Prestige and Prejudice: Linguistic Ideologies and Multilingual Identity in Japan
Abstract
Language attitudes and ideologies strongly affect how individuals communicate and navigate in society. Japan has perpetuated monolingualism, specifically Standard Japanese, as the cultural norm and a unifying symbol, to the detriment of local indigenous languages and the languages and social progress of migrant populations. However, globalization and rising migration have begun to slowly challenge this narrative.
In this study, I explore how these ideologies affect the language use and linguistic identities of Japanese English bilinguals. I conducted an ethnography on language ideologies with bilingual participants of multicultural backgrounds. Results suggest that while monolingual norms remain influential, a shift towards multilingualism has emerged as the linguistic diversity of the country grows, with English gaining cultural prestige and wider use. The study calls for greater awareness of the discriminatory impacts of nationalistic language ideologies while highlighting the need for more inclusive narratives of linguistic identity, with implications for research in similar sociolinguistic contexts.
Keywords: Bilingualism, identity, ideology, Japanese, multilingualism, sociocultural linguistics, linguistic anthropology, ethnography