Japanese Literary Awards

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Satoshi Kinsui

きんすい さとし

Kinsui Satoshi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1956-04-29 （Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture (birth) → Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture (residence)

Career

Occupations
Japanese linguist, Professor, Researcher
Active Years
1979-
Affiliations
The Open University of Japan (Director, Osaka Learning Center), Osaka University (Professor Emeritus / Former Professor, Graduate School of Letters), Kobe University (former faculty), Osaka Jogakuin University (former associate professor)
Memberships
The Japan Academy (member), Japanese Linguistic Society (councilor), Linguistic Society of Japan (committee member), Information Processing Society of Japan (board member), Society for Japanese Grammar (vice president / councilor), Pragmatics Society of Japan (councilor), Science Council of Japan (former member)

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 学士（文学）
Period: 1975-1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Japan
Graduate School, University of Tokyo (left doctoral course)
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology (Doctoral course in Japanese)
Country: Japan
Left doctoral program
Osaka University
Graduate School
Degree: 博士（文学）
Country: Japan
Doctoral degree (PhD in Literature) obtained (year unknown)
Osaka Prefectural Kitano High School
Country: Japan
Served as orchestra club captain in high school

Awards

Japanese Cognitive Science Society Paper Award
1991
Organization: Japanese Cognitive Science Society
Result: 受賞
Minoru Toyota Prize
1992
Organization: Minoru Toyota Prize (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Deo Shinmura Prize
2006
Work: A History of Existence Expressions in Japanese
Organization: Shinmura Izuru Prize
Result: 受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
2023
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (selection)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Virtual Japanese: The Mystery of Role Language

2003 Linguistics / Popular exposition

An accessible introduction to 'role language'—language varieties associated with particular character types—and an analysis of their production and function.

role languagespeaker imagesociolinguistics

A History of Existence Expressions in Japanese

2006 Historical linguistics / Grammatical history

A study tracing the historical development of existence expressions in Japanese, discussing changes in usage and meaning.

existence expressionshistory of grammarhistorical linguistics

Is This Japanese Too? When the Language of Strangers Is Born

2014 Linguistics / General readership

A readable account of how differing speaker images and social roles give rise to particular linguistic expressions.

speaker imagesocial roleslanguage change

Bibliography

  • Virtual Japanese: The Mystery of Role Language (Iwanami Shoten, 2003)
  • A History of Existence Expressions in Japanese (Hitsuji Shobo, 2006)
  • Is This Japanese Too? (Iwanami Shoten, 2014)
  • Horizons of Role Language Research (ed., Kurosio Publishers, 2007)
  • Mini-dictionary of 'Role Language' (ed., Kenkyusha, 2014)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, expository academic proseEmphasis on illustrative examples
Recurring Motifs
role languagespeaker imagehistory of grammar

Legacy

A scholar who broadened the scope of modern Japanese language studies by proposing and researching the concept of 'role language'. He has contributed to education and academic societies and mentored younger researchers.

Academic Societies

  • The Japan Academy
  • Japanese Linguistic Society
  • Linguistic Society of Japan
  • Information Processing Society of Japan

Quotes

  • Role language is a window into how language emerges tied to social roles and human imagination.
    Source: Virtual Japanese: The Mystery of Role Language (Iwanami Shoten, 2003) (2003)

Trivia

  • Served as orchestra club captain during high school.
  • Publishes accessible linguistic commentary on X (Twitter) and personal blogs.