Original Text (based on Language and Gender Book by Mary M. Talbot)
Other languages have very different pronoun systems. The Japanese one is complicated by the existence of distinct levels of formality and the need to take into account the status of the person you are talking to in deciding which level to use. There is a range of different words for the first person pronoun, I for instance. There are formal pronouns which can be used by both women and men: watashi and the highly formal watakushi. Less formally, atashi is used only by woman, boku traditionally only by men (there is also another form, ore, available to men if they want to play up their masculinity). Choice of pronoun depends here on the sex of the speaker not the addressee. That is, if you are a woman you must use the “female” pronoun form and if you are a woman you must use the “female” pronoun form and if you are a man you must choose from the “male” forms. Japan does appear to be undergoing change. Girls in Japanese high schools say that they use the first-person pronoun boku, because if they use atashi they cannot compete with the boys (Okamoto 1995: 314).
Paraphrase
Mary (2003:4) stated that the Japanese have an unusual language scheme. A wide variety of conversations can be distinguished between woman and man, both formal and informal. There are some fundamental differences when two different gender talking to each other. It is man and woman when they mention the word I or the first person pronoun. Although there is a common choice for mentioning I for men and also for women, such as Watashi and the highly formal Watakushi, nevertheless in a country whose population extensively using informal language, the use of I differentiated, for instance Atashii is only for women and Boku intended only for men. For the highly informal among manliness, the men in Japan often use the pronoun I with Ore. By the fact of unwritten rules that each different gender has their own language, it proved that the Japanese appreciate their own culture by keep preserving it, though in another condition, as Mary cited in Okamoto (2003: 4) the women want to familiarize themselves in the circle that involving mix gender, in this circumstance rather than using Atashii, they prefer to use Boku.
Other languages have very different pronoun systems. The Japanese one is complicated by the existence of distinct levels of formality and the need to take into account the status of the person you are talking to in deciding which level to use. There is a range of different words for the first person pronoun, I for instance. There are formal pronouns which can be used by both women and men: watashi and the highly formal watakushi. Less formally, atashi is used only by woman, boku traditionally only by men (there is also another form, ore, available to men if they want to play up their masculinity). Choice of pronoun depends here on the sex of the speaker not the addressee. That is, if you are a woman you must use the “female” pronoun form and if you are a woman you must use the “female” pronoun form and if you are a man you must choose from the “male” forms. Japan does appear to be undergoing change. Girls in Japanese high schools say that they use the first-person pronoun boku, because if they use atashi they cannot compete with the boys (Okamoto 1995: 314).
Paraphrase
Mary (2003:4) stated that the Japanese have an unusual language scheme. A wide variety of conversations can be distinguished between woman and man, both formal and informal. There are some fundamental differences when two different gender talking to each other. It is man and woman when they mention the word I or the first person pronoun. Although there is a common choice for mentioning I for men and also for women, such as Watashi and the highly formal Watakushi, nevertheless in a country whose population extensively using informal language, the use of I differentiated, for instance Atashii is only for women and Boku intended only for men. For the highly informal among manliness, the men in Japan often use the pronoun I with Ore. By the fact of unwritten rules that each different gender has their own language, it proved that the Japanese appreciate their own culture by keep preserving it, though in another condition, as Mary cited in Okamoto (2003: 4) the women want to familiarize themselves in the circle that involving mix gender, in this circumstance rather than using Atashii, they prefer to use Boku.
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