The Ideology of Kokugo
Nationalizing Language in Modern Japan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19129159 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yeounsuk Lee, Yŏn-suk Yi, Maki Harano Hubbard |
| Year | 2009 |
| Pages | 262 |
| Publication date | 2009-09-21 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | BOOK |
| Venue | The ideology of kokugo (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | University of Hawaii Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.21313/hawaii/9780824833053.001.0001 |
| OpenAlex | W4232279335 |
| ISBN | 9780824833053 |
| Open Library | OL23631999M |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
Available for the first time in English, this award-winning book looks at the history and ideology behind the construction of kokugo (national language). Prior to the Meiji Period (1868–1912), the idea of a single, unified Japanese language did not exist. Only as Japan was establishing itself as a modern nation-state and an empire with expanding colonies did there arise the need for a national language to construct and sustain its national identity. Re-examining debates and controversies over genbun itchi (unification of written and spoken languages) and other language reform movements, the book discusses the contributions of Ueda Kazutoshi (1867–1937) and Hoshina Kōichi (1872–1955) in the creation of kokugo and moves us one step closer to understanding how the ideology of kokugo cast a spell over linguistic identity in modern Japan. It examines the notion of the unshakable homogeneity of the Japanese language, urging us to pay attention to the linguistic consciousness that underlies "scientific" scholarship and language policies. A critical discussion of the construction of kokugo uncovers a strain of cultural nationalism that has been long nurtured in Japan's education system and academic traditions. The ideology of kokugo, argues the book, must be recognized both as an academic apparatus and a political concept. This book was the first work to explore Japan's linguistic consciousness at the dawn of its modernization
Art · Empire · Ideology · Linguistics · Literature · Meiji period · Modernization theory · National consciousness · National identity · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Scholarship · Sociology · Japanese History and Culture · Law · Philosophy · Japan · Japanese language · Language policy
| Citations per year | 0.82 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Highly cited | No |