ABSTRACT
The terms etie and ernie have become part of the standard vocabulary of social science. Although these terms have their intellectual origins in anthropological linguistics, the issues concerning etie and ernie approaches are relevant to the allied social science disciplines. The problems that arise when 'translating' a conceptual framework from one language to another are relevant insofar as these disciplines engage in cross-cultural or comparative research. Because many of the descriptions of Japan are implicitly comparative it is fitting to consider the ramifications of the ernieerie distinction and its significance for cross-disciplinary research concerned with understanding Japan both in its own terms and in comparison with other societies. The ernie-etie distinction concerns not only the question of whether cultures can be compared, but also more fundamental epistemological issues. This chapter explores some major issues raised by the ernie-etie distinction and identifies
somemethodologicalissueswhichrequirecarefulconsiderationin cross-culturalresearch.
