略歴
東京外国語大学名誉教授。教育学博士（ハーバード大学）。専門は、言語社会心理学。日本語教育学。慶応義塾大学大学院社会学研究科心理学専攻、ハーバード大学教育学部大学院人間発達心理学科言語・文化修得専攻 博士課程修了。ポライトネス理論研究の他、女性、高齢者など社会的マイノリティの視点に立ち、「言葉」がいかに現実認識を形成し、再生産しているかという 観点から、執筆活動を行っている。語用論、言語教育に関連する主な著書・論文に、『言葉は社会を変えられる』（編著）、明石書店（1997）、『日本語の自然会話分析ーBTSJコーパスから見たコミュニケーションの解明－』（編）くろしお出版(2020a）、『自然会話分析への語用論的アプローチ－BTSJコーパスを利用して－』(編)ひつじ書房 (2020b）、「ポライトネス理論の展開（1～5、7～13）」『月刊言語』（1月号～12月号） 、大修館書店（2002）、“Discourse Politeness in Japanese Conversation: Some Implications for a Universal Theory of Politeness,”Hituzi Syobo（2002）などがある。大養協（大学日本語教員養成課程研究協議会）代表理事、社会言語科学会理事、発表賞選考委員会委員長、electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching or e-FLT の国際諮問委員会の委員などを経て、現在は、社会言語科学会理事（2021年4月～）、日本語用論学会運営委員（2020年4月～）、日本語ジェンダー学会評議員。
Mayumi Usami is Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS). Her research interests lie in the social psychology of language and discourse, pragmatics, discourse politeness theory, and AI dialogue systems. She earned her Master’s degree in psychology from Keio University in Japan, and her Master of Education as well as Doctor of Education in Human Development and Psychology, Acquisition of Language and Culture from Harvard University. Apart from research on Discourse Politeness Theory, she also has many publications on how “language” contributes to shaping and reproducing one’s perception of reality focusing on social minorities, such as women and the elderly. Her most notable publications include Kotoba wa Shakai o Kaerareru [Language can Change the Society] (Akashi Shoten, 1997), Nihongo no Shizen Kaiwa Bunseki: BTSJ Courpus kara Mita Communication no Kaimei [Natural Conversation Analysis in Japanese] (Kuroshio Publishers, 2020), Shizen Kaiwa Bunseki heno Goyoronteki Approach–BTSJ Corpus wo Riyo shite [A Pragmatic Approach to Natural Conversation Analysis by Utilizing the BTSJ Corpus] (Hituzi Syobo, 2019), Expansion of the Politeness Theory. Gekkan Gengo, 1-12. (Taishukan Publishing, 2020), and Discourse Politeness in Japanese Conversation: Implications for a Universal Theory of Politeness (Hituzi Syobo, 2002). Since April 2021, Professor Usami has been serving as the director of the Japanese Association of Sociolinguistic Sciences. She is also a member of the management committee of the Pragmatics Society of Japan (since April 2020), and a councilor of the Society for Gender Studies in Japanese. Previously, she served as the representative director of Daiyokyo (AUTP), as director and chairman of the Presentation Award Screening committee at the Japanese Association of Sociolinguistic Sciences, and was also on the advisory committee of the electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching (e-FLT).
