Wearing embarrassment: television discourse and the ideologies of T-shirt English in Japan

Abstract This article examines the ways in which symbolic English is used in fashion and mass media by indexing ideologies and expectations regarding language ability in Japan. One example of this is the popularity of English language T-shirts in Japan. Using English that is often widely criticized for being awkward or meaningless, these T-shirts are now often mocked in various media sources due to the increased flow of images across traditional nation-state boundaries. By examining the use of these English T-shirts in a Japanese variety show featuring a teen idol known for having English language ability this paper will show how the symbolic value of English T-shirts in Japan can be used to construct a hierarchy based on language ability within Japanese society and how television programs that use such items, take advantage of linguistic inability to increase embarrassment and stake for people heightening linguistic anxiety while at the same time discursively constructing the show and its staff in a positive light. This article examines this phenomenon and the ways in which these fashion items are then appropriated and denaturalized for entertainment both within and outside Japan through forms of mass-media such as television programs, books, and websites.