Abstract
How can Cultural Linguistics explain globally consumed manga in which nations are anthropomorphised as characters in hetero- or homosexualised relationships? Since its inception, Cultural Linguistics has concerned itself with similarities and differences among conceptualisations at least partially shared by users of a seemingly common language. Major work in this area includes that of Sharifian on terms such as family and smoke in Aboriginal Australian and Anglo-Australian influenced varieties of English. Loanwords provide another area for inquiry into mappings of a word into a different cultural schematic system. This chapter is concerned not only with conceptualisations about language but also with those pertaining to imagery and its interpretations. Specifically, I analyse the use of kyara ‘characters’ in the case of manga style representation of Japan, the USA and other countries in the Internet and hard-copy media. Analysis of specific examples, and of the differing attitudes towards this kind of representation, reveals interlocking and overlapping conceptualisations held by Japanese and English (particularly, Anglo-American English) speakers about nation, gender and anthropomorphism.
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Notes
- 1.
Hirao Yukio, Watashitachi no doumei; eizokuteki paatonaashippu (Our Alliance—a lasting partnership), CFAS (Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo) www.usfj.mil/Manga.
- 2.
Kelsky (2001, 198).
- 3.
Hirai Yukio, Maritan to hanasou! F•X•C•K (Let’s talk with Maritan! F•U•C•K, with the “U” scribbled on in red) Hobby JAPAN: Tokyo, 2007.
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Sitography
Himuraya Hidekaz Hetalia, http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/hetaria/index.htm, http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/hetaria/story.htm
Hirai Yukio. http://pixel-maritan.net/about.php
Uncle Sam. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/sam/sam.htm, http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/09/uncle-sam-the-man-and-the-meme-the-origins-of-uncle-sam.html
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Occhi, D.J. (2017). Where Japanese and Occidental Cultural Conceptualisations Meet: Reading Manga Which Anthropomorphise Nations as Kyara ‘Characters’ Through the Lens of Cultural Linguistics. In: Sharifian, F. (eds) Advances in Cultural Linguistics. Cultural Linguistics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4056-6_25
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