Abstract
This paper focuses on how Koreans who speak Japanese as a second language perceive contexts when they choose a speech style and understand the meaning of speech styles in other people's speech. Five Koreans, who have studied in Japan, were interviewed about their experiences related to dissonance in selection of speech style. They recognized the different criteria for speech style selection between Japanese and Korean, especially hierarchical relationships related to age and social position. They also discussed how they decided to change their speech style as their relationship with the other person became closer. The results of the interviews also show that perception of context varies from person to person. The author concludes that it is important to focus on the cognitive aspect of speech style.
