This paper introduces the pragmatics of ba, an innovative approach to pragmatics. Questioning fundamental assumptions of modern scientific approaches, the ba based approach to pragmatics first takes an inside perspective instead of an objective perspective. Second, it incorporates the assumption of dual mode thinking, an idea derived from a reexamination of the notion of the domain of self as consisting of two layers: the egocentric domain and the basho domain. This dual mode thinking simultaneously represents our practice of recognition and perception. By employing the ba based approach to pragmatics, the mechanisms behind conversational phenomena such as the automaticity of conversational code switching and simultaneous utterances by conversationalists observed in natural conversations, have been explained. This study is an attempt to explore emancipatory pragmatics.

This paper examines strategies used to reduce the length of Japanese subtitles and investigates how they differ from strategies for subtitles in Korean, a language of similar structure. The amount of information present in subtitles was analyzed based on the number of syllables and the reduced forms of sentences in the texts of translated subtitles on DVDs of 11 major American and British TV series, released in Japan and Korea from 2001–2012. In Japanese subtitles, sentences can be shortened by omission of particular elements at the sentence level, or by omission of information at the context level. Sentence level omission was observed in two forms, “particle-ending form” (sentence ends in a particle as predicate is omitted) and “noun-ending form” (sentence ends in a noun as there is no copula). Both forms appear to be unique omission strategies in Japanese, and were rare in Korean subtitle texts. Furthermore, these two forms seemed to result in a pragmatic supplementation of omitted information by making the sentences pithy and high-impact. These forms were also seen to be employed efficiently in scenes of heightened tension.

In live sports commentary, the participants (announcer and commentator(s)) frequently need to single out events to report while talking about other matters. The target events emerge from the ongoing situation, and can disappear instantly. By analyzing the recorded data of live TV car race commentary in Japanese, we show that the participants use interjections such as ‘a’ or ‘otto’ as a procedure to single out events instantly. Although both the announcer and the commentator(s) equally use this procedure, they construct subsequent reporting utterances of the event differently. We demonstrate how the participants orient to their different roles, and how they construct the reporting utterances interactively during the commentary.

In this study, we researched the chronological tendencies of conversational data analysis articles in Shakaigengokagaku (“The Japanese Journal of Language in Society”). We analyzed tendencies of the articles according to the following six categories: (1) numbers of articles, (2) viewpoints of analysis, (3) data situations (native/native, native/non-native, or both), (4) items of analysis, (5) kinds of data (natural discourse, media, experiments, made-up examples, cellphone emails/SNS), and (6) utilization of research results. We demonstrated that the number of conversational data analysis articles has been increasing and analysis in many articles was based on “verbal/nonverbal,” and looked at conversation in “native/native situations” and “natural discourse.” As for utilization of research results, we found the following two types: “accumulation of research results” and “making the research results available to practical fields.” By analyzing the characteristics of conversational data analysis articles using the comprehensive framework of conversational data analysis, we could see that conversational data analysis has been utilized in various research fields. Based on these results, we discussed the importance of promoting transdisciplinary research within the realm of “welfare linguistics”.