(, "role language") is a style of language, often used in works of fiction, that conveys certain traits about its speaker such as age, gender, and class. It is particularly used in reference to the styles of speech found in Japanese-language media such as manga, anime, and novels. Although highly recognisable, it is usually partially or entirely distinct from the real life language typical of the kind of people it is used to represent. The extent and variety of in Japanese can pose problems for translation, especially as it often relies on variation in features such as first person pronouns or sentence-ending particles which are static or absent in languages such as English. The concept was first proposed by Japanese linguist Satoshi Kinsui in 2003. Example The following sentences all have the same meaning; "Yes, I know" sō da yo, boku ga shitteru no sa: boy (or if spoken by a female, a tomboy) sō yo, atashi ga shitteru wa: girl sō desu wa yo, watakushi ga zonjite orimasu wa: noblewoman sō ja, sessha ga zonjite oru: samurai sō ja, washi ga shitte oru: elder doctor so ya, wate ga shittoru dee: Kansai dialect speaker (often associated with comedian, merchant, gangster or a non-English-speaking westerner) nda, ora shitteru da: country person sō aru yo, watashi ga shitteru aru yo: Chinese person (see ) References External links Japanese in Anime & Manga Japanese language Anime and manga terminology Narrative techniques