ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the main types of Japanese honorifics and gives a rudimentary overview of their usage in Edogawa Care. It examines the speech level of the interactions, which is arguably the most complex aspect of Japanese honorifics. The chapter focuses on referent honorifics and provides an overview of the most common types of humbling, exalting, and beautifying forms, and how they interact with each other and with other honorific levels. An aspect of honorifics that should not go unnoticed is their usage for the sake of humour and verbal play. A quantitative analysis has shown that the majority of the residents are consistently addressed by their last name plus the person honorific san, which can be considered the default mode in the setting under observation. The low frequency of referent honorifics concurs with the overall preference of non-formal over formal speech, suggesting that the default way of speaking in Edogawa Care is considerably casual in nature.
