Talking about children with in-laws: Negotiation of membership and epistemic status in Japanese family conversation

Tomoko Endo

Discourse Studies2026https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456251397194article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Talking about children in an extended-family setting can sometimes be challenging in Japanese culture due to the highly developed system of grammatical marking for epistemic stance. Parents of a child typically hold epistemic authority regarding the child, which makes non-parent participants cautious about how they speak. At the same time, asserting oneself as more knowledgeable, especially in front of older parents-in-law, may be perceived as face-threatening. Drawing on videotaped, naturally occurring conversations, this study investigates how participants position themselves when engaging in talk about children. By analyzing conversations among participants with both intra- and intergenerational relationships, this study demonstrates how grammatical resources, membership category, and the participation framework contribute to the negotiation of family relations and epistemic status.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456251397194

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@article{tomoko2026,
  title        = {{Talking about children with in-laws: Negotiation of membership and epistemic status in Japanese family conversation}},
  author       = {Tomoko Endo},
  journal      = {Discourse Studies},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456251397194},
}

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Talking about children with in-laws: Negotiation of membership and epistemic status in Japanese family conversation

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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