Japanese dialects are an important part of contemporary spoken Japanese, and when Japanese language learners live and work in Japan (for example, as JET Program participants), they are likely to encounter a dialect and will need negotiate its understanding and use. In this talk, I  discuss the impact that Japanese dialects have on Japanese language learners in Japan, in particular, how they overcome the challenges of learning a dialect while still in the process of learning Japanese.

Jae Takeuchi is an Assistant Professor of Japanese in the Department of Languages at Clemson University, where she teaches courses on the Japanese language and culture. Dr. Takeuchi's research interests include Japanese sociolinguistics, Second Language Acquisition and Japanese as a Foreign Language. She is especially interested in Japanese language learners and how they navigate the numerous speech styles of the Japanese language.