Vernacular Style Writing: Strategic Blurring of the Boundary Between Spoken and Written Discourse in Japanese

Abstract

This paper shows that some Japanese non-fiction writers are using various structural characteristics of
spoken discourse in their writing. Their written discourse includes non-canonical word order and long
sentences that are produced by combining a series of clauses. Their sentences may lack case or topic
marking particles, but they may contain clause-final particles. Their discourse looks like it may have gone
through a dynamic, on-going formation process because it includes reformulation and changes in the
structure in midstream.
It is proposed that writers who adopt such an approach are deliberately blurring the boundary
between speech and writing for multiple reasons. They may be exhibiting their creativity and innovation
as well as their anti-establishment ideology. Vernacular style writing may also be an attempt to engage,
involve, and connect with their readers. Further, they may be reflecting as well as expressing
contemporary society in which orality is viewed favorably and as a result, writing in general has become
increasingly more casual than before. The phenomenon discussed in this paper may be viewed as a
reflection of erosions and shifting of traditional genres.