Kat(akana) Got Your Tongue? (w/Dr. Wes Robertson)

Japan By River Cruise

Why do foreigners in Japan speak in Katakana? Well, Bobby does it because the TV director told him it's funnier that way. But Dr. Wes Robertson has actual NON-anecdotal research into writing system/pronoun choices and how calling yourself ORE isn't conveying what you think it is.

Ollie reminds us that loose lips sink ships.

Bobby comes to terms.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

• Brian getting himself into some hot water.
• Scholars of the sakoku-jidai
• The New Entry Ban and the online twitter reactions
• How the Entry Ban is going to affect TV
• Explaining jokes
• The Japanese trendy words of the year and what we think should win (in which we totally overlook the eventual winner because we don't care about Shohei Ohtani)
• Ollie getting confused between the News and the Extras
• How a McDonald's Spokesperson launched both Wes and Bobby's Careers
• Why is Foreigner Japanese represented in Katakana?
• Wes research into using variations in script and what it's intended to convey
• Other reasons for using katakana
• Reasons for varying scripting choices outside of the general conventions (katakana for loan words, etc)
• The affective associations with different writing systems
• The writing traps that non-native Japanese learners often fall into
• Our word choices as Japanese learners and how we might be adding social nuance that we don't intend to add
• Using excessive/unnecessary Kanji
• Choices and turtles all the way down
• Pronoun choices and how much of these choices are conscious or subconscious forJapanese people/Japanese authors
• The extensive inferences that Japanese people can make about a writer based on their scripting choices
• How technology has changed scripting choices, and what that can reveal about people who make those choices
• Young Japanese women pretending to be lecherous old men online because why not?
• The phenomenon of trying to represent another demographics language trends and getting it wrong

Content Links:
The Sociolinguists of Japanese Script

Topics on this week's extras include:
This week's extras are 40 plus minutes of intense Japanese linguistic analysis applied to joke writing and punnery, and also to Bobby's 6-year-old daughter's first heartbreak. Yes, really. And we talk more about the trending words, including "Ussee-wa."
We get into some of the cultural reasons why trying to tell Japanese people you're just joking doesn't work and discover who Wes's least favorite comedian is.
It's very insightful and fascinating stuff from Wes, and you'll only ever get to listen to it by supporting the podcast for less than $1 an episode by becoming a member at http://buymeacoffee.com.

Have something you'd like to say? Send us a fax at japanbyrivercruise.com

or Tweet to us at @jbrcpod

Social Media Links:

Dr Wes Robertson: Twitter | WordPress | Book | Wes's Death Metal Linguistics Podcast: Lingua Brutallica

Ollie Horn: Twitter | Instagram

Bobby Judo: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Other things to click on
Some are affiliate links because we're sell-outs

• We record remotely using Squadcast and the podcast is hosted on Transistor.
• Bobby uses the Samson Go Mic and Ollie uses the AT2005USB mic

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