『国語に関する世論調査』の設問內容とその分布

Analysis of the Contents and the Distribution of “Public Opinion Poll on Japanese Language”

The Agency for Cultural Affairs has conducted “Public Opinion Poll on the Japanese Language” for males and females over the age of 16 from 1995 as a reference for national language policies, by individual interview surveys. In the “Public Opinion Poll on the Japanese Language,” when questions and answers are prepared, it is assumed that the collection of judgment data for future language policies will be made. Therefore, in this paper, by analyzing the contents of questions and the number of cases, we will clarify the elements and issues that are worthy of mention with regard to changes in the Japanese language. According to the analysis in this paper, “Public Opinion Poll on the Japanese Language” roughly consists of questions concerning national language awareness, language use, communication, Japanese and foreigners, information and reading. Among these questions, the largest proportion is accounted for by the question about language use, amounting to about 70%, each of the other four themes being less than 10%. Also, questions about language use are broadly divided into questions related to spoken and written words, the proportion of spoken language is about 80% and the proportion of written language is about 20%. In spoken language, the questions about usual usage of words account for 33.8%. Next, the question concerning honorifics accounts for 24.6%.