jsn Journal

Editor's Note

2025-12-13T18:25:38+07:00

The Study of Social Media Usage Behavior to Enhance Japanese Language Skills of Japanese Major Students in Southern Thailand

2025-05-28T11:15:01+07:00

This study aimed to investigate social media usage behaviors to enhance Japanese Language Skills and examine factors associated with such behaviors. The sample comprised 148 Japanese language students from Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, and Thaksin University, Songkhla Province. A descriptive analytical research approach was employed, and the data were analyzed utilizing percentage, mean, and standard deviation statistics, along with Crosstabs and Chi-square tests for variable relationship analysis. The findings revealed that students engaged in social media usage for Japanese language development at a "frequent" level. The most prevalent behavior was vocabulary learning through music listening. The most common "sometimes" behavior was participating in online learning groups or activities. The predominant "regular" behavior was practicing Japanese translation skills using specific translation programs or applications. Content creation in Japanese was identified as the least frequent behavior, occurring at a "rarely" level.

Cross Tabulation analysis revealed that academic year, GPA, JLPT proficiency examination, exchange experience, and duration of exchange programs in Japan were significantly associated with social media usage behaviors for Japanese language skill development (p < 0.05). Conversely, gender, usage frequency, duration per session, and timing of use showed no significant relationship with social media usage behaviors for Japanese language development. Regarding learning support needs for Japanese language instruction, students identified two primary requirements: social media platforms for self-directed Japanese language skill development outside the classroom and the integration of social media applications within classroom instruction. These findings provide valuable contributions to Japanese language pedagogy by enhancing educators' understanding of students' purposes and preferences for social media usage in language learning. The results can be applied to the development of Japanese language teaching methodologies and the design of learning activities that promote student engagement both inside and outside the classroom.

Cultural Policy and the Soft Power of Japan and South Korea

2025-08-26T09:48:25+07:00

This study examines the cultural policies of East Asia, with a focus on Japan and South Korea, to explore how national branding strategies have contributed to the development of cultural soft power. Employing literature review and case analysis, the research investigates systematic approaches such as the global dissemination of cultural products and the establishment of cultural exchange mechanisms.

The findings reveal that both countries have successfully expanded their international influence by integrating resources, mobilizing state support, and engaging private sector participation in fields such as animation, film, and music. Their policies, which combine economic objectives with public diplomacy, demonstrate how cultural industries can serve as both instruments of national image-building and drivers of economic growth. The study concludes that Japan and South Korea’s experiences provide valuable lessons for enhancing international cooperation, safeguarding traditional culture, and strengthening competitiveness in the global cultural economy of the twenty-first century.

Prince Moriyoshi’s Grudge Against Ashikaga Tadayoshi in “The Taiheiki”, Seigenin Edition

2025-08-27T15:11:34+07:00

The purpose of this study is to investigate the origins of the dispute between Prince Moriyoshi and Ashikaga Tadayoshi, as portrayed in the Seigenin edition of the Taiheiki, as well as how the prince’s grudge in this edition shapes Tadayoshi’s image. According to the research findings, the author appears to emphasize Prince Moriyoshi’s grudge as a crucial component in Tadayoshi’s negative transformation of his image more than in any other edition. As can be seen, the author highlights the conflict generated by Tadayoshi’s involvement in protecting his brother, Ashikaga Takauji, from the prince’s overthrow scheme, leading readers to consider Tadayoshi as the prince’s rival rather than Takauji. Furthermore, the author emphasizes the prince’s animosity toward Tadayoshi by describing the conditions of the prince’s head following the assassination and revealing his spirit’s aspirations. The author also associates the prince’s behavior while alive with Tadayoshi’s inner greed, which causes Tadayoshi to persecute his brother for the position of shogun.

Semantic Extensions of the Verb “dasu” from a Cognitive Linguistic Perspective

2025-08-04T20:45:48+07:00

The Japanese verb 「出す」 (dasu) is a highly polysemous word. This study aims to analyze the semantic extension patterns and the underlying cognitive mechanisms that contribute to its polysemy. We collected a sample of 300 examples of 「出す」 from Twitter (now X) between 2018 and 2022. The findings reveal four primary patterns of semantic extension from its prototypical meaning; 1) Agent-Caused Motion to Non-Agent-Caused Motion: This pattern involves a shift from a motion event with a clear agent to one where the agent is absent, facilitated by contextual inference, 2) Concrete to Abstract Motion: This pattern extends the meaning from a concrete object (animate/inanimate) with a physical path to an abstract entity with a virtual path, driven by metaphor, 3) Manual to Non-Manual Control: This pattern shows a shift from events requiring manual control to those that do not, employing both metaphor and metonymy, and 4) Intentional to Non-Intentional Events: This pattern involves a change from events with an agent's intention to spontaneous events without it, primarily through inference. These extension patterns are complex, blending physical and abstract meanings through a combination of metaphor, metonymy, and inference. The findings provide valuable insights for contrastive linguistics, Japanese language pedagogy, and Japanese-Thai translation.

The Use of Topic-Shifting Discourse Markers by Thai Learners of Japanese

2025-09-14T16:59:20+07:00

This research aims to examine the use of discourse markers as topic-shifting strategies employed by Thai learners of Japanese. The study is based on audio data of small-talk conversations between Thai learners of Japanese and their Japanese friends. The findings reveal that: 1) Thai learners of Japanese use topic-shifting discourse markers at a higher frequency than native Japanese speakers; 2) Type a (conjunctive discourse markers) and Type b (awareness-indicating discourse markers) are the discourse markers most frequently used for topic shifting, with Type a showing particularly high usage of でも (demo), which is a popular choice among Thai learners of Japanese for performing various conversational functions in Japanese, whilst Type b demonstrates the greatest tendency to be used in combination with other discourse markers; 3) However, the high frequency of usage does not correspond proportionally to correctness and naturalness of application. Analysis revealed that the causes of unnatural or erroneous usage stem from learners' lack of knowledge about usage constraints or proper application contexts, as well as pragmatic transfer.

Linguistic and Cultural Challenges of Thai Caregivers in Japan

2025-10-08T20:54:50+07:00

This research article presents a study on Japan’s acceptance of foreign workers in the caregiving sector, focusing on communication and cultural challenges experienced by Thai caregivers working in Japan. It also proposes strategies to improve and promote Japanese language proficiency and cultural understanding among Thai caregivers. Data were collected through observation and questionnaire-based interviews with 13 Thai caregivers working in Japanese care facilities in June 2023. The findings reveal that most participants were female, aged between 25 and 39 years, and held a bachelor’s degree. They reported preparing more in Japanese language skills than in caregiving techniques prior to working in Japan, with Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) levels ranging from N3 to N4. However, Thai caregivers expressed concerns regarding Japanese communication skills, particularly in grammar, reading, writing, speaking, listening, and vocabulary. The specific areas they wished to improve further were caregiving-related vocabulary and the use of polite expressions appropriate to different social contexts. In terms of cultural adaptation, most respondents reported being able to adjust to the Japanese caregiving style. However, occasional conflicts arose in the workplace due to communication barriers and cultural differences. No significant problems were found regarding daily living in Japan. The study therefore recommends that relevant governmental and private organizations in both Thailand and Japan should continuously promote Japanese language education and Japanese-style caregiving training to enhance the work efficiency of Thai caregivers.

A Comparative Study of ‘dake-da’ in Japanese and ‘thâonán’ in Thai at Sentence-final Positions

2025-08-02T07:28:42+07:00

While focus operations and their interpretation vary cross-linguistically, similarities and differences in focus mechanisms and interpretable reading of ‘dake-da’ in Japanese and ‘thâonán’ in Thai remain an area of inquiry. This research comparatively analyzes the focus and interpretation of a single element of ‘dake-da’ and ‘thâonán’ when appearing sentence- finally. Criteria for data analysis are the (un)grammaticality; the (un)clarity of the focus; and interpretative (non-)ambiguity of ‘dake-da’ and ‘thâonán’. Results are that the ‘dake-da’ in-situ focus construction using phonological prominence exhibits no shortest movement rule, adjacency condition, or negative island constraints (NICs). Its focus on a single element (except the subject) is self-evident without supplementary comparative focus. The focus phrase (FocP) structural unambiguity relative to the negative phrase (NegP) yields a sole reading: only > neg. For example, in ‘Taro-ga koppu-o arawanakatta-dake-da’, the interpretation is ‘the only thing Taro didn't wash was the glasses’.By contrast, ‘thâonán’ construction, an ex-situ focus construction using syntactic movement, follows the shortest movement rule and thereby produces the adjacency condition with NICs from the lower NegP, but not from the higher NegPs. Focus on an adjacent element (unlike a non-adjacent one) is self-evident without requiring supplementary comparative focus. Structural ambiguity of the FocP relative to the NegP also leads to an ambiguous interpretation of ‘Sǒmkít mâjdâj lá:ŋ kɛ̂ːw thâonán’, which can be interpreted as either only > neg (‘the only thing Somkit didn’t wash was the glasses’) and neg > only (‘Somkit didn’t wash only the glasses’). In conclusion, ‘dake-da’ in Japanese and ‘thâonán’ in Thai use different focus mechanisms. Most focused elements, relying on linguistic prominence or movement, are self-evident, not requiring supplementary comparative focus. Additionally, structural (non-)ambiguity of the FocP leads to different possible interpretations in negative sentences.

The Use of Kanji Pronunciation in Japanese for Learning Korean Vocabulary

2025-10-27T16:51:50+07:00

This article examines the phonological relevance between the Japanese and Korean languages, focusing on how knowledge of N2-level Kanji readings can be leveraged to apply to learning beginner Korean vocabulary, thereby promoting multilingualism. An analysis of 1,186 N2-level Kanji characters revealed that 27% shared identical pronunciations, while a significant 69% exhibited systematic sound correspondences. The study identified 12 key patterns of these sound correspondences in vowels, initial consonants, and final consonants, which allow for the direct comparison of pronunciations between the two languages. The effectiveness of the approach was then tested on 1,836 beginner Korean vocabulary words, revealing that 38.57% were of Chinese origin, with 27.51% of these having a direct semantic correspondence with a Kanji-based word in Japanese. The findings indicate that applying the identified sound correspondence patterns can facilitate the prediction of meaning and the memorization of word pairs across both languages, while also providing a linkage to connect vocabulary for the remaining 11.06% of words that use different terminology but are derived from the same Chinese character.