Thai Learners’ Knowledge of and Proficiency in Keigo (Japanese Honorifics)

Abstract

Native Japanese speakers are expected to use keigo (Japanese honorifics), following Japanese grammatical rules and cultural etiquette, which are key factors through which they communicate. Keigo demonstrates respect, as outlined in “Keigo no shishin” (“Guidelines on honorifics”; Bunkashingikaitoshin, 2007). In addition, “Keigo no shishin” discusses that in Japanese, according to one’s feelings or thoughts, keigo might be chosen and used as a tool of self-expression. Therefore, this research investigates Thai learners’ knowledge of and proficiency in Japanese honorific expressions. Research participants were 18 third-year and 17 fourth-year Thai university students. For the study, they completed two tests, one of which comprises 23 multiple-choice questions to estimate their knowledge of Japanese keigo. In the other test, six short-answer questions on selecting politeness levels (1 or 2) estimated their proficiency in Japanese. A t-test on both results indicated no significant differences. Furthermore, the multiple-choice results revealed participants’ knowledge of Japanese to be poor or shallow; the most frequent errors in keigo occurred in grammatical form rather than in misuse of the respectful or humble form. The short-answer test also revealed a high percentage of grammatical misuse. In other words, the percentage of accurate or acceptable answers was low, implying that participants’ overall proficiency in Japanese was poor. Thus, Thai learners of Japanese cannot express themselves well or accurately due to low proficiency, often demonstrated in misuse of keigo.