Linguistics - Essay Example

Wodak (1989) explores this opinion to reveal that language gains power in the hands of those who are powerful. According to the author it would be right to say that someone in power can even be represented by a specific language and fights about discrimination or status basically symbolize the fight for power. This study mainly purposes to explore some of the things that happen on the basis of linguistics which include politeness, gender-indexing, honorification, youth language and bilingualism more specifically amongst the Japanese community. Japan which happens to be one of the most industrialized nations on earth was ranked 105th out of 136 countries in terms of gender equality (The Bogen Project 2013). Under normal circumstances, most of us would think that a nation with the third largest economy as well as geographical power as Japan would have a positive gender index when it comes to equality. Surprisingly this is not the case amongst the Japanese. Statistics reveal that “According to the Gender Gap Index, Japan has slid from 94th place in 2010 to 98th in 2011, to 101st in 2012” (The Bogen Project 2013). This indubitably depicts gender inequality with the affected gender being the feminine ender. Japanese women have been misrepresented both in the government as well as in the field of employment. Does this have anything to do with gendered language including politeness and honorification? Unlike most languages in the world, Japanese language has some language associated with men or boys and another section associated with women or girls. ...Show more