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FukushimaNationalCollege

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ttttkmaftO N fo>6.fi.

Gap or GeneticGmp?' :`Generation

Can Discrepancies between Teachers & Students

Be FilledPragmatically?

(SPut14 ffi9 fiftmp)
g pa as g' (MIYAZAWA Yasuhiko)Abstract
Young people'scommunication
munication

withis drasticallychanging

style

and

itsometimes

isno exception

and

we

generations. Classroomsituation

nowadaysolderforwhat to say or what to do to keepup our relationshipicsperspectives.The tendency to be lessspecificschemes,

that

we

are

and their extremely

poor stock

to misunderstandapt

basedonly on our own

about

Ifwe examine

vocabulary

parent. They are trying to evade

a

their

aspects

hedging or blur-lexicalchoice or linguistic
behaviorfrom`eccentric'

interpersonal
relation`deeper]

loss

are

in each discourse
context becomes ap-

pragmatics perspective,their functional motivationa cross-culturaladelineated,
Then,itispointed out
intentmainly from decoding their messagesof emotional

their true communicative

conventions,atissought from pragmat-

frequentuse of various

theirstance,

often

In this essay, someproblems are depictedand theway to cope with thematterof such communicationring

teachers arethose students.

withleads to miscom-by being`non-specific'

However,there rernains the taskforus to try constantly to accommodate

or[non-committal.'be-to the ever-changing

ourselveshavior of students.

systemThe school systemadrasticreform

needs

of

urge ofinJapan has beenexperiencing

in orderto copeindividual
people`globalization'

andinnovation' has broughtaboutbothcommunication

abilityseems

to be somecurringin ourwayor

try to depict

i.e.the irnplicit

there

work

ethicsthe problem･:

esul\essepg7K

economlc

withfrom pragmatics

system

us

from

as

functional

wereby the guarantee of futurearousedsuccess.

However,with other Asian neighbors

andin Japan are no moreforthe industries
withhigh-standard
labor. In those days, people's

today's young students.

Many schools

to

such

other,

segregatingof supply

expected

students]

perspectives,I try to dealwith the very basicproblem that liesintrinsicallyin our professional daily
routine,be a kind of sourceofyoungsters with hightechnicalskills. Schoolswere

standard

indusitsin-

enjoyedmindedof[gap'

the system

highquality scientificproblem ocInclassroorn discourse. this essay, I

to tackle the matter

period,the introductionofcommunication

the waysociety.

for the mass-production

otherthe nature

would
seek

in somenor

Back in the highunstableternational reputation

intendedto upgradeareneeds of neither students

growththe radi-

withtechnology

EnglishConversationand Computer Literacy Eduschool
curriculums.
Alcation into elementary
thoughlongeraccommodatenotriesin this very

Irresistibleeconomie

society.

`information

and

can

cally changing

the changing

withbecause the general educational

before, mainlyas

1. Introductionofup

the trend of globalization, the traditional
would

work

come

catching

ethics

to

not

work

or

its extreme,welllapseofany
moral

especially

more,
and
after

Degradation
moralethehasburst ofbubbleeconomy.
Originally,
the unique 5 year consecutive
educa`CollegeofTechnology' wastien system named-meifp(Llibgntspl:fi)11\ftrz30)-59NII-Electronic Library Service

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etx*eee rg43e (2oo2) tscaImert{gFfi7tt
newly

devised by the government to serve

the urgent

needsfrom the industries.
Our school

to be andit still remains

to be onenow

localcommunity,

our

used

the best schools

of

their surrounding

inlated to the teacher-student communication

As is often

break-down.
The dilemma of so-calledatbut a cyclicallyall novel

paradox`generation

repeatedandby moreef

rules

system

or

or

norms

sharedvate

or reform

andcriticalthe community

a

set

On

members.

the pressure to inno-

the younger

inheritance of someolder

generations,by creative

activityoffrom theassetstime itisa kind

innovative youth.

thetoday in japaneseeducational
totally different

natureing'and aggravatingandto older'rnanydiscourse

be the casepeople show
style andthan ever

cide

of

Japan

with

interactiveattitude.

innocent youngsters

by sudden

or

weak

eithercapti-

impulse or upon

capricious`socialbe observed

not

only

distinctlanguage form andas

but also be regarded

use

human

the refleetion

as

their

of

deeplyrooted in theircharacteristics
style

or

values.

culturalbe the mainun-derlyingfactor that critically decidestheir quite
ianguage

use

which

sound

sometimes

to us, the elder

generations.

first think

the typical aspect

If westyle,

for them to evade
opinion.
seldornofthere is an apparent`disagreeing'tendency

somebody

When theyare ta]king to each

their

of

else'sother,

they

their true feelings by linguistie`clarify'

manifestations.

de-reported

to be widiely

isalsocommunity'

cold

Student A:`Ktyou dou surue'narnedin many
thing to do with the urbanization,
ble reason

peoplefrom us these daysistheir peeuliarlinguistic
behavior,or the
dialect.'
Infact,these could

1) Situation1:Afterschool.

[collapseof

The devastating situation

This could have somedistricts.

observed

One of the typicalfeaturesthat distinguishyoungcommunicativeRe-

socially

away

liberateplanning.
classroom

Disagree:Dis-communicationin the U. S. or the cruel homi-

homeless people in Japan, carried
vatedFears tooriginalvarioussocial problems
portedly, they are causing
leading to the extreme
cases suchas gunsometirnes

firein the classroom

of

tion,

The subculture they belongtQ might

queer behaviorin their

some

for

to futureinvestiga-

be ofperplex-more

highlyindustrializedcountries

communication

be renderedshoulddistinct
eommunication

beforein history.
only

suggestions
present isjust

al! I canthe matter`queer'not

From the limita-

face

we

generations

lead tooften

More detailedexamination

uniquemight

radically

andsegre-

Syndrome

because itis in a

culturalyoung stu-ofpossible measures.

betweenthe valuesofI willthat somewhat

style

com-

could

Yet,Ipresume the kind of eccentricity

that young

aspects

from their worldus2.

generations.

at the same

and

with

peculiar

severalby the value

sense

but also

In the following sections,

implicitly
supported

kind of educational

Perhaps, itmightstyle.

tion of space,ofempowerment

munication

pragrnatics

from individual

to people's socio-culturalofteachers.This isquite naturalofand usagedents' communication

the younger and the older generations, i.e.,
students
andgrammarlessconventionalization

be safe from the conflict

never

areas

incompatible
misunderstandings.

the old traditionaroused

Moreover, anyof study

be sus-

among

mind

articles,amountgate

hand, there is always

the othera vasttechnology.'

in many

civiliza-tion. On the one hand, any culture mighttainedcoversofchangeby the acute devel-

mainly`information

noted

try to pick up

everlastingkind in any humanthe oldestofis notgap'

society

the modern

of

opmentI believe.However, I must

there sornetirnes occur several problems re-admit

is greatly influencedby the radical

whichshouldbepsychological orsocialsoughtbut moreoftheare you gonna

do today?'StudentB:`Iftzeru.'
`I'11

come

home (straight).'

That isall. The interactant would`A'

plausi-in the process 6f

development

tWhat

young,

continue

ther whatcomingontheir conversation,

notpart!cular reason

anothernotaskingone

home, Never do they dare to

to

stick
any

fur-

has for
step

into-60NII-Electronic Library Service

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ZueitrRmadiuava:scXtLuar.MinasMJkftbi6
inferring
another

person's

we should

this is a bit different
from themutualattendforrespect

innerfeelings. However,in the western`privacyi`negative'

from others by never

responserisk of rejecting

they fearhurtingothers

Student:`Betsuni'`Nothing

taking the

Teacher:particular,'`IVItnhawords,

for fear of being hurt by'

Teacher:[IVdnha
itteyo.'Situation2: At the fancyshop.
StudentA:
nai?
`Isn'tthiscute?i`Kdwaileu

'

'

ilt's

Thisisnot so muchto construct

to each other's in-

be rendered

terpretation. By obscuring

the details,
they canleast safely

attribute

the

same

at

the objectofhas become a very general attributive expression. In other words, ithas tremendouslyextended its connotative
meaning.
As far as the interactantsarethe sameofgroup, the intendedcommunicative
work

well,

that they withhold

ticularcomment

to avoidanyelucidation

between`Appro-`minimize dispraise oftobation Maxim]

1975:52),or the(Grice,praise of other'l983:135). Also,we could
Maximi (Leech,
findan answer inone of thestrategies,'`Flattery`politenessi.e,,(Brown& Levinson,

12: Be vague'`Strategy

1987:226).Or otherwise, theseconversations
function at least to feedthe needs, for

might

and

maintenanceofbetweenthemunion'contlact,'i.e.,`phatic

interactants

gap betweenthe
nessstrategy

view,

encounter

similarat oursehoolcontemplated

with

my

an

ex-

I could daily

even

or

mis-

I]m becoming

students.

'generation,'

ifmy

wonderstudents[aliens'arefrom an-comingvice versa.)
planet, ･(Perhaps,

other

Presumably,these attitudes
the manifestation

to establish

be interpreted

couldof their restraint

from trying

interpersonal
relation or total rejec-anConsideringthe rapidly

tion of communication.

Japanesesociety, urbanization

changing

the keyterm that would

that

us

used

left any more

to be expected`coeperative'

andto nurtureearlyratherthe polite-areisolatedorschools,neverchildren

busy

only

at school

studying

schoolpreparing forthe awaiting
From theirearly ages, theyexarnination.

segregated

not

are

age

at a cram

upon

the

`homogeneous'of Japanesepeople.

but also
entrance

be

might

provide a plausibleexplana-tion. There is no localcommunity

the distal

Situation 3 : In the classroorn,

rebellious

to be rather

seem(Levinson, In any localtown in Japan, students

to their counterparts.

inresulttheirofdifference
has almost reachedas largeasliterally
one
SometimesI

with

3)

sign

and our age

mid4esconcerning`presuppositions'the seem-

quasi-conflictsituation

communicationfrom a veryevenabutunfortunately

tremist's

characteristics

However, some problern arises between teachers
students

of it asthis might

relativelycom-

1983:41).

andI'm afraid

around'establish-or

attitude

splrlt.

asother;`reserved'

irritateus and sometimes

the misjudgmentfrom prag-

the possiblecandidate isthernatics terms,

we

par-

more

possible conflict

them, Ifwe dareto try somemaximizetactics will

littletrouble, In both cases,

causing

conclude

might

age

&
Questionpair' ofof intention to keep the conversation

going on might[Kdwaii'

material.

itas(Shegloffand Sacks,1974).The

too much`lack'

sharecommunication`adjacency

anAnswer in thiscase

They never go on to specify
student's
theirinner fee}ingsby reference to itscolor, design, ing
It might`sound'aisin the above two instances.Apparently, it failscute.'

That is all, again.

anything.

please.'something,Student:`

StudentB:`Kdwaii,'

ment

'

you have any idea?'

Student:``Sayorhoto naino?

omou`Dori'tothers,2)'

do you think of this?i

`What

some

hurting them. In otheror

dou omou?

`Kbre

culture.

guard themselves from receiving

They simply

Teacher:in their homes

provided withoccasionsof different
ages

throughin a virtual community

andto socialize[roleformed on their own.

plays'
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blxsHeeeg43e (2oo2)ncg:lesrf-eqljFH\K
families are highly`nucleacized'

The only popular mode

TV or TV games (and computeris withdays) facingmonitor
isolated frommatica]ly

other

the human

speaking,

games thesecal(andalso the linguisticability)

be acquiredatopmenttheofleastin combinationtsocializing

shouldteraction

during theacquisition

shouldmarkers'vagueof'attention

orof somecalling'

forms ofexpressions

serious(-,isn't it?) or
janaictesuha'of the young
discommunicationsyndrome
words,
now
observed all over Japan. In otherpeoplereally is) couldone

speech,the indispensable
environmental

for theeonditions`communicative
the(orpragmatic)acquisitionofcompetence'iscriticaHy

lackingintoday's Japanesestressandhierarchywithinof athe vertical principlesof ranks

put uponwitha smallcommunity,society

hasofJapanesechangesover

the past hundred years,the basicsocial

sufferedwesternscholars

ety's

uniquenessstatedthat

key concepts

For example,

and stability.
`conformity'andto understand

are

the

itwas

of

(Clancy199e:33).

Japanese communicative

style

However,I

perspective is needed

think anotherthe true understanding`queer'oftoday's youngforpeople's

relation,

3, Various Hedging Schemesorlndirect

not

at

well

all

that

today's young

Japanese arenottrying to beenough`specific'

sornewhat`lazy'insentencemight

or recognition.

staging

schemestheir interper-of

wethem or justbecome
communication`communication

might'irritated'Per-

style.

`conservative'ofstyle'

these eccentricwithgenerations.

these schemes,

generation is far moreofofthat these schemes`strange'

the old norms

partto the addressee.

to us, the older

encountersuchthan aeeom-

lexicalphrases or lessgrammaticalusage.

conventional

I tentatively concluded`farniliar'

misunderstandagainstatactfully renderingorWhenever wemodating

Strategies
In the previous section,

attention(orresponsibility)

haps, ourstyle.

communicationof

Hewever,itisquite annoying
are

the

or

to deliberately
incorporatethe ad-commitment

primary`indirectness'wording

the point isthat these various

up,ernployed

sonal

a

conprobably to implicitly

into the conceptual
dresseepointed out our soci-repeatedly`empathy'are

Also, rnany

grammar has hardly been affected.'

be ernployed

To sum'seeking

intonation at the end

justin the middle

wordfirm the addressee's

drastic

outlook

doubt

proposition.

ofsometimes

the`whileyoung people's

the hearerto admit`urgingrisingMoreover,irregular

Nakane (1970:154) wrote

`-

as

(-,it

1995:150) the exact(agree)'(Itani,content`reminding'`-nandesuyo'

Their functionis no
or

cue

as an

such

be heard among

often

hearer's
agreement'

society.

Almost 30 years ago,

(Dines,be `togeneral case.'

more

a

of

`-

say),

be interpreted
as typi-

1980:22) Also, other(Dines,lackof human in-have invited such(orsome-inexplicitspeech'andMustrativeexamp]eperiod' for language`critical

sentences.

the listenerto interpretthe preceding element

ability.'

Thereisno doubt the absolute

their

of

1980:30),Roughly,their function could

the devel-with`tags'could

These evasive`communicativecompetence'end(-orstuff likethat), etc.

mttaina'human beings. Prag-'living'theatpurposefu]lyor`-toha'all the time comp]etely

screen,obscuring

instancesareSome of the common'-tteyuka'
thing),(-or something,Ishould

forthose ehildren`p]ay'

ofsomeblurringexpressions

livingtogether.

or siblingsents

frequently
appendgrandpar-

no

with

4, ScantyEmotionalVocabulary Leadingto'lmpatience'in their linguisticof
their inner feelings.Meanwhile,
deseriptions
to establishing
they seem to pay far rnore attention`amiable'withtheir ina
interpersonalrelationshipterrogators.

Next point to be noted
It seems

ented.

have only
choice ofbehavior
Anotheraspect of their typicallinguisticcommitments
inis their indirectness orrealize
their articulation.
Many of us
that they`hedged'very`emotionali

to meismorelinguisticallyori-that today's young people

limited numberof options

vocabularies.

in their

Of course,theJapaneselanguagehasa great traditionof linguistieallydelineatingdelicatehumanfeelingsin depictingnatural

sentiment

beauty withor

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ZreiUKmaoumva:scsticmaI.mutozarkh)ethen reprimanded

variety of vocabularies.

However, the young these days seemishedthistradition andalway$

to have abolthe effort

neglect

specify their feelingsdeliberately
choosing

forexpressing`word'

suitablethis is especiallytothe most

true of their poorest expressive

feelings. Al} I hear from their mouths
in an'short-cut'ametaphoricallyfeelingor emotionallyisthat their physicalfollow this simple

`out

to

happenedaroundof con-sensitivity andmiddlerange

reactions

alsofrom justa bad feelingby waygradual escalation

to the extreme

emotionofof

intoanger, saying,
Edward`the(cutoff short).

`[real

Sapir pointed out

years

isto a largeextent

world"

builtupmany

almostmyselfyet. But students]

their outrageous

autistic

temper which

could

theirprofessionalrole to give themof`preaching]tions,'

orunconsciously`scolding'even

be stressed

weshouldtheir peculiar character

on

any

give them some
tive

that

ago

part

Thus,itmust`rage.'

Rather,once they are scolded or justcriticized about
theirbad deed, they would suddenly
flashand burst`Buchi-gireta!'

quick temper and`impatience,'

be easily triggered
has almost become our common`sharedknowledge.' It is inevitablefor teachers as

leap, instead of thetwo-steptheirextraordinarily

Fortunately, there has no serious (criminal)
casetrol').

The problem

thinkthisis no doubt a prototypical case that indihelplessemotional

but now

circuitto the brain circuit

extended`distracted'

meanelectrichim,

5, Conclusion(originally

LKireta'meant

literhillher.' But he did it. I`Don'tis eitheror(irritating)`Muhatsuleu'

to hisleill
her,' Then the classmate`I'llclassmate,cates

power or scanty selective options fortheir negative

for talking loudlyduring

the class. Reportedly,
the student mutteredally advised

their feeling.I think

again`instruc-times.

atpay attention to
occasion

directive`guidance'

where

we

justsugges-or`instruction.'

Pragmatic
uniqueabove

examinations

statedtheirofbehaviorsuggest

communicativethat wethe language habits of the group...' tend to misunderstandtheir true intentionssub1941), If they are really identifying(Sapir,or submerging deepunder their eccentric lexical
choiceoronconceptualizing
jectively

tion onlywiththeir own

is no

rage,

foritisthe only

wonderabout

they should
possiblesuddenly
optionburst into
to be selectedviolentofre-crimes such as gun firejuvenile

but rather`disgraceful,'

girl to deathin front of his teacher andI don't believe why they are soother classmates.

takesuch proliferationof the gun,instantkiller
tool, They would say it is tough to
be a teacher in the States,but the case is not any`distinct'

cultureculture.

ascultural
with

not
or

best to infertheir`non-specific'

trying to evade

liketo facethem notmightthesamegenerous inallowing

try ourasshould`impolite'

or

`non-

in a

entanglement･relation,Accordingly,weinterpersonal'deeper'in the classroorn in theUnitedStates.I was astonished by the news that 6 year old boy had shot hisclassmate

wetake their style

straightforwardly

committal'

there havebeena number

Perhaps,psychological tendency to be

the state of irritation.

Quiteregretfully,
ports

linguistic behavior,emo-

the dichotomy of the both poles,

there

next after

negativemuch

asinhabitants within

but as representativesofanother

It is imperative that we should

fruitfrom the elucidationof`cross-pragmatics' in our daily communication

the younger generation.

aneasier'Brown, P. & Levinson,S.C. (1987)Politeness,

in Japan.

Sad to say, we cannot

References

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are as safe
as before.
Carrol,J,B. (1956)
Languctge, 71TLoLaght,
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itrv:
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Lee Wbr:f.
MIT
passedhighschoolteacherwasstubbed
to
death
by
a
Press.
Cambridge,
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confidenceany

15-year-old
boy just' after her English class inthat the student
Kuroiso, Tochigi.It is reported
wasfirstscolded forcoming
lateforher class, andClancy, Patricia. (1990)'Acquiring

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Competence in A Second Langu(rge. Heinle &Longman., New York.

Heinle.Boston,Massachusetts.
27-34.
'Variation
Dines, Elizabeth,
in Discourse -Levinson, Stephen. (1983)Pragmatics. C.U.P.,

StuffLikeThat"'Language inSocietyvol.9,

Maynard, Senko,K. C1986) Back-ehannel Behav-(1980)`'andCambridge, Massachusetts.
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13-31.

Grice,Paul. (1967)`LogieandConversation.'in

Davis,Stevened. Prugmatics:A Reader.O. U. P.,
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Nakane, C. (1970){Jopanese

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worth:Penguin.

Itani,Reiko, (1995)
Semanticsand

Hbcigesin Eizglish
and1079-1108.

Linguistics,vol.24,

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andH.Sacks,(1974)`Openingup

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Harrnondsworth:Penguin.
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Jeffery.(1983)
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