Gender Stratification of Addresses-Syntones in Japanese Online Communication

https://doi.org/10.26907/2658-3321.2023.6.2.223-235

Abstract

In this article, from the point of view of gender and pragmalinguistics, a comprehensive lingua-statistic analysis of Japanese online communication is carried out. The research problem is updated by the continuous development of both global online communication and Japanese online communication, as well as existing manifestations of gender identity in it. The main goal of the study is to identify addresses-syntones in Japanese online communication and their gender stratification. Through the use of the continuous sampling method, the statistical data of the study were collected from various social networks and video hosting sites of the Japanese Internet space. Using the lingua-statistic method, the data were divided into several groups, reflecting the main patterns of using addresses in online communication: the absence of an address in the message; the presence of an address in the message; hyperlink as an address. Subsequently, from the group “The presence of an address in the message”, according to the gender of the addressers, the statistical data were distributed into several subgroups: men, women and anonymous. In order to identify their deepest components, descriptive, communicative-pragmatic and structural-noematic methods were also used. As a result of the study, it was revealed that addresses-syntones in Japanese online communication are a fairly low-frequency component of communication that creates a favorable environment for interaction. They reflect the gender component of Japanese speech, which is manifested in the preference for certain forms of address, as well as in the variety of these forms depending on the gender of addressers and addressees.