Body-part metaphors: a cross-cultural survey of the perception of translatability among Americans and Japanese

What kinds of linguistic resources do people utilize when they try to translate metaphors into a foreign language? This investigation of the perception of translatability of body-part metaphors examined the effects of the following factors: the similarity between the human body part and the metaphorical expression (e.g., "eye" in "electric eye") in appearance and function; the frequency of the use of the metaphor in the native language; and the perceived distance between the first language and the target language. The results of a survey of American (n = 151) and Japanese (n = 116) university students showed that both Similarity in Appearance and Similarity in Function correlated positively with Translatability, while the effect of the former was stronger than the latter. Frequency correlated positively with Translatability for the Americans, although the correlation was weaker when the target language is "distant" (Japanese or Chinese) than when the target language is "close" (Spanish). Among the Japanese, Frequency did not correlate with translatability regardless of the target language.     

The relationship between pronunciation and listening discrimination when Japanese natives are learning English

Two Japanese students were taught to pronounce and discriminate English words that contain unfamiliar phonemic contrasts (e.g., rock and lock). Teaching pronunciation was found to be easier than teaching listening discrimination. Teaching listening discrimination resulted in collateral improvement in pronunciation and, to a lesser extent, vice versa.     

Autonomy and Interdependence in Japanese and American Mother–Toddler Dyads

This study investigated two hypotheses: (a) Japanese mother-toddler dyads will work together more interdependently than American mother-toddler dyads; (b) American toddlers will act more autonomously than Japanese toddlers. The hypotheses were investigated using videotapes of 10-minute shape-fitting interactions of 12 Caucasian American and 12 Japanese national mothers visiting the United States and their 24- to 31-month-olds (matched by mean age, gender and birth order). A significant MANOVA and subsequent stepdown analyses revealed: (a) that Japanese mothers more frequently assisted their toddlers in fitting a shape before the toddlers had tried to fit the shape on their own (interdependence); (b) that American toddlers did not attempt to fit more shapes on their own (autonomy); and (c) that more American toddlers left the task than did Japanese toddlers (autonomy). The results indicate greater interdependent task-engagement among Japanese mother-toddler dyads. Greater autonomy on the part of American dyads was evident not in how they did the task, but rather in toddlers choosing to leave the assigned task. Discussion focuses on the implications of these nationality differences for understanding possible differences in early socialization.     

Development of child autonomy in eating and toilet training: One- to three-year-old Japanese and French children

This study analyses the interface between children's culture and their development as they learn to perform the daily activities of eating and toileting in culturally appropriate ways. Thirty-three Japanese and 36 French children 12-31 months of age and adults' interventions were observed in public day care centres in Tokyo and in Paris. Within the same time frame, a survey was conducted among the adults (parents and nursery staff) to examine their developmental expectations for children. Observations reveal differences between children's learning in the two countries. Toilet training begins at a later age in Japan and is learned more quickly, whereas learning to eat alone begins earlier than in France but is acquired at a slower pace. The analysis of the surveys shows some discrepancy between adults' conceptions and actual interactions. In both countries, the developmental decrease in physical intervention corresponded with the progress of the child, but adult interventions and strategies varied according to the different cultures. The presence of Japanese adults is greater than those in France, but this does not mean that they intervene physically more often. Finally, instrumental independence begins slightly earlier in Japan.     

Biases and regularities of grapheme–colour associations in Japanese nonsynaesthetic population

Associations between graphemes and colours in a nonsynaesthetic Japanese population were investigated. Participants chose the most suitable colour from 11 basic colour terms for each of 40 graphemes from the four categories of graphemes used in the Japanese language (kana characters, English alphabet letters, and Arabic and kanji numerals). This test was repeated after a three-week interval. In their responses, which were not as temporally consistent as those of grapheme–colour synaesthetes, participants showed biases and regularities that were comparable to those of synaesthetes reported in past studies. Although it has been believed that only synaesthetes, and not nonsynaesthetes, tended to associate graphemes with colours based on grapheme frequency, Berlin and Kay's colour typology, and colour word frequency, participants in this study tended in part to associate graphemes with colours based on the above factors. Moreover, participants that were nonsynaesthetes tended to associate different graphemes that shared sounds and/or meanings (e.g., Arabic and kanji numerals representing the same number) with the same colours, which was analogous to the findings in Japanese synaesthetes. These results support the view that grapheme–colour synaesthesia might have its origins in cross-modal association processes that are shared with the general population.     

Relationship Between Social Relations and Mortality of Older Japanese People Living Alone

The association of social relations with mortality was studied over a 54-month period in 535 older Japanese people living alone. Sex-specific proportional hazard analyses indicated that finding it difficult to establish and maintain relationships with other people was significantly related to mortality, regardless of age, general health status, history of health management, psychological conditions, or economic status. The adjusted hazard ratio for finding relations with other people difficult was 4.61 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.39–15.30] for men and 4.56 (95% CI: 2.19–9.48) for women. The adjusted hazard ratio for nonparticipation in social activities was 1.45 (95% CI: 0.42–4.97) for men and 1.72 (95% CI: 0.70–4.22) for women and did not reach statistical significance. On the other hand, there was a gender difference in the direction of the association between a low-level contact with children, siblings, or other relatives and mortality, for which the adjusted hazard ratio was 3.16 (95% CI: 0.94–10.62) for men and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.27–0.97) for women. These results suggest the need to create a different model for the relationship between social relations and mortality for men and for women living alone.     

Culture, Health, and Financial Appraisals: Comparison of Worry in Older Japanese Americans and European Americans

There is limited understanding of the potential impact of cultural identification and values on the emotional experiences of older adults. This study considered potential differences in worry based on culture and acculturation type. The study also evaluated differences in worry based on self-appraisals of perceived health and financial status. Sixty-six older community-based Japanese Americans (JAs) and 65 older European Americans (EAs) completed the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Worry Scale–Revised (WSR). Cultural differences were not found. Social desirability scores were elevated, particularly among JAs who had been relocated to internment camps during World War II. Irrespective of cultural status, elevated average daily worry frequency scores and WSR–Health scores were found in the group who perceived their health status to be poor/fair. Irrespective of cultural status, elevated average daily worry frequency scores, PSWQ scores, and WSR–Financial scores were found in the group who perceived their financial status to be poor/fair. Recommendations for using the WSR with older populations are discussed.     

弱智儿童语言障碍调查研究

本研究从学前儿童常用的词汇及句法的理解和表达两个方面对 7至8岁的轻度、中度、重度共 85名弱智儿童的语言障碍作系统的调查 ,结果显示 :各组弱智儿童在语言的理解方面普遍比表达要好 ,并且在那些与日常生活联系较密切的词汇上作业成绩相对较好 ;不同智残程度的弱智儿童在语言障碍的具体表现上有不同的特点。     

Infant-directed speech supports phonetic category learning in English and Japanese

Across the first year of life, infants show decreased sensitivity to phonetic differences not used in the native language [Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C. (1984). Cross-language speech perception: evidence for perceptual reorganization during the first year of life. Infant Behaviour and Development, 7, 49-63]. In an artificial language learning manipulation, Maye, Werker, and Gerken [Maye, J., Werker, J. F., & Gerken, L. (2002). Infant sensitivity to distributional information can affect phonetic discrimination. Cognition, 82(3), B101-B111] found that infants change their speech sound categories as a function of the distributional properties of the input. For such a distributional learning mechanism to be functional, however, it is essential that the input speech contain distributional cues to support such perceptual learning. To test this, we recorded Japanese and English mothers teaching words to their infants. Acoustic analyses revealed language-specific differences in the distributions of the cues used by mothers (or cues present in the input) to distinguish the vowels. The robust availability of these cues in maternal speech adds support to the hypothesis that distributional learning is an important mechanism whereby infants establish native language phonetic categories.     

Comparison of social anxiety between Japanese adults who stutter and non-stuttering controls

PurposeAdults who stutter (AWS) often develop social anxiety disorder. This study was to provide comparative data on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale-Japanese version (LSAS-J) from AWS and non-stuttering adult controls.MethodsLSAS-J, a 24-item self-reported survey of social phobia and avoidance across various daily situations, was administered to 130 AWS (Mean Age = 41.5 years, SD = 15.8, 111 males) and 114 non-stuttering adults (Mean Age = 39.5, SD = 14.9, 53 males). The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the LSAS-J were assessed. A between-subject multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was also conducted to determine whether attitude toward social anxiety differed between AWS and AWNS, or by age (<40 and ≥ 40 years old), or sex (female and male).ResultsAWS reported higher scores on both fear subscales of the LSAS-J. Age had no significant influence on the social anxiety levels reported by either participant group. Sex differences were found in the fear subscales, with females scoring higher on both fear subscales, although these were only marginally significant (p = .06). LSAS-J showed good test-retest reliability and high Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, indicating that it is an internally consistent measure of attitudes about social anxiety.ConclusionGiven the similarly high incidence of social anxiety in adults in Japan who stutter compared with those in other countries, social anxiety should be identified and assessed during clinical decision making and before decisions are made about stuttering treatment. LSAS-J is an easy tool to administer, and showed reliable results of social phobia and avoidance for AWS.