, 1994). When Japanese speakers first meet, they use desu/masu forms to express politeness and formality. If there is an age or status difference, the interlocutor who is younger or in the subordinate status tend to keep using desu/masu forms. On the other hand, if they realize they are about the same age and they are motivated to shorten the distance, Japanese speakers start using the plain form to build solidarity.
The data analysis shows that the male participants use desu/masu forms throughout the entire conversations when directly referring to each other, however they gradually start using the plain form when disclosing information about themselves or quoting another person so that they can mark informality and solidarity. The listeners also start using the plain form when they tell related stories or second stories inspired by the speaker’s talk. The data analysis reveals that style-shifting between desu/masu forms and the plain form and self-disclosure promoted by audience participation enable the speakers to index solidarity while maintaining polite/formal relationship. This research illustrates the ritualized use of honorifics in first-encounter conversations and reveals the intricate process that Japanese speakers face to build solidarity while, at the same time, maintaining distance.
