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September 10, 2025

‘I’m Rich, You Know?’: Self-Praise as Performance and the Role of First Person Singular Forms in Japanese Conversation

MSMisumi SadlerUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Key Points

Self-praise episodes reveal that first-person singular forms are used more frequently than previously believed.
In over 50 hours of conversation, 44% of self-praise episodes included first-person singular forms, amounting to 66 instances.
The study identifies two categories of self-praise: emotive forms, which often include humor and laughter, and frame-setting forms used to manage conversation flow.
Understanding these forms highlights their role in identity construction and social performance during interactions.

Abstract

This study investigates the pivotal role of Japanese first-person singular (1SG) forms in self-praise episodes, utilizing an extensive analysis of over 50 hours of conversational data. The findings reveal a strikingly higher frequency of 1SG forms—44%, or 66 out of 150 self-praise episodes—contradicting the prevailing belief that these forms rarely occur in Japanese conversation. A detailed examination of these instances reveals that most do not semantically necessitate 1SG forms; they are divided equally into "emotive" and "frame-setting" categories. Emotive expressions often carry humor and are typically accompanied by laughter, while frame-setting functions as a crucial floor-holding device, signaling a transition to a more formal speech level. This study underscores the vital significance of 1SG forms in the construction of identity and social performance, illustrating their essential role in managing self-presentation and evaluation during interpersonal interactions.

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