Interpersonal Relationships in Japanese and Australian Women's ...

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
1


Interpersonal Relationships in Japanese and Australian Women’s
Magazines: A Case Study


KUMIKO KAWASHIMA
The University of New South Wales
k.kawashima@unsw.edu.au


1. Introduction
Women’s magazines have been a focus of research in various disciplines, and such research
has made use of different methodologies as well as taking diverse approaches. This paper
analyzes texts selected from a Japanese women’s magazine With and its Australian equivalent
Cleo by using Systemic Functional Linguistics as a core methodology. The texts were chosen
from topic areas common in both magazines such as love relationships, finance and
diet/exercises, and all take forms of advice giving. The lexico-grammatical analysis of the
texts focused on investigation of the ways these texts construct the relationship between the
writer and the reader, which has revealed interesting features in the Japanese texts that did not
appear in the English texts.


2. Systemic Functional Linguistics
Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theorizes language as a tri-stratal semiotic system, the
use of which can be illustrated by describing the choices made from sets of oppositional
options at its discourse-semantic, lexico-grammatical and phonological/graphological levels.
Since language is a social system, its use is a process that can only be understood in relation to
the wider socio-cultural context in which it takes place.

There are two main variables of context that influence every text. Firstly, language use occurs
within a context of culture, which determines which genres are permissible within a given
society. Secondly, it is dependent on the context of situation, also known as register,
comprising three critical contextual variables which both determine and are influenced by the
meanings realized in texts. Field, Tenor and Mode1 comprise the register of a text, and each
register variable correlates with a metafunction of a language.

This paper focuses on the text and its interpersonal meaning which correlates to Tenor, due to
its interest in linguistic construction of relationships between the writer and reader.

2.1. Tenor
Tenor refers to “the negotiation of social relationships among participants” (Martin 1992:
523). It is the register variable most directly relevant to the present study because a main focus

1 Following the convention of SFL, functional labels are capitalized in this paper.

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
2

of this paper is the comparison of the ways in which writer-reader relations construct female
identity in the texts of a Japanese women’s magazine and an Australian equivalent. In order to
construct a relationship with the reader, the writer needs to construct the reader as a particular
kind of person. The construction is concerned with the social relations between interactants,
and is reflected by the use of interpersonal metafunction in a text.

Tenor can be characterised by using the three-dimensional model proposed by Poynton (1985).
The three dimensions of Tenor are; power: contact: and affective involvement. Each
dimension is described below.

2.1.1 Power
There are several parameters that determine power. The first is the degree of equality and
inequality in the power relation between the participants. If the relation is one of inequality, it
can be further defined as one characterised by dominance or deference. At the same time, the
nature of power relations may be affected by other parameters such as: authority, status, and
expertise. Authority can be the basis of an unequal power relationship such as the one between
employee and the employer. Status, in turn, refers to socio-economic variables such as wealth,
occupation, education, and socially desired experiences (e.g. overseas travel). Expertise refers
to a person’s level of knowledge and/or skills in a particular area.

2.1.2. Contact
Contact refers to the amount of distance between participants, and encompasses the largest
number of choices to be made in texts in terms of interpersonal meaning. These are: frequency
and extent. Frequency refers to how often the participants interact, and the choices vary from
seldom to daily. Extent refers to the length of the relationship. These two parameters need to
be textually created by the writer because in the material sense, the writer-reader relationship
is largely imagined.

2.1.3. Affective Involvement
Affective involvement refers to the attitude or emotion expressed by the writer towards the
addressee or the field of the text. Its presence is, unlike the other two dimensions of tenor, not
compulsory because it is possible for a text to present an emotionally neutral relationship
between writer and reader. Affective involvement can be described in terms of a continuum
with its two ends being high (i.e. strong affective involvement) and low (i.e. weak affective
involvement). Either pole can be positive (e.g. between lovers) or negative (e.g. between
divorcees).

The three dimensions of tenor discussed above can be illustrated by three continua because of
their gradable nature (see Figure 1).

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
3


unequal
Power
equal




occasional
Contact
frequent




high
Affective involvement
low




Figure 1. Continua of the three dimensions of Tenor (based on Poynton 1985, modified following Eggins 1994)


2.2 Interpersonal meaning
Interpersonal meaning is a representation of “the speaker’s meaning potential as an intruder”
(Halliday 1978: 112). In essence, the interpersonal function governs the interaction and
participation of writer and reader, and thus semiotically construes a relationship between them.
Among the three meanings simultaneously present in all texts – ideational, textual and
interpersonal - the present paper focuses on the interpersonal meaning as it investigates how
and what kinds of the writer-reader relationship are presented in the selected texts from the
magazines in question. Examining the writer’s position will throw some light on the subject
construction of the ‘ideal reader’.

2.3 Mood and Modality
Interpersonal meaning is expressed by particular linguistic resources such as the systems of
MOOD and modality, among others. Example sentences used in the following sections for
illustrative purposes were taken from the texts selected for analysis.

2.3.1. Mood
The Mood element of a clause defines the MOOD option. There are three MOOD options:
declarative, interrogative and imperative.2

In Japanese, the basic MOOD options and speech functions are the same as in English3.
However, unlike that of English which is expressed at the beginning of the clause and contains
the Subject and Finite of the clause, the Japanese clause structure is generally the same
regardless of the MOOD type. The Mood element of a clause contains a Predicator and a
Negotiatory marker but not a Subject and is typically realized at the end of the clause. In
English, only the verbal group can function as a Predicator, whereas in Japanese a verbal,
adjectival or nominal group can also function as the Predicator. The Predicator expresses a
number of elements such as Polarity (positive/negative), Politeness (formal/informal),
Honorification4, Modal Operators (e.g. elements expressing the equivalent meanings of the
English might, should and could) and tense (past/non-past). Negotiatory markers realize the
systems of negotiation such as question (e.g. ka, no), confirmation (e.g. ne) and assertion (e.g.

2 Acknowledging the argument of Halliday (1994) and Eggins (1994), exclamative is not treated as the fourth
MOOD type in this thesis.
3 The suggestive form of the imperative (and of the interrogative, for that matter) can be classified as the fourth
MOOD type, oblative (Fukui, unpublished paper b). However, modifying the model proposed by Teruya (2004),
this thesis follows the same classification as the English system of classifying speech functions.
4 Not found in the data analyzed for this thesis.

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
4

yo). Negotiatory markers are generally optional, although in interrogative MOOD types,
especially in written texts, they are obligatory.5 Declarative clauses can also be elliptical, and
there are two types; the omission of a Predicator and of a copula Predicator .

The interrogative MOOD type, like declaratives, is realized by a verbal, adjectival and
nominal Predicator, and adding the Negotiatory marker ka to a declarative clause turns it into a
polar interrogative clause. A further addition of a Wh-word equivalent makes the polar
interrogative into a Wh-interrogative.

Imperatives are only realized by a verbal group functioning as the Predicator. The suspensive
form (1) ends with te and compared to ‘imperative’ and ‘prohibitive’ forms6, it makes the
imperative sound considerably softer and somewhat in between a command and a request. In
English, such a distinction in the nature of the speech function does not exist in the realization
of imperatives per se, but occurs by other means such as the addition of ‘please’ to the
imperative or by encoding a suggestion as a toned down command. The suggestive form (2)
can be similar in meaning to the ‘let’s-imperative’ in English, but due to the absence of the
Subject, the suggestive form conveys less of a sense of ‘us’. In this way these two forms of the
imperative are able to make a command sound much softer by conveying a sense of
‘inviting/encouraging to do things’.

(1) Imperative realized by a suspensive form
Jibun-ni atta hoken-wo

sagashite!
Oneself-NI suitable insurance-WO look for-suspensive form
Predicator (verbal)
Mood
‘Look for the insurance that is suitable for you!’

(2) Imperative realized by a Suggestive form
Surimuna onna-ni
narou!
Slim woman-NI
become-volitional-informal
Predicator (verbal)
Mood
‘Let’s become a slim woman!/ Become a slim woman!’

As can be seen from (1) and (2), both forms are used to realize Commands, but the difference
between the two forms lies in whether the action commanded includes the speaker/writer. The
suspensive form clearly excludes the speaker/writer so that, in the case above, it is only the
addressee who is meant to look for an insurance package. The suggestive form, in contrast,
can be interpreted both as including and excluding the speaker/writer, depending on the

5 In informal spoken texts, rising intonation can substitute a Negotiatory marker.
6 The imperative form can be unmarked or marked with politeness and is the most ‘straight forward’ way of
issuing a command. The prohibitive form occurs with unmarked politeness, and issues the most straightforward
command prohibiting certain actions (as in ‘Don’t’ in English). Both these forms only realize Commands. These
forms of imperative were not found in the data analyzed for this thesis. The reason for their absence may be
related to the fact that the context in which they can be used is limited; they are only used by superiors to
inferiors and convey a strong sense of power imbalance.

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
5

context. In fact, as is the case in (1), it is often ambiguous whether the command issued is only
directed to the addressee or, as in ‘let’s’ in English, also includes the speaker/writer. The
ambiguity of the suggestive form contrasts with the suspensive form, and it may function to
soften the command even further by alluding to the possibility that obeying the command is a
joint activity including the speaker/writer and listener/reader.

Unlike English, the Japanese language can have elliptical imperatives with ellipsed Finite and
Predicator. In such a case, it is not possible to determine the form of the imperative. Being
elliptical, this form of the imperative seems to have the effect of softening the command as the
two forms of the imperative do. As the softening effect is often great, it is common for the
elliptical imperative to also realize a Suggestion unlike the other two forms, which only realize
a Command.

2.3.1.1. MOOD and Grammatical Metaphor
As in English, there are two ways of realizing meaning in Japanese: congruent and
incongruent. All the examples above from the two languages are congruent realizations of
speech functions, which means that a Statement is realized by a declarative, a Question by an
interrogative and a Command by an imperative. Conversely, a speech function is
incongruently realized when MOOD types other than the usual are used. For instance,
Commands and Suggestions can be realized by declaratives as follows:

Command:
You must learn how to avoid him.
Suggestion: Psychologist Judith Kennedy suggests approaching the small problems in a
different way and modifying how you react to them.

Incongruent realizations of interpersonal meaning are considered examples of what Halliday
calls ‘interpersonal grammatical metaphor’. Grammatical metaphor is a “variation in the
expression of a given meaning” which is “metaphorical by reference to something else”
(Halliday 1994: 342). An incongruent realization is less straightforward and therefore is
generally more marked and often signifies a deliberate decision on the writer’s side. It is worth
noting that since the difference between Commands and Suggestions is a matter of degree of
the strength of a proposal made, the indirectness of incongruent realization often contributes to
making the proposals more like Suggestions, rather than Commands. As will become clear in
the following section, Suggestions are frequently found in With.

2.3.2. Modality
In addition to MOOD, interpersonal meaning is also realized by modality, a system which
enables the text producer to express more ambiguous attitudes or opinions than “it is so” or “it
isn’t so” (Halliday 1994: 88-89). This is achieved through representing reality in terms of
degrees of modalisation, which is associated with propositions and consists of probability
and usuality, and of modulation, which is associated with proposals and consists of
obligation and readiness (the latter can be subcategorized as inclination and ability7).

7 In this study, the sub-category of readiness ability was analyzed, not inclination. The reason why ability is
specifically focused on is not only that ability is encoded in the texts more often than inclination but also that
encoding ability contributes to constructing the reader as insecure and approval-seeking. These attributes are

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
6

Modality can be encoded not only by a Modal Operator in the Finite (e.g. may, must, should,
would) in which case the orientation is subjective, but also in Modal Adjuncts (e.g. maybe,
definitely, usually) in which case the orientation is objective. Modality is always expressed
with a degree called value, which can roughly be determined as: high, median, or low.

2.3.2.1. Modality and Grammatical Metaphor
The examples of lexico-grammatical expressions of modality have been given with the
assumption that modality is realized congruently. However, as discussed earlier, there are also
incongruent ways to encode meanings of modality. When modality is expressed with
grammatical metaphor, it comes in a different clause organisation and its orientation becomes
explicit as opposed to the orientation of congruent realization which is implicit. For example,
if a straightforward instance of probability Maybe she can change him is expressed
incongruently/metaphorically, the result will be a grammatical metaphor of modality whereby
the meaning is encoded in a clause complex as in I think (that) she can change him or It is
probable (that) she can change him. The first instance is called explicitly subjective because
the probability is expressed explicitly as ‘my subjective opinion (i.e. I think)’. The second
instance is called explicitly objective for the probability is expressed as an objective ‘truth’ in
an explicit way (i.e. it is probable). Modality of the modulation type can also be expressed
incongruently through adjectives or nouns. An example of this would be the congruent
realization of readiness He willingly washed the dishes being expressed metaphorically as in
He had the desire to wash the dishes or He was willing to wash the dishes. These types of
‘non-standard’ (i.e. not in a form such as it is probable) are called ‘backgrounded grammatical
metaphor’ in this paper.

2.3.2.2. Backgrounded Grammatical Metaphor
Explicitly objective forms are, as mentioned before, metaphoric expressions of modality. At
the same time, however, they can be themselves realized metaphorically in a backgrounded
way. For example, the standard explicitly objective form It is…that… as in It is usual that
Australian wine has 13 to 14 percent of alcohol, can also be realized through nominalization
as in Want something with less alcohol than the usual 13 to 14 percent in Australian wine?
(See Martin 1992: 412-413 for an outline of more grammatical resources for realizing
modality). The expression of usuality is hidden away from the surface, thus it is more
backgrounded. This is also an instance where experiential and interpersonal meanings can
clearly be seen to influence each other; nominalizations, in Halliday’s terms, are examples of
‘experiential grammatical metaphor’ due to the fact that a noun is used to express the meaning
of a process type, a meaning congruently expressed through using a verb.8

The main difference between the Japanese and English modality is that explicitly objective
orientation ‘It is probable…etc.’ does not seem to be expressed in Japanese. Instead, what is
often observed is the equivalent of what is called backgrounded grammatical metaphor of
modality as shown in the following two examples below.

stereotypically associated with women and it is therefore important to investigate if, and how these stereotypes
are perpetuated by analyzing ability.
8 This example also involves a presupposition that 13 to 14 percent of alcohol containment in Australian wine is
indeed usual.

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
7


(3) Modality with backgrounded metaphorical expression
Jitsu-wa
yaserutame-niwa

abura-ga
hitsuyou (noun)+desu
In fact
to lose weight - NI WA
oil-GA
necessity+nonpast-pos-
polite
Predicator (Nominal)
Modality
‘In fact oil is a necessity to weight loss’

(3) Modality with backgrounded explicitly objective orientation

Dansei-niwa rikaidekinaikoto-ga

ooi (adj) +ndesu
Man-NIWA things that cannot be understood-GA many-pos-semiformal-nonpast
Predicator (Adjectival)
Mood
‘There are many things men can’t understand’

While the principles of SFL are applicable to any language since as a theory of language SFL
focuses on the fundamental functions of language, each language has developed different
resources for fulfilling these functions (Halliday 1994). Japanese SFL is still in its infancy, and
the interpersonal metafunction in Japanese has been explored even less than the ideational and
textual metafunctions.9 Thus, research into this area has been a great challenge for the present
study.


3. Findings of With Tenor Analysis
In this section, the texts in With will be examined in relation to the MOOD types, modality,
and other features such as Politeness markers and Negotiatory markers. Before discussing the
findings of the lexico-grammatical analysis, however, the process of text selection needs to be
mentioned.

Three issues from With and Cleo were selected: the August to October issues of Cleo and the
September to November issues of With, all published in 2001. Texts were selected from topic
areas of love relationships, finance and diet/exercises in each issue. While articles in many
other common fields such as fashion and makeup were dominated with visual images and
separate units of writing with a couple of clauses to explain each photo, both magazines had
regular articles in the selected three fields. This provided longer and more conventionally
organised texts for linguistics analysis.


9Arguably, Australia is at the frontier of SFL and the case of the Japanese version is not an exception. The work
which is often referred to as the most extensive study on SFL, especially in the area of the ideational meaning,
was undertaken by Kazuhiro Teruya. On the textual organisation of the clause in relation to the rhetorical
organisation of text, see Thomson 1998.

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
8

3.1 MOOD Analysis
This section focuses on the distribution of MOOD types and their speech functions in the With
texts. Firstly, the overall distribution of MOOD types is introduced, followed by discussions
on the occurrence of each type and its speech functions.

The following discussion covers the overall proportion of each MOOD type across the
examined With texts with a total of 283 clauses analyzed, followed by more detailed
comments on each type and the speech functions it realizes.

Table 1. Proportion of MOOD types in With


Declarative
Imperative
Interrogative

(n)
%
(n)
%
(n)
%
Total (283)
(255)
90.1
(11)
3.9
(17)
6


The declarative is the most dominant MOOD type in With texts (90.1%) compared to the
interrogative (6%) and the imperative (only 3.9%). Very frequent use of the declarative as the
default MOOD type in With suggests that its texts are rather ‘static’ and monotonous because,
when congruently realized, declaratives are used to provide information rather than actively
engage with the reader by setting up an imagined dialogue. The information flow is designed
to be one-way in this sense.

3.1.1. Declarative

Table 2. Declarative MOOD and its speech functions in With


Statement
Command
Suggestion
Question

(n)
%
(n)
%
(n)
%
(n)
%
Total (256)
(214)
83.6
(10)
3.9
(29)
11.3
(3)
1.2


Most declarative clauses congruently realize Statements (83.6%). The rest (16.4%) is
incongruently used declaratives. The most popular speech function incongruently realized by
the declarative is Suggestion, which is encoded in more than one in ten cases of declarative
use (11.3%). Commands are realized by declarative clauses less than Suggestions (3.9%).

With’s preference for incongruently realized Suggestions and Commands implies the writer’s
avoidance of directness. The congruent realization of Commands is common in language
employed either by people in a close and informal situation or by people with more power
when addressing those with less power. Then, the With writer’s preference for incongruently
realized Commands may be evidence of a more polite and thus distant social relationship
between writer and reader. It is also possible to interpret the preference as evidence of the With
writer’s lack of authority. However, this interpretation is in contradiction to other analyzes
(presented in following sections) evidencing that the With texts do indeed construct the writer
as an authority.

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
9

The relatively large number of Suggestions encoded in the texts indicates the With writer’s
choice to attenuate the impact of Commands by turning them into Suggestions, which again
implies wider social distance from the reader. Preference of the With writer to suggest, rather
than to directly tell, seems to be typical of Japanese magazines (Inoue 1989: 207).

In addition, the frequent display of preference for Suggestion over Command may be read,
somewhat paradoxically at first glance, as a signal of the writer’s greater authority. As van
Dijk (1997a: 18-19) argues, powerful people often only need to ‘ask’ or ‘suggest’ in order to
get others to do certain things. In other words, there is no need to issue commands when the
writer has more authority and therefore power over the reader.

A Question is another type of speech function incongruently realized by declarative. There are
three such cases (1.2%) found in all the texts, and they all voice questions that are constructed
as though asked by the reader. The interesting point is that all these ‘reader’s’ questions are
framed as ‘wonder’. The example clause is presented below:

(4) Question incongruently realized by declarative
Demo, tabetara yappari futotteshimaunjyanaikashira…
‘But, I wonder if I eat, after all I will get fat …’

These questions are framed as ‘wonderings’ and serve to construct the reader as having less
knowledge of the topic under discussion and therefore less power than the writer. The fact that
the reader is constructed as avoiding congruently realized Questions highlights the greater
authority of the writer who cannot be asked questions directly. Besides the different degrees of
authority, such an indirect way of asking questions also realizes wider social distance between
the writer and reader. Thus, in With questions voiced as though coming from the reader
function to construe the writer-reader relationship as more distant and unequal in power.

Also observed in all With texts are elliptical declaratives of both types – copula and non
copula Predicator ellipsis. In both cases, the use of ellipsis at times gives the impression of a
more casual tenor, especially when the ellipsed part is a non-copula Predicator. Unlike in
English, however, the presence of ellipsis does not automatically signify casualness in
Japanese because silence or incompleteness of clauses has a different cultural connotation.
Determining the function of ellipsis as encoding casualness and informality depends on the
context, but more systematic research focusing on Japanese ellipsis is needed to determine its
functions.

3.1.2 Imperative
As mentioned briefly above, With texts use the imperative least often of all three MOOD
types. When used, imperative clauses all realize Commands. All the relevant instances take the
form of either the suggestive or the suspense form of the imperative, both of which, as
explained previously, serve to softly encourage the reader to take a certain action rather than
directly tell her what to do.

A closer investigation reveals that the suggestive form of the imperative occurs about 40% of
the time the imperative MOOD is used. The suspense form of the imperative is even more

---

Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society
1

0
widely used (about half of the imperative take this form) and it serves to encode advice
presented as milder than a Command and more straightforward than a Request. By ‘asking’
the reader to do certain things, the writer is simultaneously displaying, both a greater social
distance from the reader and higher expertise-based power.

Measures are taken to encode the ‘conversational’ sense of casualness and they include the use
of exclamation marks. Another such strategy is the use of ellipsis. The elliptical imperative
helps reinforce the casual and friendly feel created by other means and softens the impact of
Commands.

3.1.3. Interrogative

Table 3. Interrogative MOOD and its speech functions in With


Question
Statement

(n)
%
(n)
%
Total (17)
(16)
94.1
(1)
5.9


Interrogative clauses often function to involve the reader in the text by setting up a dialogue in
which the reader is constructed as taking part. The question can be voiced as both demanding
information from the reader (e.g. Anata wa kurejittokaado wo nanmai motteimasuka? ‘How
many credit cards do you have?’) or the reader’s addressing a question to the writer. For
example, the question Daiichi, seikaku wa kaerarerumononano…? ‘Can personal traits be
changed in the first place …?’ brings the immediate ‘response’ of the editorial team Sokode,
With henshuubudewa, dokushaya danseino koewo motoni, ‘deai’ to seikakuno kankeiwo
saguttemimashita ‘So, (we) at With editorial investigated the correlation between ‘encounters’
and personal traits based on the voices of the readers and men’. A question such as the one
reproduced in the previous clause serves not only to justify the need for giving more
information in the form of a discussion on a given problem and its possible solutions, but also
to open an exchange of information in the form of a dialogue, thus aiding the text in
establishing a two-way, conversational feel.

In With, there is only one instance of an interrogative incongruently realizing a Statement. The
interrogative clause represents an expert’s opinion disguised as a rhetorical question:

(5) An expert’s opinion as a rhetorical question
Shiawasena renaitoiunowa, jibunno hontouno sugatawo misetekurete, jibundemo
kizukanakatta jibunno miryokuni kizukasetekureruyouna hitoto deai, otagaini
rikaishiaerukoto dewanaideshouka.
‘Doesn’t a ‘happy love relationship’ mean that meeting a person who shows his true
self and makes you realize the charm that you didn’t know you had, and that you can
understand one another?’

The avoidance of straightforwardly realizing this Statement through a declarative indicates the
expert’s unwillingness to impose her opinion on the reader, as this would be a clear sign of the
expert’s authority over her. Simultaneously, however, it also functions to reduce the expert’s

---