JPNS 023. Language in Contemporary Japanese Society and Media

Cross-listed as LING 023
This course serves as an introduction to how language functions in Japanese society today and how language is used to create characters in Japanese media. The first part of the course will be an overview of language use in Japanese society. Students will learn about languages spoken and signed in Japan and linguistic diversity within the Japanese spoken language in particular-including dialects, honorifics, and gendered language. The latter part of the course focuses on ‘role language’ based on virtual stereotypes created and maintained in popular media. Students will discern how characters’ particular language use, from vocabulary and grammar to pronunciation, creates character tropes in Japanese anime, manga, and dramas. All readings will be in English and Japanese language proficiency is not a prerequisite.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA
Fall 2025. Bundschuh.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Japanese
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/japanese

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