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Words of the Japanese Shadow : a study of Jungian archetypes and Japanese role language

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Author

  • Fredrik Westman

Summary, in English

This essay builds upon the theories of role language advocated by Satoshi Kinsui, as well as the archetype theories of Christopher Vogler, Joseph Campbell and Carl Gustav Jung. Kinsui argues that role language styles in Japanese are connected to the characters archetypes described by Vogler, and proceeds to connect three language styles to archetypes. This essay seeks to find common role language tendencies in Shadow characters, the villains of stories. Ten Japanese works of fiction, mostly animated television series, are used as sources for an investigation into the matter. The conclusion drawn is that Shadow characters often speak standard Japanese with a few special characteristics. It is further argued that this is because, as Vogler writes, Shadow characters need to be similar to the Hero, who also often speaks standard Japanese.

Department/s

Publishing year

2011

Language

English

Document type

Student publication for Bachelor's degree

Topic

  • Languages and Literatures

Keywords

  • Vogler
  • Kinsui
  • Hero
  • Shadow
  • Role language
  • archetypes

Supervisor

  • Lars Larm