Gender Stereotype in Prosody: Japanese Interactional Particles NE and YO

Abstract

In this paper, I will focus on how prosody affects the interpretation of genderneutral interactional particles ne and yo in Japanese. The interactional particles are potential sites for stereotyping, and "males have flatter intonation pattern than females do in pitch range and pitch heights" (McConnell-Ginet 1983: 73). Based on these assumptions, a purpose of the paper is to find possible answers for the following research questions: I) Will gender stereotype characteristics appear on some of the most frequently used particles such as ne  or yo?  and 2) Wil female-style speech, in general, will be more emphasized than male-style speech?