Keigo in Modern Japan Polite Language from Meiji to the Present

Wetzel argues that these functions took center stage as keigo was put to use in the service of modernization and democratization, eventually becoming a matter of "common sense." But keigo is more than a gauge of status, and a close look at the linguistic landscape of Japan makes this explicit. Demonstrating how thoroughly social and interpersonal cues find their way into the fabric of Japanese, Wetzel astutely observes that there is no linguistic place in Japan that is not keigo."--BOOK JACKET.