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Japanese Jazu : An Examination of English in Japanese Jazz Lyrics

Lindahl, Maja LU (2024) JAPK12 20241
Division of Chinese Studies and Japanese Studies
Japanese Studies
Abstract
This thesis deals with language mixing in 20th century Japanese jazz, particularly the use of English. There have been multiple studies conducted on the language mixing phenomenon in Japanese pop-music (J-pop), a popular genre in Japan today. The results showcase that English is frequently used in J-pop, both inter-sentential and intra-sentential code-switching. The use of English has also been shown to have a wide array of functions. Similar research into jazz, a genre that was popular in early to mid-20th century Japan, is scarce. Jazz was popularized in Japan in the 20’s when it became a metaphor for globalism and Japan’s changing local identity. During World War II, it was banned due to its connection to the US and afterwards it came... (More)
This thesis deals with language mixing in 20th century Japanese jazz, particularly the use of English. There have been multiple studies conducted on the language mixing phenomenon in Japanese pop-music (J-pop), a popular genre in Japan today. The results showcase that English is frequently used in J-pop, both inter-sentential and intra-sentential code-switching. The use of English has also been shown to have a wide array of functions. Similar research into jazz, a genre that was popular in early to mid-20th century Japan, is scarce. Jazz was popularized in Japan in the 20’s when it became a metaphor for globalism and Japan’s changing local identity. During World War II, it was banned due to its connection to the US and afterwards it came to represent the power of the US and an art of freedom. This thesis attempts to measure to which extent English is being used in Japanese jazz during the years 1928-1957 by analyzing 100 songs from compilation CD’s. Furthermore, the study examines what type of language mixing can be seen. The results show that English is the most frequently used foreign language. The use of English greatly increases after World War II and English occurs in most songs released postwar. Full English verses are used, but also language mixing at sentence level. (Less)
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author
Lindahl, Maja LU
supervisor
organization
course
JAPK12 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Japanese, code-switching, English, jazz, language mixing
language
English
id
9170966
date added to LUP
2024-08-30 09:11:05
date last changed
2024-08-30 09:11:05
@misc{9170966,
  abstract     = {{This thesis deals with language mixing in 20th century Japanese jazz, particularly the use of English. There have been multiple studies conducted on the language mixing phenomenon in Japanese pop-music (J-pop), a popular genre in Japan today. The results showcase that English is frequently used in J-pop, both inter-sentential and intra-sentential code-switching. The use of English has also been shown to have a wide array of functions. Similar research into jazz, a genre that was popular in early to mid-20th century Japan, is scarce. Jazz was popularized in Japan in the 20’s when it became a metaphor for globalism and Japan’s changing local identity. During World War II, it was banned due to its connection to the US and afterwards it came to represent the power of the US and an art of freedom. This thesis attempts to measure to which extent English is being used in Japanese jazz during the years 1928-1957 by analyzing 100 songs from compilation CD’s. Furthermore, the study examines what type of language mixing can be seen. The results show that English is the most frequently used foreign language. The use of English greatly increases after World War II and English occurs in most songs released postwar. Full English verses are used, but also language mixing at sentence level.}},
  author       = {{Lindahl, Maja}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Japanese Jazu : An Examination of English in Japanese Jazz Lyrics}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}