"The public use of language deemed by certain groups within a society to be demeaning to their members has been widely debated in Japan, as in other countries. Such language is known in Japanese as sabetsu yogo (discriminatory language). Japan has no laws attempting to regulate the use of this language; nevertheless, debate on the use of sabetsu yogo has brought about some degree of awareness and modification of language use in differing arenas. These changes have not gone unquestioned; the issue of minority rights versus freedom of speech has been a subject of considerable debate in Japan and elsewhere." "This book is the first full-length study in English of this aspect of language in Japan. Focusing on an aspect of language and power which illustrates some of the dissent underlying Japan's officially promoted ideology of a harmonious society, it discusses the use of linguistic stereotyping in the areas of status, ethnicity, gender and disability, and examines the strategies which have been employed against it."--BOOK JACKET.