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Language Experiences of Japanese in Gongzhuling of former Manchuria -Paradigm shift in the Language Usage Situation Spanning the end of World War II-

  • The Japanese Language Association of Korea
  • Abbr : JLAK
  • 2020, (64), pp.101-117
  • DOI : 10.14817/jlak.2020.64.101
  • Publisher : The Japanese Language Association Of Korea
  • Research Area : Humanities > Japanese Language and Literature
  • Received : April 12, 2020
  • Accepted : May 27, 2020
  • Published : June 20, 2020

Masahiro, Koga 1

1東京都立大学大学院

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Language Experiences of Japanese in Gongzhuling of former Manchuria -Paradigm shift in the Language Usage Situation Spanning the end of World War IIIn this paper, I analyze data from two interviews and diary entries to examine linguistic experiences in the Manchurian city of Gongzhuling. I conducted semi-structured interviews with two Japanese who spent their school days there. This was combined with analysis of diary entries thought hitherto non-existent, since returnees were allowed to carry no belongings. I found the following results. Japanese residents used only Japanese in their everyday lives, and their experiences with the Chinese language were largely through school education. With the end of the war and the great changes in society, Japanese usage decreased with Chinese, Russian and English increasing in its wake. In other words, there was a paradigm shift in the language experiences of Japanese in the period before and after war’s end. Following the war, the children’s generation were sent into Chinese households as servants and half-forced to use Chinese, and students in Japanese schools experienced Russian language education. The parents’ generation experiences varied, but there are cases of Japanese who used English to communicate with the Chinese who came for confiscation. Changes after the war were not limited to language education and language policy but extended to language usage and language perceptions as well. In particular, the Chinese language, which during wartime had been perceived as “something learned at school” or something regarded unfavorably in hindsight as a “Colonial Chinese” became a language variety whose usage was unavoidable in the post-war period. Furthermore, the Russian language learned at Japanese schools was perceived as a means toward showing accommodation and avoiding danger. In essence, while Manchukuo was purported to be multilingual, the data indicate that it was ironically only after the war’s end.

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