L’immagine del dialetto: il caso dell’immaginario ambivalente del dialetto di Kyōto e la caratterizzazione sociale dei suoi parlanti

The present study focuses on the social image of Japanese dialects. In particular, the author anal- yses the fundamental role played by media in the process of creating stereotypes: It will be ana- lyzed the case of the Kyoto local variation’s image in relation to its speakers as described by the various media. After showing practical examples taken from essays and television programs that vehiculate mainly an ambivalent image of Kyōto and its people, a survey conducted by the author on Kyōto native speakers will reveal the possibility that such image is deeply bounded to the stereotypes created by the various media. The results suggest that the image of Japanese dialects might be strongly influenced by such stereotypes and that it should be clearly distinguished from their real sociolinguistic values.