This introduction to Japanese linguistics is designed to introduce students to all of the main areas of the subject. What makes this book distinct from other textbooks on Japanese linguistics is that linguistics is introduced by means of authentic texts which students might encounter in contemporary Japan. The book covers: * Speech sounds and sound structures * Japanese vocabulary * Writing in Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana and Roman letters * Word structures, ideograms, morphemes and compounding * Sentence structure * Word meaning Each chapter contains an explanation of the key concepts of Japanese linguistics, followed by activities, which are designed to promote the students' active understanding of the forms and functions of the language in authentic texts. This textbook will be an essential introduction to Japanese linguistics for advanced undergraduates, and postgraduates, studying either Japanese language, or linguistics.

This book discusses eight grammatical items, with main focus on prepositions and plural nouns, to illustrate the structure of Japanese English or the English spoken by 32 Japanese nationals who are the L2 users of English. Adopting an inductive, theory-neutral, analysis of empirical data collected from recordings of presentational talks, the author demonstrates how standard and nonstandard grammatical forms are distributed, and categorizes these based largely on functional factors. The book describes grammatical forms as a fundamental aspect of linguistic study and adopts a corpus-driven approach to qualify structural features characterizing usage data. This formalization of language usage patterns also facilitates the development of 'locally' relevant norms and thus presents alternatives to the normative varieties traditionally adopted. It examines the effects of multicompetence and unpacks the grammar of Japanese English. The book is of interest to researchers, educators, and students concerned with issues related to World Englishes, English as a lingua franca, English language teaching, and multilingualism, this text is vital to studies in global English language use.

Voices in Texts and Contexts presents different perspectives of 'voice', a concept emerging from language choices, social and cultural phenomena, and psychology. In weaving a tapestry of linguistic experiences, from analyses of language phenomena including localised English to explanations of human behaviour, this book offers insights into how we use language, construct discourse, and express ourselves in light of selected texts and specific contexts. Voice is a fundamental instrument to interpret human behaviour and the mind. In this book, readers will learn about uses of language, or perceptions of uses, and a wide range of messages enshrined therein. This book grew out of the 6th and 7th International Conferences on Discourse and Society organised by the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. It contains chapters that give special focus to Malaysia at the macro level - such as the naming of disabled people, mastery of the Malay language by migrants, loanwords of Sanskrit origin in Malaysian - as well contributions by invited scholars whose academic interests intersect with the theme of the volume. It is suitable for scholars, educators, researchers, and the interested general public.

"Japanese Language in Use is the companion volume to Japanese Linguistics: An Introduction. Using a wide range of examples drawn from everyday life and literary texts, Japanese Language in Use introduces pragmatics, discourse, and language and culture in the Japanese context. The book covers: * Language in context * Japanese in conversation * Honorifics and politeness * Language and gender * Young people's language Key concepts of Japanese language in use are introduced in a succinct and accessible way, with texts and exercises to aid student understanding. This is the ideal first introduction to Japanese language in context for undergraduate or postgraduate students. "

"This introduction to Japanese linguistics is designed to introduce students to all of the main areas of the subject. What makes this book distinct from other textbooks on Japanese linguistics is that linguistics is introduced by means of authentic texts which students might encounter in contemporary Japan. The book covers: * Speech sounds and sound structures * Japanese vocabulary * Writing in Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana and Roman letters * Word structures, ideograms, morphemes and compounding * Sentence structure * Word meaning Each chapter contains an explanation of the key concepts of Japanese linguistics, followed by activities, which are designed to promote the students' active understanding of the forms and functions of the language in authentic texts. This textbook will be an essential introduction to Japanese linguistics for advanced undergraduates, and postgraduates, studying either Japanese language, or linguistics. "