Language planning and language management for tourism shopping situations

This paper analyzes problems in language management in six case studies of tourism shopping situations involving Japanese tourists. It utilizes a language planning and language management framework and argues that language planning can only proceed after actual problems in discourse are identified.

The examination of server and customer discourse in native Japanese situations or contact situations which are either Japanese-based or English-based reveals that problems occur in all three types of communicative situations and that they characterize not only the discourse of the tourist but also the server’s side. These problems are analyzed in terms of deviations and are categorized according to their nature as propositional, presentational or performance deviations.

The findings from these case studies are then examined in relation to the language planning activities of corporate agencies, the government and industry associations in relation to tourism and some recommendations pertinent to language planning are offered.