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This innovative and original volume brings together studies that apply cognitive and functional linguistics to the study of the L2 acquisition of Japanese. With each article grounded on the usage-based model and/or conceptual notions such as foregrounding and subjectivity, the volume sheds light on how cognitive and functional linguistics can help us understand aspects of Japanese acquisition that have been neglected by traditionalists.

It is often said that language standardization has been steadily advancing in modern Japan and that speakers in regional Japan are now bi-dialectal and code-switch between \"Standard\" and \"regional\" Japanese. The notion of code-switching, however, assumes the existence of varieties, or well-defined linguistic systems, that are distinct from each other. In this study, I examine the use of \"Standard Japanese\" and \"regional dialects\" and argue that it is much more complex and dynamic than what can be possibly accounted for in terms of the notion of code-switching involving two distinct varieties. I explore an alternative account employing the notion of variant choice and characterize the social meanings of \"Standard\" and \"regional\" variants as context-dependent and as multiple and ambiguous.

This paper discusses issues surrounding the development and implementation of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) at the curriculum- and program-levels. The Japanese program at the University of Alberta has introduced CALL courseware in language courses including those with multiple sections. An evaluation was conducted at the initial implementation stage to measure the success of the project. The results of the evaluation indicated that students and instructors were positive towards the curriculum reform through the implementation of CALL technologies. However, several issues also arose during the integration process. We found that the seamless integration of technologies was difficult to achieve, especially in dealing with a language like Japanese which requires additional software to display and input the idiographic characters. Our experience also underscores the importance of student support in the implementation stage. Special consideration should be taken to achieve a good \"fit\" between pedagogy and technology. Moreover, each instructor's understanding and sharing of his or her view of the CALL integrated instruction was found to be vital for a program-level CALL implementation. The University of Alberta case serves as an example and benchmark for others planning to conduct a similar project.

While the recent development of multimedia technology has opened up many possibilities, we have a lot to learn when it comes to how we can best take advantage of the technology. In this paper, we present a Japanese project that we have been developing since 1999. We discuss its main characteristics and the basic structure of the modules, as well as the results from an evaluation study. From the initial stage of developing the project to the evaluation study, we have noticed a number of both minor and major issues one should address in developing such a learning tool. Our purpose, therefore, is to share what we have learned with those who plan to launch a similar project dealing with foreign language learning.

A unified analysis of the meanings & functions of the Japanese particle ni, elsewhere described as a series of homophones, is provided by a proposed lexical network based on grammaticalization theory in the framework of Ronald W. Langacker's (1991) action chain model & the localist perspective of John M. Anderson's (1971) case grammar. The most basic usages of ni are to encode locative & allative relations in the spatial domain, with a primary extension to the temporal domain as the archetypal temporal particle of Japanese. Apparently contradictory extensions to the social domain as a dative case marker & secondary agent marker are resolved in an energy flow hierarchy schema by positing that ni signals properties of sentience & volitionality. The allative function of ni is argued to underlie extensions in the conceptual domain as a marker of manner, result, standard of comparison, & contact; in the logical domain, ni marks purpose & reason. 3 Figures, 31 References. J. Hitchcock