Shinmura Izuru Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 17 (1998) award
Akihiko Yonekawa
よねかわ あきひこ
Yonekawa Akihiko
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1955-01-23 （Mie Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Religion
- Christianity
- Residence History
- Mie Prefecture, Japan (birthplace) → Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Japanese linguist, Theologian, University professor
- Active Years
- 1982-
- Affiliations
- Baika Women's University, Professor, Ibaraki Christ Gospel Church (teacher)
- Influenced By
- Izuru Shinmura
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka University | Graduate School of Letters | Japanese language studies / Japanese linguistics | 学術博士 | 〜1985 | Japan |
Osaka University
Graduate School of Letters
/ Japanese language studies / Japanese linguistics
Degree:
学術博士
Period:
〜1985
Year of Graduation:
1985
Country:
Japan
Completed doctoral program; awarded PhD (thesis: Descriptive Study of Sign Language)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Shinmura Izuru Prize | Japanese–Sign Language Dictionary | — | Shinmura Izuru Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
Shinmura Izuru Prize
1998
Work:
Japanese–Sign Language Dictionary
Organization:
Shinmura Izuru Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Descriptive Study of Sign Language
1984 Academic researchA study based on his doctoral research describing the structure and features of Japanese Sign Language; provides a systematic description of sign language.
sign languagelanguage descriptionstructural linguistics
Japanese–Sign Language Dictionary
1998 DictionaryA dictionary mapping Japanese words to sign language entries; regarded as an important work bridging sign language research and practice.
dictionarysign languagelexical mapping
Excavating Slang: Dictionary of Lost Words
2016 Popular nonfiction / linguisticsCollects and analyzes fading slang and buzzwords, interpreting language change in its historical context.
slangbuzzwordslanguage change
Bibliography
- Descriptive Study of Sign Language (Meiji Shoin, 1984)
- New Words and Buzzwords (Nagumo-do, 1989)
- Japanese–Sign Language Dictionary (1998)
- Excavating Slang: Dictionary of Lost Words (Kodansha, 2016)
- Sign Language as a Language: Another Language of Japan (PHP Shinsho, 2002)
- Heisei New Words & Buzzwords Dictionary (Tokyodo, 2019)
- 100 Japanese Words from the Bible (Inochi no Kotoba Sha, 2022)
- For Deeper Reading of the Word: Introductory Biblical Interpretation (Inochi no Kotoba Sha, 2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- scholarly yet clear expositionaccessible explanatory style for general readers
- Recurring Motifs
- analysis of slang and buzzwordslinguistic nature of sign languagebiblical vocabulary and religious language
Legacy
A linguist who bridged academic sign-language research and popular studies of slang; contributed to broader understanding of sign language and spoken Japanese through dictionaries and commentaries.
Academic Societies
- Linguistic Society of Japan
Trivia
- He has long taught at Baika Women's University as a scholar of Japanese language and theology.
- Received the Shinmura Izuru Prize in 1998 for the Japanese–Sign Language Dictionary.
- Personal family details are limited in public sources; a son named Katsutoshi Yonekawa (米川勝利) is reported.