Japanese: F–10 Sequence / Levels 7 and 8 / Understanding / Language variation and change
Content description
Explain variations in Japanese language use that reflect different levels of formality, authority and status
Elaborations
explaining variation in language use between people of different ages and relationships, for example, 母, お母さん and ～先生, ～さん; avoiding あなた when showing politeness; the frequent use of わたし to avoid foregrounding oneself; using ～くん or ～さんwhen speaking with close friends, family members or other young people; and using surnames ～さん or ～先生 for adults
understanding that Japanese expressions can be made more or less formal with very slight changes, for example, the presence or absence of formal endings, such as the difference between 先生、ありがとう。 先生、ありがとうございました。 and おやすみ。おやすみなさい 。
analysing language used to express different levels of formality in a variety of texts such as conversations, letters, emails and text messages, noting differences between written and spoken texts
finding examples of informal forms of language used by young Japanese speakers, such as the use of abbreviations or emoticons when texting and the use of loan words when talking about popular culture, for example, ‘J-rock’, ‘J-pop’, ‘fast food’
