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Changing scripts, changing storytellers: the role of katakana in English-language textbooks.

This article examines the discursive role of katakana, focusing on its use for personal names in English-language textbooks adopted by Japanese schools, to demonstrate how the script mediates shifting perspectives. Over the past several decades, English textbooks in Japan have undergone significant...

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Published in:Japan Forum Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 243 - 270
Main Author: Hosokawa, Naoko
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2026
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        10.1080/09555803.2025.2579889
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        atl: Changing scripts, changing storytellers: the role of katakana in English-language textbooks.
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        au: Hosokawa, Naoko
      keyword:
        english-language education
        Japanese scripts
        katakana
        script choice
        english-language education
        Japanese scripts
        katakana
        script choice
      ab: This article examines the discursive role of katakana, focusing on its use for personal names in English-language textbooks adopted by Japanese schools, to demonstrate how the script mediates shifting perspectives. Over the past several decades, English textbooks in Japan have undergone significant transformations, incorporating more stories set in Japan and increasing the representation of Japanese names. Alongside this transformation, the use of Japanese scripts has increased, particularly on introductory pages where main storylines are presented with a list of key characters. Non-Japanese names are now rendered in katakana, whereas previously all names were presented in English spelling using the Roman alphabet. This article examines why katakana has replaced the Roman alphabet and how this emblematises the broader changes observed in English textbooks. Through critical discourse analysis, this article argues that katakana represents a Japanese voice, positioning the narrator of the story as Japanese. Therefore, the script change reflects a shift in English-language discourses in Japan, with greater emphasis on Japanese self-expression directed towards a non-Japanese audience within Japan. While this shift may empower learners by giving them a voice, it also raises concerns that English-language education in Japan could become excessively self-focused and inward-looking.
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    language: English
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