Japanese Script and Personal Names

FAIN: FT-53430-05

Noriko Watanabe
CUNY Research Foundation, Bernard Baruch College (New York, NY 10010-5585)

In my project on Japanese script and personal identity of names, I will examine the ways in which Japanese speakers relate to their complex writing system in everyday life, specifically in naming a newborn and determining its legal identity. Through discussions of the links between language ideology, legal restrictions on language use, and people's linguistic creativity, I intend to show the significance of the visual representation of a language and its impact on human life. This study will incorporate linguistic and cultural analyses of naming practices in contemporary Japan. I will use a name database, newspapers, magazines, court case reports, and interviews to conduct my research.