Abstract

In any language, choosing appropriate linguistic forms and strategies according to the context is important for successful communication. The ‘context’ includes who is talking to whom, when, where, about what, in what way, and why (with what intention). In addition, how the speaker identifies or wishes to project himself/herself at the time affects how he/she speaks. Use of inappropriate speech styles may have serious consequences in Japanese, in which such distinctions as formal–informal and polite–rough are overtly made. The failure to use appropriate communication strategies may also result in being considered rude.