The use of the Japanese epistemic markers ne, kamo and kana with emoticons in an online female Japanese blogging community

Authors

  • Barry Kavanagh Tohoku University, Japan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v22i12.8008

Keywords:

Japanese emoticons, epistemic markers, blog community

Abstract

In this paper the functions of the Japanese epistemic markers ne, kamo and kana combined with emoticons were analyzed from a corpus of online personal blog comments. These combinations were divided into how they emphasized solidarity markers or hedges within the blog comments. Results showed that these devices allowed writers to maintain close and interpersonal relationships in a community of practice where mutual interests bring people together and it is argued that this sense of group harmony is a reflection of Japanese culture.

Author Biography

Barry Kavanagh, Tohoku University, Japan.

Barry Kavanagh has a PhD in Linguistics from the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies at Tohoku University, Japan. He also works as a English lecturer at Tohoku University and his main research interests are within the fields of sociolinguistics, pragmatics and computer mediated communication.

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Published

2017-12-02

How to Cite

Kavanagh, B. (2017). The use of the Japanese epistemic markers ne, kamo and kana with emoticons in an online female Japanese blogging community. First Monday, 22(12). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v22i12.8008