The users and uses of English in Japan

This paper describes several aspects of the current use of English by Japanese speakers. First, a brief sketch is presented which outlines the historical circumstances that influenced the current use of English. The following section examines the use of English loanwords in terms of their phonological, orthographic and semantic properties. It also discusses the formation of loanwards, speakers’ attitudes toward them, and motivations for using them. The use of loanwords is related to theoretical issues of code‐mixing, code‐switching and bilingualism, and these issues are explored in relation to the case of Japanese English. The next section describes the teaching of English in the education system and the extent to which teaching methodologies and materials have been determined by the form of school entrance examinations. Finally, there is a section which discusses the status of English in terms of official support and recognition, and investigates the typological classification of Japanese English as a performance variety.