Knowing vs Behaving vs Feeling: Studies on Japanese Bilinguals

Abstract

In September, 1986, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan caused quite a furor when he said in a speech delivered to the members of his party that Americans had lower literacy and intelligence rates than the Japanese because of the heterogeneic composition of the American population. Granted that the content of his speech itself was of a seriously controversial nature, the sheer fact that Mr. Nakasone apologized just a few days after the initial speech is even more interesting from the point of view of cross-cultural communication. The Japanese, in a sense, are an “apologetic” people: we apologize when we enter someone’s house or office (shitsureishimasu), we apologize for not being able to serve the kind of food that a guest might prefer (nanimogozaimasenga), we apologize for giving gifts which might not meet the high standards of the receiver (tsumaranaimonodesuga), and we apologize when we receive gifts (wazawazasumimasen, moushiwakearimasen). Apologizing, to the Japanese, is a form of etiquette which pervades throughout the fabric of Japanese social life. It is expressed by the various “polite” or honorific expressions which comprise an important part of the Japanese language.