An empirical study of changes of honorific behavior in Sapporo and Tokyo

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A team of the students of Tokyo Metropolitan University and some other universities conducted field surveys at Nezu and Nishikata area in Bunkyo ward in Tokyo from 2003 to 2004. Numbers of informants in 2003 and 2004 surveys were 262 and 186 respectively. The field surveys were planned to compare the current status of honorific behavior of the residents of the target area and the same behavior of the same area in 1981.The analysis of those data revealed the following points:(1) Differences between men and women and differences between Nezu and Nishikata were not changed through these 22 years.(2) A difference in age-groups (a tendency that younger people treat younger and unfamiliar hearers in fairly low level) was maintained during these 22 years.(3) Another difference in age-groups (a tendency that younger people treat familiar hearers in very low level) was spread to other age-groups and recently middle-aged people became to behave like previous younger people.(4) When we observe honorific behaviors to the neighbors, people have a tendency that they use honorific expressions according to their level of familiarity to the neighbors.