Second Language Learning and Identity: Cracking Metaphors in Ideo ...

Uno Chiyo, a Japanese novelist and kimono designer who lived to be 98 years of age, declared that the secret to living a long life is , kodawaranai (trans., being illogically optimistic). In fact, Japanese culture embraces the illogical—illogical metaphors, Zen philosophy, ambiguous and passive styles of speech—but all have a purpose. One might even say it is logically illogical. These ideologies maintain a culture of politeness, collectivity, and hierarchy.

Giving many clues

We walk in the thick, dense mist

Remaining e’er lost.

Among other problems I encountered when writing in English was my tendency to be overly brief when developing my ideas on paper. I would expect my teacher to understand the main idea from the “clues” I had scattered in my essay. My teacher, however, would repeatedly ask me to be clearer and fully write out my ideas, so as to not leave any room for misinterpretation. In Japanese writing, this method of expression, scattering clues, is prevalent in all good writing. Minami and McCabe (1991) said, “In American culture, brevity too often has been mistaken for cognitive deficiency” (p. 595). They also pointed out that Japanese children’s narratives should be understood as omoiyari, or empathy training, and this empathy training leads to the appreciation of ambiguous discourse. They discussed Japanese ambiguous discourse, focusing on the side of empathy training that encourages illocutionary sensitivity.

Japan’s academe

To each question there exists

But one right answer

When Japanese students take Japanese language tests in Japan, the tests are mostly multiple-choice and the student is expected to circle the “correct” answer. Taking tests in Canada revealed to me that there is a big difference in how Japanese and Canadian teachers interpret literature. In Japan, the teacher will explain the one correct answer to the question, , seikai (trans., the correct answer). The writer of a novel has one intention in his writing.