37.729, Reviews: Ideologies of Communication in Japan: Patrick Heinrich, Florian Grosser and Saana Santalahti (eds.) (2025)

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Subject: 37.729, Reviews: Ideologies of Communication in Japan: Patrick Heinrich, Florian Grosser and Saana Santalahti (eds.) (2025)

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Date: 20-Feb-2026
From: Zulma Xiomara Rueda Garcia [zrueda at uoc.edu]
Subject: Sociolinguistics: Patrick Heinrich, Florian Grosser and Saana Santalahti (eds.) (2025)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/36-2203

Title: Ideologies of Communication in Japan
Subtitle: Speakers, Interaction and the Creation of Difference
Series Title: Multilingual Matters
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Multilingual Matters
           http://www.multilingual-matters.com/
Book URL:
https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800419247

Editor(s): Patrick Heinrich, Florian Grosser and Saana Santalahti

Reviewer: Zulma Xiomara Rueda Garcia

SUMMARY
The book Ideologies of Communication in Japan: Speakers, Interaction
and the Creation of Difference is an edited volume by Florian Grosser,
Patrick Heinrich, and Saana Santalahti that brings together twelve
chapters (in addition to the introductory and concluding ones)
analyzing circulating ideologies of communication as lived in
contemporary Japan, highlighting the sociolinguistic transformations
the country has undergone. The book is divided into three major parts:
Part 1, International Encounters, comprising Chapters 2 through 6;
Part 2, Mediated Communication in the Digital Age, comprising Chapters
7 through 10; and Part 3, Minoritised Communities, comprising Chapters
11 through 13.
In Chapter 1, the editors’ introduction provides a concise yet
comprehensive overview of the most prominent research on language
ideologies in Japan (e.g., Lee 2010, Ohara 1999, among others),
identifying both the foundations from which the research departs and
the directions in which it proceeds. The editors prepare the audience
for a volume that extends existing traditions of research on language
ideologies (e.g., Silverstein 1979, Gal 1989, Irvine 1989) toward a
broader focus on ideologies of communication, a conceptual positioning
that is consistently justified throughout the compiled chapters. This
cohesive conceptual framework is flexible enough to present an array
of works that explore multiple instances of language use,
organization, and regulation, beyond talk. From this open approach,
the book includes cross-sectional topics that guide the compilation
and organization of the different works in the volume: speakers,
signers, and resources; interactional types and identities; contested
ideologies and empowerment through counter ideologies; and a society
in transition (p.p. 7 - 9).
Chapter 2, Constructing the ‘seikatsusha’ through Japanese as a Second
Language: Ideologies of Communication in Language Education Policy and
Locally Produced Learning Materials by Riikka Länsisalmi, analyzes the
construction of Japanese L2 learners as seikatsusha, literally meaning
‘people who live’, but more accurately translated as ‘residents’.
Drawing on both the official document “Handbook of Japanese Language
Education for Foreigners as Seikatsu” and two locally produced
Japanese L2 textbooks, the chapter focuses on this speaker
categorization, relevant for Japanese L2 education, highlighting the
social roles learners are implicitly expected to perform. Through this
analysis, the author discusses ideologies in which L2 speakers are
framed as necessary contributors to Japan’s economic growth, while
simultaneously being expected to adjust to Japanese society through
‘Othering’ discourses. Although communication between seikatsusha and
Japanese L1 speakers is encouraged, there is little contemplation of
the possible reciprocal ways the seikatsusha could contribute to
Japanese society.
Chapter 3, Monolingual Approach and Multilingual Learners: A New Phase
of Japanese Language Education Policy by Kayoko Hashimoto, examines
ideologies influencing Japanese L2 teaching methods. Through an
analysis of a governmental survey, a proposed curriculum, and
interview data with twenty-four international students, the author
shows the need for more explicit policies and clearer guidelines for
Japanese L2 teacher training and development. The chapter offers
critical insights into the prevailing profiles of Japanese L2
teachers, many of whom engage minimally with their students’ first
languages, as well as the ambiguity of existing guidelines, which
appear to be in tension with nationalistic language ideologies in
Japan. The author also highlights the structural difficulties foreign
nationals face when seeking adequate Japanese L2 education.
Chapter 4, L2 Japanese Speakers and Language Ideologies: The Impact of
Monolingual Bias on Beliefs about Unwanted Code-Switching by Jae
DiBello Takeuchi analyzes the monolingual bias present in the
experiences and perceptions of multilingual encounters among Japanese
L2 speakers residing in Japan long-term. The data focuses on
open-ended questions of a survey applied to over 300 people and shows
that while some speakers perceive code-switching positively,
particularly in terms of practicality and flexibility, it is more
frequently regarded as unwanted. The authors also discuss how these
negative perceptions are linked to stereotypes about foreigners’
Japanese proficiency and prejudgements based on physical appearance.
Chapter 5, Emotion, Competence and Context in a Multilingual
Relationship: A Metapragmatic Perspective by Florian Grosser, examines
the metapragmatic reflections of an Austrian-Japanese couple regarding
the languages they use in their relationship. The data consists of
recordings of the couple’s interactions, an interview based on the
recordings, and the use of ‘linguistic portraits’, a drawing method to
mediate the interview. The findings reveal tensions in the languages
used between the couple, which are related to ideologies about the
level of competence foreigners are perceived to be able to achieve in
Japanese, resulting in uses of English as a middle-point language.
These results also show the linguistic inequality in the relationship,
intersecting with the struggles the L2 Japanese-speaking partner goes
through to be recognized as a legitimate speaker of Japanese.
Chapter 6, Ameyoko Shopping Street in Tokyo: Urban Space as an
Ideological Palimpsest by Patrick Heinrich, offers an ethnographic
analysis of the linguistic soundscape of Ameyoko, a shopping district
in Tokyo. The author identifies different ideologies embedded in the
interactive and communicative practices, particularly emerging from
Ameyoko’s transformation into a tourist destination. These ideologies
come into tension with the transactional nature of the space and the
expectations of visitors (especially foreign ones) to live a ‘local
(authentic) experience’, including the use of Japanese. The chapter
also examines written language mediation through multilingual signage,
which mitigates some of the communicative barriers, highlighting as
well how tourism influences the multilingual character of the space.
Chapter 7, Orthography, Identity and Ideology: Script Variation as a
Social Practice in Japan(ese) by Wesley C. Robertson, examines
variation in Japanese writing systems (hiragana, katakana, and kanji)
as social practices aligned with ideologies of communication.  The
chapter provides a historical overview of ideologies associated with
Japanese orthography since the prewar period and traces their
influence on contemporary writing practices. The author pays
particular attention to digital spaces, demonstrating how
technological affordances enable identity work that challenges
normative ideologies of writing.
Chapter 8, Normative Practices of Linguistic Correction on Hatsugen
Komachi: A Corpus-Assisted Approach to (Meta) discourses around
Linguistic ‘Mistakes’ by Eugenia Diegoli, uses a corpus-assisted
approach to analyze the content of an online questions-and-answers
forum, primarily addressed to women, about ‘linguistic mistakes’.
Drawing from data from the blog Hatsugen Komachi handled in the
Yomiuri newspaper, the author identifies seven emotional categories
associated with the linguistic ‘mistakes’: shame, dislike/unease,
anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and happiness, with shame being the
most prominent one. After this, the author dives deeper into the
qualitative analysis of the data, revealing how emotional expression
is intertwined with ideologies of communication, particularly those
related to language policing and normative values. The chapter also
identifies instances of critical positioning toward these emotional
values, offering a more nuanced interpretation of the data.
Chapter 9, Enregisterment, Indexicality and Iconisation in
Contemporary Japanese Fictionalised Orality: Creativity of Independent
Game Developers in Written Video Game Dialogue by Lorenzo Moretti,
explores the valorization of registers associated with fictionalized
orality in dōjin (independent) video game development. The author uses
qualitative interviews with L1 Japanese-speaking developers and
examines how these developers strategically assign linguistic
registers to characters based on presumed audience expectations.
Framed through the concepts of enregisterment, indexicality, and
iconisation, the analysis also shows how these creative practices
emerge at the intersection of ideologized meanings of linguistic
variation and ideologies of creativity embedded in scriptwriting.
Chapter 10, Language Ideologies and Gender Stereotypes: Representation
of Adult Masculine Speech in the Japanese Dub of the American Series
‘Never Have I Ever’ by Francesco Vitucci, examines gendered and
nationalized ideologies reproduced through translation into Japanese.
Focusing on two male characters in two specific scenes from a US
American sitcom, the chapter analyzes both Japanese dubbing and
subtitles. The findings in this chapter show how translation choices
reproduce metapragmatic gender stereotypes rooted in Japanese cultural
and historical ideologies through the use of the strategy of
transduction, explained by the author as “... a relation where a
certain indexical order from a source language is transposed tout
court into the target language through some relevant equivalences” (p.
143).  The analysis highlights translation as a form of communicative
mediation through which ideologies of gender and nation are
circulated.
Chapter 11, Ableism toward Language by People with Disabilities: The
Relationship between the Body and Ideology by Takeshi Nakashima
discusses the ideologies that circulate in Japan regarding the use of
Japanese by people with disabilities. The chapter combines a review of
the literature and ethnographic data to address ideologies of
communication and how they intersect with the conditions of people
with disabilities in Japanese society. The chapter highlights issues
regarding the exclusionary effects of kanji use for individuals with
certain physical conditions, sustaining ideologies that expect people
with disabilities to use Japanese in the way able-bodied people do,
and body interventions to deaf bodies for communication (e.g.,
cochlear implants and their consequences). The chapter closes by
showing how ableist ideologies intersect with broader ideologies of
communication, while also highlighting agentive and transformative
practices, including the use of digital technologies and self-directed
research as forms of empowerment.
Chapter 12, Sowing Seeds of Knowledge for Future Generations:
Possibilities to Empower Ainu Language and People through Tourism by
Saana Santalahti, examines the use of the Ainu language in Indigenous
tourism contexts. The chapter uses data from seven semi-structured
interviews conducted in two visits with members of the local
communities and uses critical ethnography for their analysis. Findings
show that, although tourism involves commodification, language use
within this context is complex. It simultaneously promotes cultural
knowledge and clashes with ideologies of normative language use and
indigeneity. Through this, the chapter reflects on the burdens and
possibilities that these uses of Ainu may bring for the community’s
empowerment.
Chapter 13, Questioning, Challenging and Reformulating Dominant
Language Ideologies in Japan: The Case of Ainu and Uchinaaguchi by
Yumiko Ohara, analyzes how stigmatizing ideologies may generate
resistance and counter-ideologies. The data, which comes from two
ethnographic interviews recounting the experiences of an Ainu
interviewee and a Uchinaanchu interviewee, show how their awareness of
oppressive ideologies resulted in questionings and positionings that
strive for emancipation, reclaiming their Indigenous identities, and
promoting the importance of the preservation of Ainu and Ryukyuan
languages.
The concluding chapter, The Creation and Contestation of Difference,
by the editors, reinstates the book's objective of advancing
ideologies of communication as an expansion of language ideologies,
while presenting a multifaceted sociolinguistic portrait of
contemporary Japan. The authors use this last chapter to articulate
the different contextual and methodological approaches presented in
the book and make a compelling case for furthering sociolinguistic
research from a larger scope that also complexifies the understanding
of language and communication in the contemporary world.
EVALUATION
The editors adopt a compelling positionality that both furthers and
encourages research into the ideological dimensions of sociolinguistic
phenomena, while offering readers a multifaceted portrayal of the
sociolinguistic realities of contemporary Japan. In this way, the book
fulfills its objectives, bringing together a wide range of studies
that allow readers unfamiliar with the Japanese context to access a
nuanced overview of Japan’s sociolinguistic realities. It also
contributes to the expansion of language ideology research toward more
integrative sociolinguistic perspectives on Ideologies of
Communication (e.g., Pennycook and Otsuji 2015). This makes the book
align with current trends in sociolinguistics that seek new
opportunities in under-explored contexts, topics, and methods.
The primary audience for this book includes researchers concerned with
sociolinguistic issues as lived in Japan. However, beyond this
specific focus, the volume will be of interest to a broader audience
of emerging and established sociolinguists attentive to theoretical
and methodological developments in the field. The various chapters
compiled present a wide array of contexts, themes, and methods that
offer valuable insights into multiple approaches to the potential for
the advancement of sociolinguistic research, although readers newer to
the discipline may find some chapters technically dense.
One notable accomplishment of this book is the balance it achieves
between diversity and coherence. The book provides, in this way, both
an insightful overview of the sociolinguistic Japanese context and
specific references to diverse sociolinguistic approaches. Therefore,
readers in search of just one context, theme, or approach of interest
might find something of value in this book. The book thus serves both
as a comprehensive overview of sociolinguistic issues in Japan and as
a rich resource for scholars interested in language education
(Chapters 2 and 3), language users’ perceptions  (Chapters 4, 5, 8,
12, and 13), urban multilingualism  (Chapter 6), digital and media
discourse (Chapters 7,8, 9, and 10), language use in people with
disabilities (Chapter 11), and users of minoritized languages
(Chapters 12 and 13).
While the volume’s strengths are considerable, a full reading reveals
some imbalance in the depth with which methodologies and analytical
procedures are described across chapters. Some chapters provide
specific, detailed, and well-laid-out information on the processes the
authors used and the forms in which information was collected,
analyzed, and included in the chapter; others go over more briefly,
leaving readers with some questions about the specifics of the data.
Nevertheless, it must be noted that this variation does not undermine
the quality or relevance of the individual chapters.
Overall, the book gives an interesting outlook on Japan’s
sociolinguistic landscape, which is accessible enough for readers who
are not familiar with it. Also, the book satisfactorily contributes to
the advancement of sociolinguistic research, effectively positioning
ideologies of communication as a productive analytical framework.
REFERENCES
Gal, Susan. 1989. Language and political economy. Annual Review of
Anthropology 18:345–367.
Irvine, Judith T. 1989. When talk isn’t cheap: Language and political
economy. American Ethnologist 16:248–267.
Lee, Yeounsuk. 2010. The Ideology of kokugo: Nationalizing Language in
Modern Japan (trans.Maki Hirano Hubbard). University of Hawai‘i Press
Ohara, Yumiko. 1999. Ideology of language and gender. In J.
Verschueren (ed.) Language and Ideology: Selected Papers from the 6th
International Pragmatics Conference (pp.422–432). International
Pragmatics Association.
Pennycook, Alastair & Emi Otsuji. 2015. Metrolingualism: Language in
the city. London: Routledge.
Silverstein, Michael. 1979. Language structure and linguistic
ideology. In The elements: A parasession on linguistic units and
levels. Edited by Paul Clyne, William F. Hanks, and Carol L. Hofbauer.
Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Zulma Xiomara Rueda García is a Ph.D. candidate in the Humanities and
Communication program at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Drawing on
posthumanist and critical sociolinguistic perspectives, her research
examines how language ideologies, materiality, and spatiality
intersect within the communicative practices of professional artistic
communities.



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