ELSEVIER Journal of F’ragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

‘Sorry for your kindness’ :

Japanese interactional ritual in public discourse*

Risako Ide*
l-36-13-1002, Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171, Japan

Received 2 October 1995; revised version 17 June 1997

Abstract

Sumimasen, the object of analysis in this study, is a conventional expression of apology in

Japanese that is also used to express the feeling of thanks. While many of the previous stud-
ies on the use of sumimasen attempted to explain the dual functions of the expression from a
speech act point of view, this study aims to elucidate the social and metapragmatic functions
of sumimasen within the larger framework of public discourse in Japan. The paper first
describes seven pragmatic functions of sumimasen distinguished through ethnographic obser-
vations of discourse in public, using Goffman’s notion of ‘remedial’ and ‘supportive’ inter-
changes (197 1) as a conceptual framework. Then, the paper demonstrates that the exchange
of sumimasen forms a metapragmatic ritual activity that is an anticipated, habitual behavior in
public discourse in Japanese society. This argument is developed by reframing the multiple
functions of sumimasen in accordance with the folk notion of aisatsu, which constitutes the
ground rules of appropriate Japanese public interaction. The paper ultimately discusses how
sumimasen functions not only as the expression of gratitude and apology, but also as one of
the ritualized formulae used in Japanese society to facilitate public face-to-face interaction.

1. Introduction: Why be sorry when you are grateful?

Somewhere at a university campus in Japan, a student is visiting his professor in

his office. The student is late and arrives at the office ten minutes after the time of
the appointment. Short of breath from running, he bows slightly to the professor
while saying, ‘sumimasen’. Guiding the student into the office, the professor asks
the student to have a seat. Then he offers him a cup of green tea to quench his thirst.
Upon receiving the cup, the student, once again says ‘sumimasen’ and drinks the tea.

* I am indebted to Joel Sherzer and Keith Walters for their helpful comments and suggestions on this
paper. Thanks also to Cyndi Dunn for her comments and to Chantal Tetreault for helping me revise the
English manuscript. I would also like to thank the anonymous referees for their critical and insightful
comments. See Ide (1993) for more detail on issues discussed in this paper.
* E-mail: risako@compuserve.com

0378-2166/98/$19.00 0 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

PI1 SO378-2166(97)000770-5
510 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

Translating the word sumimasen in the above context into English, we might ren-
der the first use of the word, when the student apologizes for being late, as ‘I’m
sorry’. However, the second sumimasen is better translated as ‘thank you’ rather than
as ‘I’m sorry’, since the student is expressing gratitude for the professor’s thought-
fulness in offering him tea.
Originally an expression of apology, sumimusen is a word that is commonly heard
and used in everyday Japanese discourse. l However, as demonstrated in the above
description, this single expression can function to encompass the feelings of both
thanks and apology. This phenomenon has attracted attention both from anthropolo-
gists and from social psychologists interested in Japanese language and culture
(Benedict, 1946: 105-106; Doi, 1975: 27-28; Lebra, 1976: 92). Lebra (1976: 92),
for instance, notes that when a Japanese person wants to express sincere gratitude in
English, he/she feels urged to say, ‘I’m sorry’. This inclination can be a potential
source of misunderstanding between Japanese and English-speakers, making the lat-
ter wonder ‘why be sorry when you’re grateful? ’
From a semantics-oriented perspective, the fact that a single expression signifies
both regrets and thanks goes against the speech act theory of Austin (1962) and
Searle (1969), in which apologies and thanks supposedly fulfill separate felicity con-
ditions. Seeking to explain this seemingly contradictory phenomenon, this paper has
two goals: (1) to examine the functional and contextual meanings of sumimasen
extracted from recordings of actual discourse, and (2) to discuss the social meaning
of sumimasen, emerging through its everyday pragmatic usage and reflecting the
larger framework of interaction behavior in Japanese society.
In the first part of the paper, I describe what sumimusen ‘does’ in interactional
contexts, by presenting seven pragmatic functions of the term, based on observation
of naturally occurring interaction. In providing pragmatic accounts for the multiple
functions of sumimusen, I draw on Goffman’s (197 1) notion of ‘interpersonal rituals’
as an analytical framework. Simply stated, ‘interpersonal rituals’ are routine behav-
iors exchanged in face-to-face situations that pertain to public life. These rituals con-
sist of a remedial type and a supportive type. ‘Remedial interchanges’ take place
when there is a potential interactional offense between the interlocutors. Thus apolo-
gies, requests, and accounts are strategic remedial moves that transform what could
be taken as an offensive act into something acceptable (ibid.: 109). ‘Supportive
interchanges’, on the other hand, are ritual gestures that are concerned with estab-
lishing, renewing, and continuing interpersonal relationships, such as greetings and
farewell movements (ibid.: 67). Using these notions, I demonstrate that sumimusen
functions in both a ‘remedial’ and a ‘supportive’ manner in discourse, carrying prag-
matic and ritualistic functions that extend beyond conveying the semantic meaning
of regret or gratitude in actual discourse.
In the second part of the paper, I discuss the social meaning of the multiple func-
tions of sumimusen, elaborating on what it ‘means’ for a speaker of Japanese to say
sumimusen in social and interactional contexts. In doing so, I contextualize the mul-

’ Literally speaking, the expression sumimasen is the polite negative of the verb sumu (‘to be over’, ‘to
be settled’), and it means ‘there is no end’ or ‘it is not enough’.
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 511

tiple functions of sumimasen within the larger framework of publicly appropriate

ways of speaking in Japan, referring to the metapragmatic and folk notion of aisatsu.
(As to ‘metapragmatic’, I use the concept as explored by Silverstein (1993).) The
notion of aisatsu points to varieties of verbal and nonverbal demeanors which func-
tion as interaction frameworks, characterizing appropriate ways of speaking and
behaving in Japanese public interactions. I argue that the different functional uses of
sumimasen serve to mark the ongoing interaction as being within the frame of proper
social discourse, which is a ritual engagement essential in managing Japanese every-
day life.

2. Overview of study

Before turning to the analysis of the data, I present a brief overview of recent soci-
olinguistics studies on sumimasen, and highlight the methodological and theoretical
framework used in this study.
One stream of research has analyzed the use of sumimasen incorporating soci-
olinguistic parameters, and showing the ways in which social axes such as status and
generation influence a speaker’s choice of thanking and apologizing expressions in
Japanese. Ogawa (1993) describes generational differences as the key factor in how
speakers use sumimasen.2 Conducting a comparative study of the use of apology
expressions among Japanese and British-English speakers, Miyake (1993) reveals
that speakers choose different apologetic expressions according to varying relation-
ships between the interlocutors, such as age, closeness between the speakers, and the
seriousness of the matter involved (28). The works of Kumagai (1993) and Kuma-
toridani (1988, 1990) approach the topic of Japanese remedial expressions, using the
theory of politeness and face work (Brown and Levinson, 1987 [ 1978]).3 Comparing
Japanese and American ways of managing remedies, Kumagai (1993: 297) notes
that while Americans give priority to the settlement of the matter, Japanese work
towards sustaining reciprocal face-support between the interlocutors.
Coulmas (1981) offers one of the most comprehensive works on this issue, which
draws on cross-cultural comparisons of thanking and apology. In his work, Coulmas
discusses the ethics of ‘indebtedness’ as the notion connecting the acts of apology
and gratitude in Japanese, since the act of thanking, which implies the indebtedness
of the recipient of the benefit, resembles apologies, where speakers similarly recog-
nize their indebtedness to the interlocutor (Coulmas, 1981: 79). He also points out

2 Ogawa observes that the younger generation uses sumimasen more as an apologetic expression to
people who are older, of higher status, and of the ‘outer group’; whereas the older generations tend to
use sumimasen as a gratitude expression to people younger and of their ‘inner group’ (1993: 44).
3 The concept of politeness, in terms of Brown and Levinson (1987[1978]: 61), consists of ‘positive
politeness’ and ‘negative politeness’. Positive politeness involves the positive face of a speaker, that
is, the desire that one’s self-image be appreciated and approved of by others. Negative politeness, on
the other hand, points to an individual’s basic claim to territories, personal preserves, and rights to non-
distraction.
512 R. Ide / Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

the functions of sumimasen as attention-getter and leave-taking formula, in addition

to those of thanks and apologies (Coulmas, 1981: 82, 86).
The present research confirms the points noted by Coulmas, while seeking to fur-
ther Coulmas’ arguments in the following ways. First, while Coulmas constructs his
argument based on intuition and cross-cultural comparisons of apology and thanking
expressions, this study analyzes the actual use of the term, examining recorded con-
versations in an ethnographic context.4 Second, the study presents a comprehensive
analysis of the multiple functions of sumimasen in context and its relationships to
one another. Furthermore, the paper attempts to interpret the pragmatic function of
sumimasen on a metapragmatic level, examining speech acts within the discursive
patterns of Japanese public interaction in general.

3. Setting the context of analysis

The present study examines the use of sumimasen ethnographically, focusing

on public discourse as its target context. The notion of ‘public’ is broadly defined
here as a social space where strangers and semi-strangers, with limited familiarity
with one another, meet and interact verbally and nonverbally.5 While not an
exclusive category, the private sphere, on the other hand, implies more intimate
settings, where family members, close friends, or classmates in school interact.(j
While sumimasen as an expression is used in both public and private places, the
analysis focuses on the realm of public discourse, as initial observation on sumi-
masen suggested that the expression is used more frequently in the public sphere
than in the private sphere; also, it carries more functions when occurring in public
interaction.
I have selected the reception counter at an ophthalmology clinic in downtown
Tokyo as the primary context for collecting sumimasen used in public discourse.7 In
the clinic, two female doctors, a female nurse, and a female receptionist are on reg-
ular duty. In conducting the research, I observed and participated in the interactional
context of the clinic, both as a patient and participant observer, recording the con-
versations during the regular operating hours of the clinic.

4 The majority of previous studies collected data using questionnaires, movie scripts, or television soap
operas (Miyake, 1993; Ogawa, 1993; Kumagai, 1993) or based their analysis on the researcher’s intu-
ition (Coulmas, 1981; Kumatoridani, 1988, 1990).
5 Interactions in the public sphere range from those taking place at institutions such as service encoun-
ters, where interaction takes place in a relatively structured and formal manner, to casual chit-chat where
strangers engage in more informal conversation.
6 The notion of public vs. private explained here roughly corresponds to the Japanese taxonomy of uchi
and soto: a binary relationship between the inside world of casualness and true feelings (uchi) and the
outside world of politeness and ritual gestures (sotu). For a detailed discussion of the uchilsoto concepts,
refer to Bachnik (1992).
’ The recording was conducted for a total of 9 hours during August of 1992. The author wishes to
express her gratitude to the staff of Kemi Ophthalmologic Clinic for generously permitting this research
to be conducted.
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 513

The primary source from which I obtained data for this study is restricted to one
public setting. For this reason, I do not wish to claim that this study is representative
of the behaviors of all Japanese speakers in their use of sumimasen in both public
and private settings. Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize that the purpose of this
study is not to analyze the different usage of the term across social categories such
as age, gender, or class, but to explore and describe the functional meaning of sum-
imasen in the realm of public interaction in Japanese society.*

4. The multiple functions of sumimasen

In this section, I examine the seven functions of sumimasen observed from the
recorded data. Conversations were recorded from a total of 58 patients, including
both males and females, ranging from young children to senior citizens in their sev-
enties. From all the recorded interactions, 51 instances of sumimasen were collected
and analyzed.9
The following sections, 4.1 through 4.7, illustrate the multiple usages and func-
tions of sumimasen that were extracted from the recordings. The transcription of
each example is provided along with an analysis of the interaction. In each tran-
scription, the sex and the approximate age of the patient are noted, together with a
brief description of the situational context in which the interaction occurred. The
transcription of the conversation appears as follows: the first line is the original
Japanese conversation, transcribed in the Roman alphabet. Below the Japanese, a
word-for-word English gloss is added. A free translation is provided at the end to
clarify the conversational context and flow, especially for readers who are not famil-
iar with the Japanese language. Pseudonyms are used for individual names. For an
explanation of the transcription conventions, please refer to the appendix.

4.1. Sumimasen as sincere apology

The expression sumimasen, generally corresponding to ‘I’m sorry’ in English, was

originally an expression of apology, just like other Japanese apology expressions
such as gomennasui (literal meaning, ‘please excuse me’) and mooshiwake goza-
imasen (literal meaning, ‘I have no excuse’). The following conversational segment
is one example of sumimasen used to convey the speaker’s sincere feeling of regret.

(1) One of the doctors (D: 40s) steps into the clinic from the front door to the recep-
tion area and apologizes to the receptionist and the nurse for coming in later
than usual.

8 By ‘Japanese society’, I mean the notion of a community represented by the district of Tokyo, in
which standard Tokyo dialect is used as a norm.
9 I categorized the expressions using the word sumimasen, such as sumimasen deshita (sumimasen +
past tense), doomo sumimasen (intensifier + sumimasen), or sumimasen ne (sumimasen + sentence end-
ing particle /-ne/) in the same category as the plain sumimasen.
514 R. Ide i Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

D: Okurete sumimasen.
to be late sorry
‘Sorry for being late.’

The above use of sumimasen conveys the speaker’s sincere sense of regret to the
interlocutor. This is to say that there is substantial reason for the speaker to be apolo-
getic towards the interlocutors, who are potentially offended. The use of sumimasen
here is akin to the first use of sumimasen noted earlier in the introduction, where the
student apologizes to the professor for the potential offense of being late for an
appointment.
In light of the theory of ‘interpersonal rituals’, saying ‘I am sorry’ is a verbal
move that attempts to mitigate or compensate for the harm inflicted upon the other’s
territory of the self (Goffman, 197 1: 115). Thus, in Goffman’s terms, the above use
of sumimusen is a ‘remedial’ move that seeks to verbally compensate for the offen-
sive act that has taken place in the interaction.

4.2. Sumimasen as quasi-thanks and apology

While the first use of sumimasen conveyed sincere apology and regret to the inter-
locutor, the expression can also function to exhibit one’s mixed feelings of regret
and thankfulness, as we observe from the following interaction.

(2) A male patient (P: 30-40) is making a payment, while the receptionist (R: 40s)
and the nurse (N: 40s) are at the counter. The fee is 1,460 yen (= $15.00). The
patient understands that the receptionist is short of change, and after handing
1,400 yen, tries to get the exact change from his wallet.

1 N: Senyonhyakuen (0.4) Arimasu? Rokujuuen

1,400 yen (0.4) (do you) have? 60 yen
2 P: Arimasu ((starts to count the coins))
(I do) have
3 R: A ano sumimasen mooshiwake gozaimasen an0
uh urn sumimasen I am very sorry (Hon) umm

Free translation
1 N: 1,400 yen (0.4) Do you have 60 yen?
2 P: Yes I do ((starts to count the coins))
3 R: Uh, urn. sumimasen, I’m very sorry, umm.

This is a scene that is observed in service encounter contexts from time to time,
when a patient or customer tries to pay with exact change. However, since it is part
of the clinic staff’s job to provide good service to the patient, the receptionist feels
apologetic or obliged to feel regretful for having the patient go through the trouble
of collecting change and inconveniencing him. Yet, simultaneously, she is grateful to
the patient for making the correct change, since this act will save the face of the
receptionist who is out of change, and make the transaction smoother. These two sets
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 515

of emotions of regret and gratefulness are reflected simultaneously and ambivalently

in the receptionist’s use of sumimasen in this context. In Goffman’s framework, this
use of sumimasen sustains a remedial move, expressing quasi-thanks and apologies.
As noted earlier, thanking and apologizing are two distinct behaviors from the
point of view of speech act theory. However, in both situations, where a speaker
‘receives a benefit’ and ‘causes an offense’, a person potentially owes something to
the other. This means that in the single expression, sumimasen, the feeling of thanks
and apology are displayed like two sides of a coin. Therefore, in saying sumimasen,
the speaker is able to acknowledge his or her sense of indebtedness felt towards the
interlocutor, regardless of whether one is truly and sincerely sorry or thankful for the
situation or not.
Taking into consideration the politeness factors that influence the choice of
expressions, Kumatoridani (1988: 231-232) contends that sumimasen can, in certain
socio-cultural contexts, be a more polite thank you than arigatoo, which is the most
general and the least marked expression of gratitude in Japanese.‘O This is so, since
the use of sumimasen has the effect of adding a humble tone to the exchange, denot-
ing the speaker’s awareness of the other person’s feeling.
Due to this ambivalent nature of sumimasen as quasi-thanks and apology, an inter-
action can sound unacceptable or awkward, if sumimasen is used as an expression of
strong gratitude, as Kumatoridani (1990: 39) points out for the following hypotheti-
cal case:

(2a) A: Omedetoo gozaimasu (‘Congratulations’)

B: Arigatoo gozaimasu (‘Thank you very much’)
*Sumimasen
(2b) A: Sono kutsu niatterune (‘Those shoes look good on you’)
B: Arigatoo (‘Thanks’)
*Sumimasen

In the above situations, arigatoo, which is a more straight-forward thanking

expression compared to sumimasen, is the appropriate part of an adjacency pair to an
act of congratulating (2a) or complimenting (2b), where speaker B does not presup-
pose a sense of indebtedness in being congratulated or complimented by speaker A.

4.3. Sumimasen as request marker

In the following two examples, sumimasen is used prior to requesting something

of an interlocutor.

(3a) A female patient (P: M-60) enters the clinic and exchanges greetings with the
receptionist (R: 40s). She asks the receptionist about the eye drops that she
ordered the other day.

lo Historically speaking, however, arigatoo (‘thank you’) was etymologically a form of excuse, deriv-
ing from ari (‘exist, have’) plus, gatashi (‘difficult’), literally meaning, ‘it is hard to accept/have’.
516 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

1 P: Sumimasen megusuri [iidesuka odashishite-

Sumimasen eye drops is it okay to have you get-(Hon)
2 R: 1A hai ano demo sekkaku oideni
yes urn but with effort came-
R: narareta kara [senseini mite itadaita hooga [yore
(Hon) since doctor have you exam (Hon) better
3 P: e; g;

R: shyuu gozaimasen?
isn’t it (Hon)?

Free translation
1 P: Sumimasen, the eye drops, is it okay to have you get it?
2 R: [Certainly. But since you’ve taken the trou-
ble to come, isn’t it better to have the doctor examine your eyes?
3 P: [Yes [Yes

In this interaction, the patient initiates her request to have the eye drops with sum-
imasen. This is similar to the English use of ‘excuse me’ in interactions that initiate
a request or ask a favor as in, ‘Excuse me, could you pass the salt?’ Sumimasen, as
used here, is specifically combined with a kind of request or favor asking, as the next
example also illustrates.

(3b) A male patient (P: 30-40) is finished with the examination and sits in the wait-
ing room, reading a magazine. The receptionist (R: 40s) calls his name from
the counter so that he can pay for the examination on the spot.

1 R: Arai san. doomo oma [tase itashimashita

Mr. Arai very (we have) made you wait (Hon)
2 P: IHai ((stands up, walks to counter))
Yes
3 R: Etto shitsurei shimasu ((hands P the card))
Umm excuse me
R: Arai san sumimasen kyoowa hyakuende gozaimasu ga
Mr. Arai sumimasen for today 100 yen it is (Hon) but
4 P: ((hands 100 yen (=$l.OO) to R))
5 R: ((receives the money, slightly bowing))

Free translation
1 R: Mr. Arai, we have made you wait.
2 P: [Yes ((stands up, walks to counter))
3 R: Umm ... excuse me. ((hands P the card))
Mr. Arai. Sumimasen. It will be 100 yen for today.
4 P: ((hands 100 yen to R))
5 R: ((receives the money, slightly bowing))
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics29 (1998) 509-529 517

In this interaction, the receptionist says sumimasen upon collecting the fee from
the patient. The receptionist is in a position where she has the right to collect the fee
in exchange for the provided service. However, the use of sumimasen here indicates
that she acknowledges the situation to be potentially offensive to the interlocutor
since it involves making the patient do something for the clinic’s benefit. Thus, by
adding sumimasen to the discourse, the receptionist makes herself sound less
imposing, redressing the interactional inequality that exists between her and the
patient. The use of sumimasen here is remedial in nature, associated with the speak-
er’s emotional reference to the whole interaction. Thus, similar to the hedging
expressions ‘do you mind if’ or ‘could you please’, which request permission in
advance for the intrusion into other’s territory, sumimasen functions to frame the
potential offense of requesting with a polite tone, helping the interaction to flow
smoothly.
In both examples (3a) and (3b), sumimasen is used before the actual request takes
place, but it is also used while the particular request is being granted. In addition, the
use of sumimasen is associated with the speaker’s emotional reference to the whole
interaction taking place at the moment. Therefore, it plays an especially important
role in balancing the relationship between interlocutors, marking a verbal repayment
for the other’s action.

4.4. Sumimasen as attention-getting device

So far, we have examined the use of sumimusen as a display of one’s ambivalent

feeling of thankfulness and regret to the other. However, the expression can function
in a more contextual and pragmatic way in the course of face-to-face interaction in
public places, as the next instance indicates.

(4) A female patient (P: 40-50) comes into the clinic from the entrance. The recep-
tionist (R) is looking down, doing paper work at the counter.

1 P: Sumimasen ((entering the clinic))

Sumimasen
2 R: A kon’nichiwaa ((looks up))
Oh good afternoon
3 P: Doomo
Hi
4 R: Cho-chotto okakeni natte omachi kudasai [mase
a-a moment take a seat (Hon) wait (Hon)
5 P: 1Hai
Yes

Free translation
1 P: Sumimusen ((entering the clinic))
2 R: Oh good afternoon ((looks up))
3 P: Hi
518 R. lde i Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

4 R: Please have a seat and wait for just a

5 P:

In this context, sumimasen functions to get the attention of a potential interlocutor

and to open a conversation. In line 1, the patient says sumimasen upon entering the
clinic, an act that catches the attention of the receptionist who was occupied with
paperwork. In line 2, the receptionist formally greets the patient and the interaction
starts to take its course. This use of sumimasen as an attention-getting device or a
conversation opener functions as an announcement of the speaker’s presence and
signals one’s desire to interact. While there are other ways of opening a conversa-
tion, such as starting a conversation with opening markers such as ano ‘urn’, kon-
nichiwa ‘good afternoon’, or a throat-clearing sound, sumimasen is often used
among interlocutors who are not acquainted with one another, thus more in public
contexts. For instance, one may say sumimasen when trying to get the attention of a
stranger who has just dropped something and walked on without noticing. l l This use
of sumimasen is identical to the use of the English expression, ‘excuse me’ when
abruptly opening an interaction with a stranger, or the greeting expression ‘hello’ in
a context similar to (4).

4.5. Sumimasen as leave-taking device

Akin to its function as an attention-getter or conversation opener, sumimasen is

also used pragmatically when signaling the closing of an interaction.

(5) A male patient (P: 40-50) is at the counter and is ready to leave the clinic. After
paying for service and engaging in a bit of small talk with the receptionist (R),
he reframes the interaction, marking his leave-taking with sumimasen.

1 P: Ja sumimasen- ((bows slightly to R and N))

Now then sumimasen-
2 R: A odaijini [nasaimase ((slightly bows back to P))
Oh please take care (Hon)
3 N: 1Kiotsukete-nee
Take care
4 P: ((leaves the clinic))

Free translation
1 P: Then, sumimasen- ((slightly bowing to R and P))
2 R: Oh, please take good care.
3 N: [Take care! ((slightly bows back to P))
4 P: ((leaves the clinic))

” Sumimasen is also one of the conventional expressions used when trying to summon an attendant or
a service person in a store context.
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 519

In this example, the patient, ready to leave the clinic, says ‘sumimasen’ after ‘ja’
in line 1. Recognizing this, the receptionist responds back with a farewell expression
appropriate to the clinic context.
In examples (4) and (5), sumimasen bears the strong pragmatic function of open-
ing or closing an interaction, respectively. In these usages of sumimasen, the degree
of gratitude or regret felt towards the interlocutor becomes rather irrelevant. Thus,
sumimasen is used almost purely as a routine formula in a highly ritualistic manner.
When the ritualistic function of the expression overtakes its semantic meaning, sum-
imasen comes to function in a ‘supportive’ manner, in Goffman’s terms. Referring to
supportive interchanges as “ritualization of identificatory sympathy” (197 1: 65) or
“rituals of ratification” (197 1: 67), Goffman emphasizes their function as displays
of reassurance between the interlocutors. Greeting and saying farewell, telling jokes,
paying compliments, and congratulating someone are examples of supportive inter-
changes that people engage in during their everyday lives. Thus, saying sumimasen
upon opening and closing the interaction allows the interlocutors to exchange sup-
portive moves.
While there are standard greeting formulae that open or close the interaction, such
as kon’nichiwa (‘hello’) and suyoonaru (‘good bye’), the semantic meaning of sum-
imusen examined earlier allows the speaker to leave a sense of quasi-thanks and
apology towards the service that one is going to receive or has received in a public
relationship. Therefore, examples (4) and (5) are cases where sumimasen functions
both as a remedy for the potential offense of engaging in an interaction and as a sup-
portive act of renewing the ongoing relationship between the patient and the clinic
staff.‘*

4.6. Sumimasen us affirmative and confirmational response

In the following two examples, sumimusen is used to respond to the interlocutor

in an affirmative manner or to confirm something within the interaction.

(6a) A female patient (P: 40-50) is in the waiting room. The doctor (D) calls for the
patient to come into the consultation room.

1 D: Tanaka san
Mrs. Tanaka
2 R: Omatase itashimashita
Wait (Hon) we have made (Hon)
3 P: Hai doomo sumimusen
Yes very sumimusen

Free translation
1 D: Mrs. Tanaka.

I2 Shitsurei shimasu (literally meaning ‘I intrude’) is a similar routine expression that is also said in
leaving or entering one’s space in public.
520 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

2 R: Sorry to have made you wait.

3 P: Yes, sumimasen.

In this segment, the doctor calls the patient’s name from the consultation room to
signal that she is ready for the next patient. Hearing the call, the receptionist relays
the message with a formal conventionalized expression, omatase itashimashita
(meaning ‘sorry to have made you wait’ or ‘thank you for waiting’). By responding
with sumimasen in line 3, the patient meets the social obligation of responding to a
call in a face-to-face situation while acknowledging the receptionist’s act of convey-
ing the doctor’s message in a polite manner. Thus, while functioning in a supportive
manner to respond to someone with an affirmative tone, sumimasen also functions in
a remedial way, so as to repay verbally one’s indebtedness about having to be
assisted in service. A further example shows a similar situation.

(6b) The patient is a little girl about the age of two, accompanied by her mother. The
nurse (N) just called her name to come into the consultation room. The girl’s
mother (M) responds to this call.

1 N: Hai Jaa kochi irasshaai

Okay then this way come
2 M: A sumimasen
Oh sumimasen

Free translation
1 N: Okay, then, come this way.
2 M: Oh, sumimasen.

In this case, the nurse calls the girl from the consultation room in a rather infor-
mal manner13 and greets her at the door of the waiting room in order to take her to
the doctor. Seeing that her daughter is to be assisted, the mother says sumimasen to
the nurse. The mother then follows the two into the consultation room.
In this interaction, there are two particularly noticeable functions in the use of
sumimasen. First, the mother acknowledges the nurse’s taking care of her child,
since the nurse’s act is judged as a favorable act, engendering a sense of indebted-
ness on the part of the mother. The use of sumimasen, thus, symbolically marks the
discourse of indebtedness, whether or not the mother is truly thankful for the act.
Secondly, sumimasen functions as a second part of the adjacency pair of a call-
response routine, where the mother’s utterance serves as an answer to the nurse’s
call. While the child is old enough to speak, she is not pragmatically competent
enough to respond verbally to the nurse’s call in an appropriate manner. Thus, the
mother takes the part of the child in responding to the nurse’s call. Her doing so also
functions to preserve the social face of the child and mother, by engaging them in
proper social interaction.

I3 Irasshai (‘come’) is a verb in its stem form, used as a polite directive.

 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 521

4.7. Sumimasen as reciprocal exchange of acknowledgment

A final function of sumimasen, as demonstrated in the following example is that

of an acknowledgment marker in interaction. This function has, in the sense of Goff-
man, the most ritualistic nature of all the functions of sumimasen that I have
described so far.

(7) A female patient (P: 30-40) is in the waiting room, reading a magazine. The
receptionist (R) walks over to the patient to return the registration card.

1 R: ((walks over and stands in front of P))

2 R: [SumimasenI((hands card, bowing slightly))
Sumimasen
3 P: A hai doomo \sumimasen2((receives card, bows slightly))
Oh yes sumimasen

Free translation
1 R: ((walks over and stands in front of P))
2 P: the card, bowing slightly))
3 R: Oh yes. card, bows slightly))

In this example, the patient and the receptionist exchange overlapping sumimasen.
The first sumimasen functions as an affirmative response to the receptionist’s move-
ment in line 1. This implies the patient’s quasi-thanks and apology feeling to the
receptionist for making the extra effort to walk to the patient to hand her the regis-
tration card. The second sumimasen functions as a response to the first one, i.e. as a
response to the patient’s polite manner in receiving the card.
Compared to the other functions I have discussed, this reciprocal exchange of
sumimasen functions as a strong meta-commentary within the ongoing discourse. By
exchanging sumimasen, the interlocutors display symbolic gestures of concern for
each other, acknowledging their reciprocal social relationship in society. This sym-
bolic exchange of mutual acknowledgment functions in a phatic manner to create
rapport between the interlocutors in public discourse.14 The reciprocal exchange of
sumimasen, which in its function resembles the nonverbal act of bowing in public, is
performed in a highly ritualized manner and is supportive rather than remedial in
nature. In verbally acknowledging the other’s act, this function of sumimasen is, to
some extent, also shared by the other functions of sumimasen that I have previously
analyzed.

I4 There are other commonly used fommlaic expressions of mutual acknowledgment that serve to
establish rapport in public discourse, such as okagesamade (literal meaning, ‘thanks to you’) or osewani
naru (literal meaning, ‘1 am being taken care of by you’). The smooth use of these expressions is rou-
tinely practiced in everyday conversation to enforce the social ties between the interlocutors, who share
some type of social relationship. See Mizutani and Mizutani (1987: 39-40) for more detail.
522 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

5. Sumhuzsen and its functions in public discourse

To summarize the above analysis, sumimasen in actual discourse enacts various

functions besides expressing apologies and gratitude. I would like to emphasize
here that these seven functional categories are not mutually exclusive, but overlap-
ping in nature, and it is through these various contextual functions that the socio-
cultural meaning and function of sumimasen emerges (see Fig. 1). As Coulmas
(1981: 79) pointed out, the core meaning emerging through these different func-
tions of sumimasen is the sense of acknowledging indebtedness to others in society.
What, then does it mean to ‘acknowledge indebtedness’ to others in Japanese inter-
action? What is the social significance of this practice in public discourse? Aiming
to provide the answer to the above questions, I first explore the meaning of multi-
ple functionality of sumimasen in light of Goffman’s (1971) concept of ritual inter-
changes. Second, I examine the use of sumimasen as a realization of discourse in
Japanese society that is ‘alter-oriented’ and ‘role-bound’. Finally, I reframe those
pragmatic functions of sumimasen in light of the socio-cultural practice of aisatsu
in Japan.

,’
,’ Affirmation,'\ '**..
/---.

'. --__-
..a. Acknowledgement _=’
-. ,*
-
-. *. marker .-
*. .’
*. .. _-,*
-_ _. *-
-- _. -- ._ _. __-.
._ ____-- .- --

Fig. 1.
 R. lde I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 523

5.1. Sumimasen as remedial and supportive interchanges

When comparing the seven functions of sumimasen, we see that those appearing
earlier in the analysis possess higher denotational or semantic explicitness in terms
of sincere regret conveyed by the interlocutor. This is a case in which the use of
sumimasen bears a remedial function, compensating for the potential offense by dis-
playing feelings of indebtedness toward the other. However, in the latter examples,
the connotational and, thus, the ritualistic characteristics of sumimasen become more
prominent (see Fig. 2). With respect to each of the seven functions of the expression,
sincere apology (4.1), quasi-thanks and apology (4.2), and sumimasen as request
marker (4.3) possess a stronger remedial nature in discourse than the later functions.
However, attention-getting (4.4), leave-taking (4.5), and affirmative responses to the
interlocutor (4.6) are cases in which sumimasen functions both in a remedial and
supportive manner in a single context. In these situations, the ritualistic and prag-
matic use of sumimasen has the function of reinforcing the ongoing relationship
between the interlocutors. The last example (4.7) indicates that sumimasen can be
exchanged in a reciprocal manner which highlights the strong supportive aspect of
the use of the expression. This supportive use of sumimasen is almost purely ritual-
istic, functioning solely for enhanced social rapport.

‘Denotational’ ‘Semantic’
Remedial Sincere apology
A
Quasi-thanks and apology
Request

Remedial Attention-getting/J_eave-taking
and
Supportive Affirmative, confirmational

Supportive Acknowledgment marker

V
‘Connotational’ ‘Ritualistic’

Fig. 2.

Previous studies (Fraser, 1981; Owen, 1983; Kumatoridani, 1988, 1990; Kuma-
gai, 1993) have discussed the general nature of apologies, pointing to the remedial
characteristics intrinsic to the speech act. However, Fig. 2 indicates that sumimasen
in Japanese public discourse functions in not only a remedial, but also a supportive
manner. On the relationship between supportive and remedial interchanges, Goffman
argues that “if two individuals are bound by obligation to accord each other face-to-
face displays of supportive ritual concern, then their coming into each other’s imme-
diate presence establishes conditions such that if no supportive work is performed,
virtual offense will occur, requiring a remedy” (1971: 158). Therefore, remedial and
supportive interchanges both function as displays of sincerity or truthfulness on
behalf of the individual self, and are also used routinely and in a dialogic manner to
affirm the relationship between social personas. In the case of sumimasen, the
524 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

speaker acknowledges his/her indebtedness for being involved in an interaction

which can be, ultimately speaking, a potential offense to the other. Yet, the term
simultaneously functions supportively, or as a form of “ritual offering” (ibid.: 63),
in which individuals provide signs of involvement in and connectedness to another
person in society.
In the next section, I point to two attributes of public ‘selfhood’ in Japan which
are associated with the use of sumimasen in public discourse.

5.2. ‘Alter-oriented’ and ‘role-bound’ discourse

In this section, I delve more deeply into the mechanism by which thanking and
apologizing involve a sense of indebtedness to the other in Japanese. First, the
expression sumimasen, which symbolically implies an inherent feeling of indebted-
ness towards the other, reflects the Japanese speaker’s ‘alter-oriented’ point of view
in public discourse. The act of thanking and apologizing generally involves two par-
ties: a recipient and a provider of benefit (in thanking), and a recipient and a
provider of offense (in apologizing). In a thanking situation, the recipient of the ben-
efit expresses his or her own happiness and the gratitude felt towards the benefit
provider and thanks that person (at least from an English perspective). However,
when we shift our attention to the benefit provider, i.e., the ‘alter’, the point of focus
becomes the indebtedness that the speaker owes to the listener who has brought
about the benefit to the speaker.
When we talk about the strong remedial aspect of sumimasen, i.e., sincere apol-
ogy, what is being presupposed is the intention of the ‘individual-self’, in a Cartesian
sense; this is the criterion used to measure apology and thanks from Austin and
Searle’s speech act perspective. However, sumimasen is often displayed or per-
formed in a ritualized or routinized manner, since its use symbolizes the involvement
of a ‘social self’ with a ‘social alter’. For this reason, apologetic expressions such as
sumimasen can be used in situations where English speakers would use a thanking
expression because, as Kumagai (1993: 297) discusses, Japanese speakers consider
their indebtedness towards the alter to be the most important factor to be displayed
in public discourse. Noting that ‘speaker’s benefit’ is interpreted as ‘listener’s
offense’, Kumatoridani (1988) also argues that the shift of point of view from the
speaker to the listener adds a polite tone to a particular discourse in Japanese (231).
Thus, the use of sumimasen in expressing thanks, apologies, and other functional
meanings represents one of the defining traits of Japanese public discourse, where
the speaker behaves in an ‘alter-oriented’ manner by paying attention to his or her
indebtedness towards the listener. This ‘alter-oriented’ character places the speaker
in a humble position and makes an utterance sound formal and polite.15

I5 While sumimasen denoting one’s sincere apology may be heard in private settings, the ritualistic
usage of sumimasen is not as frequently observed among family members or friends. The use of sumi-
masen in a private setting may sound superficial, insincere, or ironic, since it frames the interaction as
being of a public nature, connoting distance between the interlocutors. While the use of sumimasen is
associated with the ‘alter-oriented’ nature of public interaction, more ‘ego-oriented’ apologetic expres-
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529 525

The use of sumimasen is also related to the interlocutors’ being bound to their
social roles in public. In public discourse, one is usually assigned a certain social
role according to the interactional context, such as teacher-student or service person-
customer. In Japanese public discourse, it is generally a priori preferable to display
the social self rather than the individual self. Therefore, when the receptionist of the
clinic says sumimasen in requesting that the patient pay for the service he or she
received, the receptionist is displaying ritual indebtedness on behalf of her social self
as a clinic receptionist, rather than as her individual self. Thus, the use of sumimasen
is related to speakers’ ‘ role-bound’ selves in public, where the interlocutors verbally
confirm each other’s social standing in the interaction, acknowledging and playing
out their social selves in an appropriate manner.
Coulmas (1981: 88) notes that in Japan, “a smallest favor makes the receiver a
debtor” and that “social relations can be regarded, to a large extent, as forming a
reticulum of mutual responsibilities and debts”. Likewise, the strong group belong-
ingness and the significance of social roles of the individual in Japanese society
require one to be sensitive to any indebtedness towards other people with whom one
has social contact.i6 Therefore, each instance of thanking, apologizing, or just hav-
ing contact with others, in the extreme case becomes an occasion when one implic-
itly or explicitly marks indebtedness to the other and, hence, frames the interaction
as reflecting proper social relationship. Also, by acknowledging the other in public
discourse, one is able to maintain one’s own face as an acceptable member of the
community, as discussed in the next section.
This paper has thus far discussed how sumimasen is used as a ritualistic display of
one’s awareness of indebtedness to the alter as a self possessing a social role. In the
following section, I discuss the socio-cultural meaning of sumimasen in Japanese
public interaction from a more metadiscursive point of view. Particular attention is
paid to the role of sumimasen in terms of the folk notion of aisatsu, which identifies
the appropriate ways of speaking and behaving in Japanese society.

5.3. Sumimasen in light of proper public interaction in Japan

While we have observed that the single expression sumimasen may function in
various ways in the everyday interaction of Japanese people, this does not mean that
sumimasen is the exclusive means for manifesting those seven functions in Japanese
interaction. In fact, the first expression of apology that a child learns in Japanese is

sions such as warukatta (‘I was wrong’), owabino kotobamo nai (‘I don’t have even a word to apologize
to you’) are also used in Japanese discourse. These more ‘ego-oriented’ apologetic expressions convey
one’s sincere feelings of regret and apology, yet cannot be used to perform or strongly imply the multi-
ple pragmatic functions of sumimasen.
I6 Roger Brown describes the self in the East as relational, interpersonal, and collective, whereas the self
in the West is individualistic and autonomous (1991: 1). Brown and Levinson (1987 [1978]: 247)
describe Japan as a “debt-sensitive society” compared to Western societies, which are less sensitive to the
notion of indebtedness or the incurring of interactional debts in social engagements. While I use the term
‘indebtedness’ in my analysis, I do not subscribe to the rather biased view that Japanese people’s psyche
is rooted on the concept of ‘duty’ and ‘counter-duty’ (giri and on), as introduced by Benedict (1946).
526 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

not sumimasen but gomennasai, and the first expression of gratitude, arigatoo.17 The
expression sumimasen is one of the many expressions acquired as a marker of pub-
lic interaction, as socialization advances in one’s course of life. In framing the nature
of sumimusen within the larger picture of public interaction in Japanese society, I
will introduce the key concept of aisatsu, which reflects the Japanese perspective on
appropriate ways of speaking and interacting with others in society.
Generally speaking, aisatsu is a broad folk notion which refers to a wide variety
of fixed verbal formulae and nonverbal rituals that mark demeanor among the inter-
actants.i8 The types of aisatsu range from casual everyday verbal routines such as
greetings like ohayoo (‘good morning’), saying ojama shimasu (literally meaning ‘I
will get in the way’) upon entering someone’s living or working space, thanking and
apologizing when the situation requires, etc. Aisatsu also extends to more specific
cultural and ritualistic behaviors such as bowing, exchanging ‘meishi’ or business
cards, sending New Year’s greeting cards, or bi-annual seasonal gift exchanges
among acquaintances in Japanese society. Summarizing the social functions of
aisatsu, Suzuki (1981: 46) notes that speakers make use of aisatsu to (1) confirm
that some kind of interaction is about to take place, (2) maintain a friendly relation-
ship with the interlocutor, and (3) ritualistically maintain the interpersonal relation-
ship in a smooth, non-problematic manner.
The ability to perform proper aisatsu is often associated with an individual’s qual-
ification as a person who is adequate and mature enough to be a satisfactory mem-
ber of society. Having good command of aisatsu is necessary to become a responsi-
ble ‘social person’ or shakaijin, and this is reinforced both in the public and the
private arena of one’s course of life. As Ochs and Schieffelin (1984) suggest, early
mother-child verbal interactions play an important role in the process of socializa-
tion. In the case of Japan, teaching appropriate use of aisatsu in different social con-
texts plays a significant role in child-rearing. Studying the fixed verbal expressions
routinely used in the child socialization process, Clancy (1986: 216) observes that
the goal of socialization in Japan is to promote a unanimity in feeling that supports
the norms of verbal agreement and empathy. The discipline does not stop within the
private realm of child rearing, but is enforced also in schooling as part of youth edu-
cation. The practice also further continues into the work place, where it is not a rare
situation for new employees in companies and businesses to be trained to use aisatsu
properly. Basically, aisatsu function to mark the social boundaries of the individual,
especially in terms of building his/her social face and persona, aside from the private
persona. Thus, it is important for speakers of Japanese to have the pragmatic com-
petence to manipulate aisatsu in public interaction, so as to mark social relationship
between the interlocutors. This marking of social relationship and the public context
with proper aisatsu is a sociolinguistic practice engraved in the discourse style of
Japanese people.

” Compared to sumirnasen, the expressions gomennasai and arigatoo possess stronger denotational
meanings of apology and thanking, respectively, in a speech act sense.
I* There is no specific English word or notion that corresponds to the concept of aisatsu, the closest
being ‘decorum’ or ‘greetings and farewells’.
 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmtics 29 (1998) 509-529 521

When observing the different functions of sumimasen discussed earlier, it can be

said that the expression functions as a verbal marking of engaging in proper aisatsu
according to the Japanese ways of speaking. Whether one is seeking a remedy to a
serious offense, confirming information, or exchanging sumimasen to create rapport,
the common factor among these interactions is the display of one’s sense of indebt-
edness to the other. This is to say that the use of sumimasen carries a metapragmatic
function in actual discourse. Silverstein (1993: 34) discusses the notion of the
metapragmatic as the nonreductive way of putting language (or grammar) in relation
to social action, in the sense of a sociocultural ‘praxis’. The notion of metapragmat-
its highlights the fact that using language is a sociocultural practice, with its goal
being to enact social relations in groups and societies. Analyzing the use of sumi-
masen within its socio-cultural context, I interpret sumimasen as a kind of ritualized
formula that allows the interlocutors to signal that they are engaging in proper pub-
lic discourse. This routine, proper use of sumimasen, which symbolically functions
to maintain images of the speaker as a member of society, coincides with the func-
tion of aisatsu for public face management in Japan. Hence, the routine use of sum-
imasen is a discursive practice on an everyday level which maintains and reinforces
smooth face-to-face interaction within Japanese society.

6. Concluding remarks

This paper has attempted to resolve the initial question concerning the expression
sumimasen, i.e., why be sorry when being grateful? In concluding, I discuss the sig-
nificance of the analytical approach of this paper.
The approach taken in this study involved a combined interactional and ethno-
graphic perspective. This perspective emphasizes the importance of studying lan-
guage phenomena in terms of two kinds of contexts. The first context is the micro
one: the immediate, strategic, face-to-face, and interactional context. A close study
of the use of sumimasen from this perspective revealed seven interactional functions
of the expression. The second context is more macro-oriented, involving the shared
cultural background and assumptions that speakers bring to all interactions, includ-
ing the core meaning of sumimasen and the metapragmatic notion of aisatsu. It is the
examination of the intersection of these two types of contexts that constitutes my
perspective in this study. This approach led to a discovery of the general relation-
ships between and among such basic communicative functions as greeting, leave-
taking, requesting, conversational ratification and attention-getting, thanking,
demonstrating politeness, and apologizing. By focusing the frame of study on public
interaction, the paper has elucidated the metapragmatic rule that governs these seem-
ingly different speech behaviors in Japanese social interaction. The paper has also
argued that the contextual meanings emerge through each individual situational use
of sumimasen, as enforced through the process of socialization and the everyday
practice of pragmatic usage. Thus, I have attempted to explain the uses and functions
of sumimasen in accordance with the rules and norms of speaking in Japanese pub-
lic discourse, while demonstrating their dynamic and emergent quality.
528 R. Ide I Journal of Pragmatics 29 (1998) 509-529

I would like to conclude by noting that the speech acts of thanking and apologiz-
ing need to be considered as related activities depending on the broader norms of
speaking within the speech community. When observing speech acts in a particular
socio-cultural context, the researcher must delineate the interplay of micro and
macro contexts in order to understand the socio-cultural functions the speech acts
express and enact. The use of sumimasen, as demonstrated in this study, reflects the
fact that the discourse framework of a particular society in its socio-cultural specifics
may alter the way in which we perceive speech acts from a more general, theoreti-
cal, and universal perspective.

Appendix: Transcription conventions

Brackets: Speech overlap.

Hyphens : Halting, abrupt cut off of a sound of word.
Question marks : Rising intonation.
&I) Time pause: Intervals occurring within and between same or differ-
ent speaker’s utterance.
(( )) Double parentheses: Nonverbal movements and scenic detail.
(Hon) Honorific : The politeness level of the word, phrase or the utterance
is high.19

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