Style shifts in Japanese video game commentary monologues

Abstract

Honorific markers play an integral role in many languages, but their purpose and meaning are still widely debated. Ide (1989) claims a one-to-one relationship between social rank difference and linguistic form, but Cook (1997, 2011) proposes that honorifics are used to display a ‘disciplined self,’ which further indexes a variety of social meanings. This study examined style shifts between the honorific and plain form in Japanese video game commentary monologues. We found that instances of honorific form can be grouped into four categories regarding their contextual functions: to make an announcement, to indicate seriousness, conventionalized formulae, and to quote others. This conclusion supports Cook’s proposal.