Hong Min-pyo. 2016. “Research Trends of Japanese Sociolinguistics”. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 24(1). 311~336. This paper provides an overview of the background of emergence and current research trends of Japanese Sociolinguistics, based on the contents of ’Language Life’ that has been published since 1956 in “Japanese Linguistic”, the official journal of the Linguistic Society of Japan (currently the Society for Japanese Linguistics). It introduces the concept of Language Life, the role and research achievements of National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics in study of Japanese language life, the survey on the use of common language in Tsuruoka region, the formation process of common language in Japan, the problem in researches of Japanese language life, the emergence process of Japanese Sociolinguistics, and the special theme discussed in ”The Japanese Journal of Language in Society”, which is the official journal of Japanese Association of Sociolinguistic Sciences. Furthermore, it introduces the current trends and outcomes of the researches of Contrastive Sociolinguistics, Econolinguistics, Welfare Linguistics and Language Landscape. In particular, research trends and outcomes of Welfare Linguistics offer an interesting implication that outcomes of language studies should contribute to the happiness and welfare promotion of social members, as well as pursue new truth.

Abstract
 1. 머리말
 2. 일본 사회언어학의 역사적 배경
 3. 「言語生活」이라는 학술용어
 4. 언어생활의 연구
 5. 일본 사회언어학회의 등장
 6. 최근 일본 사회언어학의 연구동향
 7. 마무리
 참고문헌

• 홍민표(계명대학교) | Hong Min-pyo