Student honorifics usage in conversations with professors

The present study investigates student usage (and non-usage) of honorifics (keego) in Japanese conversations with professors. The main data consist of 12 conversations with 22 native speakers participating. It was found that, even though the relative social status of the participants remains the same, honorific usage, including addressee honorifics (desu/masu), varies greatly within the same discourse, as well as among individuals. Unlike what could be predicted from the recent reports that young Japanese speakers rarely use honorifics, a substantial number of the college students in the study did use them, and there was variation in the types of referent honorifics used. Also discussed are referent honorific avoidance strategies used by students.