Haikuas a discourse regulation device: A stanza analysis of Japanese children's personal narratives

ABSTRACT Conversational narratives of 17 Japanese children aged 5 to 9 were analyzed using stanza analysis (Gee 1985; Hymes 1982). Three distinctive features emerged: (1) the narratives are exceptionally succinct; (2) they are usually free-standing collections of three experiences; (3) stanzas almost always consist of three lines. These features reflect the basic characteristics of haiku , a commonly practiced literary form that often combines poetry and narrative, and an ancient, but still ubiquitous game called karuta , which also displays three lines of written discourse. These literacy games may explain both the extraordinary regularity of verses per stanza and the smooth acquisition of reading by a culture that practices restricted, ambiguous, oral-style discourse. The structure of Japanese children's narratives must be understood within the larger context of omoiyari “empathy” training of Japanese children. Empathy training may account for the production, comprehension, and appreciation of ambiguous discourse in Japanese society. (Cultural differences in discourse style, the relationship among oral language, literacy, and literature)