Unicamp is hosting for the first time the XII International Congress of Japanese Studies in Brazil and the XXV National Meeting of University Professors of Japanese Language, Literature and Culture, from August 28th to 30th. This is a biannual and itinerant event, organized by researchers in Japanese studies in Brazil, and in this edition brings together teachers, students and employees from USP, Unesp, Faculdades Integradas Rio Branco and Unicamp, through the Language Teaching Center ( CEL), from the Institute of Language Studies (IEL). More information: http://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/eventos/2018/08/27/estudos-japoneses-singularidades-e-novos-rumos
“Japanese Studies – singularities and new directions” will be the theme of the two parallel events, featuring conferences, round tables, panels, symposiums and presentations of academic-scientific works. “Globalization, as an irreversible process of integration of different countries, involving economic, political, technological, social and cultural aspects, should not imply the loss of the peculiarities of each people. Integrating without losing one's roots has become a challenge, especially for more traditional cultures. The theme of this event thus seeks to highlight the singularities of Japanese culture, notably in its language and literature”, emphasize the organizers.
Professor Terezinha Maher, from the Department of Applied Linguistics at Unicamp, gave the opening conference, addressing the “Different singularities of Japanese culture in contemporary Brazilian culture: languages and identities in interaction”, this Tuesday morning, at the Convention Center . “I will talk about cultural identities in postmodernity, starting with the notion of culture in the common census, then about culture from an anthropological perspective, which is mutable and multiple, and then about the issue of identity, which is also mobile and transitory”, said the teacher before the lecture. “Identity is a discursive construction, we do not have a science, we construct ourselves as subjects depending on the historical moment, the social environment.”
In this sense, says the IEL teacher, the term cultural identity, whether Japanese or Brazilian, must be enclosed in quotation marks, to avoid its “reification”, as if it were something finished. “Japanese cultural production is having a huge impact on Brazilian youth, with its literature, such as the books by [Haruki] Murakami, and manga. We have the example of Shinzo (Rafael Alves Bezerra, from Recife), who became an anime producer and escaped poverty due to his interest in Japanese pop culture – I will show a video of him [http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm5822705 ] which won several international awards.”
Terezinha Maher remembers that, in the past, Japanese was taught as a heritage language, only to descendants, but today it is standing out in the field of foreign languages. “Japanese has acquired the status of an important foreign language. The majority of students who take the course at Unicamp's CEL, for example, are of non-descendants, they only have 'Brazilian'. This is due to the interest in manga and pop culture. Anyone who, like me, proposes a linguistic policy to promote multilingualism, thinks it's great, as it breaks the hegemony of English, French and German. Now, students have the option of increasing their linguistic repertoire.”
The Unicamp professor's conference highlighted the importance of the contribution of Japanese immigrants and their descendants to the development of Brazil, notably in agriculture. “Brazilians’ tables would never be the same if it weren’t for the variety of vegetables and fruits that they began to grow. It was the Japanese who brought the concept of cooperative, a system that allows small farmers to organize, distribute and sell production, helping to spin the economy of many municipalities. All of this has an impact on Brazilian health, not to mention the two large hospitals in São Paulo, Beneficência Nipo-Brasileira and Hospital Nipo-Brasileiro, both maintained by Japanese communities.”
Terezinha Maher also highlighted the contribution of the Japanese to sports (“the medals in judo and martial arts in general”), the introduction of Buddhism and Shintoism (“helping Brazilians to find spiritual peace”), and the cinema of Tizuka Yamasaki (“Gaijin influenced my generation”) and examples in architecture and science. “I will finish by pointing out that 15% of those approved at Fuvest last year were of Japanese descent, although they represent only 0,7% of the population. This space they occupy at USP reflects their contribution to the country’s scientific development.”
Politeness in the Japanese language
Wataru Kikuchi, professor of Japanese Language and Literature at USP, coordinated the first round table, on an unprecedented topic even in these Japanese studies meetings: politeness in the Japanese language. “Lately, in the linguistic debate in Brazil, politeness has been called verbal courtesy. In this conversation we are having, we try to maintain a balance, mutual respect, following rules that we already share as part of Brazilian society. This, in the Japanese context, has its peculiarities, including because it is a language with many markers, different categories of politeness used depending on the relationship you have with the interlocutor.”
According to Kikuchi, in addition to linguistic markers, politeness in the language involves facial expression, gestures and body posture, always taking into account social factors. “Students have difficulty understanding social relations in Japan and, consequently, the appropriate language for each situation. In the undergraduate course, there are two axes: horizontal, which defines the 'inside' actors (from the family circle, closest people or, in the corporate context, section colleagues); and vertical, of social hierarchies (in the case of a company, according to the responsibility of the position or order of entry: senpai, veteran, and kohai, noob)."
Maintaining balance in dialogue, adds the USP professor, requires choices and strategies established at each moment. “In Japanese, respect is relative. Within the company, with a colleague at the same hierarchical level, I can talk informally. But if I mention the boss in this conversation, I express the subordinate relationship, just as if I were addressing him directly. And, when I interact with someone outside the company, I must neutralize this hierarchy, as if I were demeaning the boss by placing him next to me, to say that we are from the same company. Respect changes depending on who I’m talking to.”
Asked whether politeness in the language contributes to the reputation of being extremely polite attributed to the Japanese, Wataru Kikuchi recalls that, deep down, there is the weight of the past of imperialism. “It can be said that the use of Japanese has become more flexible, with more democratic treatment among people, but we cannot deny the existence of the emperor and members of the imperial family, who continue to be mentioned with expressions of respect – there are a strong social and cultural component in this treatment.”
