300 CHAPTER 6. LANGUAGE PATTERNS
Speech paĴerns in the formal in-group involve
, polite speech, char-
acterised by the use of / form, making sure is always
followed by , and by using the appropriate name and title suf-
fixes. People are referred to, directly and indirectly, as their family name
suffixed with , and people in special positions are referred either by
their title, or by using their family name suffixed with their title.
The informal out-group consists of people that you have no spe-
cial relationship with. People that ask you a question in the street, the
bus conductor, the fast food employee, all of these belong to the informal
out-group, and when talking to them you are expected to use , and
address them if you must by using their family name suffixed with ,
or a title if it is apparent that their role deserves one.
The formal out-group is a complex group, because in this seĴing the
social differences come into play. Anyone not in your in-group in a partic-
ular seĴing, who is of identifiable higher social status than you, is part of
the formal out-group, and deserves to be spoken to respectfully. This does
not just mean using , but also
and
, the honorific and
humble speech paĴerns. For instance, while you may work at a company,
the company’s vice president will typically not be part of your work in-
group, and certainly doesn’t fall in the informal out-group. He should be
spoken to using polite honorific forms, and when speaking about your own
actions, you should humble yourself by using humble speech paĴerns.
Finally, there is one last group that needs mentioning: the ”not rel-
evant in terms of social seĴing (yet)” group, associated for instance with
small children, or newcomers to a school, job or club. People in this group
may be referred to using affectionate terms such as or , but in-
terpreting these as an indication that you are part of the speaker’s familiar
in-group would be a huge mistake to make. Instead, they indicate you
have no social value yet.
Moving between groups
While these group definitions sound relatively straightforward, transitions
from out-group to in-group, or from formal to familiar in-group, are much
harder to characterise, and can lead to considerable problems if one party
believes a transition from out- to in-group or from formal to familiar has
occurred, when the other party does not.
Imagine having just accepted a job at a Japanese company. You are
assigned a mentor, and at first the division is clear. You know nothing,
are nothing, and your mentor is responsible for shaping you into a proper