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Paper short abstract

This paper proposes a comparative sociolinguistic reorientation of minoritized languages in Japan, shifting focus from description to lived language use. Drawing on global revitalization cases, it highlights community-driven practices that challenge implicit “post-standard” monolingual ideologies.

Paper long abstract

Although recent developments in the sociolinguistics of the Japanese archipelago have shifted focus to linguistic varieties other than hyōjun-go, scholarly discussion often tends to privilege linguistic description over sustained engagement with the lived experiences of speaker communities, resulting in minoritized languages being treated as objects of documentation rather than as socially-embedded, dynamic practices with contemporary relevance and potential for revitalization.

This paper argues for a theoretical reorientation that situates minoritized languages in Japan within a comparative sociolinguistic perspective. Through the comparative lens, this paper discusses minoritized languages (regional dialects, Ainu language, Ryūkyūan languages, and the languages of immigrants) in a linguistically "post-standardized" Japan – where though a standard language ideology is not overtly expressed, it still implicitly foregrounds beliefs about language use in everyday life.

Revitalization experiences such as Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, Hakka in Taiwan, and Guaraní in Paraguay, highlight how languages and speakers have been revalorized through shifts in ideology, institutional support, and public presence. These post-standardization cases demonstrate that revitalization and ideological changes are not a singular endpoint but an ongoing, multi-layered process extending beyond policy to include everyday language use, education, media, governance, and national-symbolic narratives.

While a similar process is occurring in Japan, this paper calls for shifting scholarly focus to minoritized language speaker communities (language use rather than description), examining how linguistic and ideological changes reflect wider social changes. We foreground bottom-up, community-driven approaches to revitalization, emphasizing the role of local actors and place-based practices, arguing that attention to space, place, and lived experience can illustrate how linguistic practices are intertwined with regional histories, identities, and material environments. These practices, when made visible in public spaces, can challenge the post-standardization of implicit monolingual ideologies.

Adding diverse cases from the Japanese archipelago to a global context creates an opportunity to move towards a more community-centered approach to language use, positioning Japanese minoritized languages as a crucial piece of the broader comparative puzzle. We call for the further expansion of the scope of Japanese sociolinguistics through greater engagement with power, value, community agency, and recognition that these languages are active, dynamic components of social life.