Division of Language and Culture／Division of Foreign Studies／Department of Applied Japanese Studies, Division of Japanese Studies Graduate School of Humanities, Osaka University

speech contest

defining “Filipino roots”

Research Notes

This article examines speech contest scripts of Filipinos with multicultural background who participated in an Osaka prefecture-wide speech contest in Japan from 2018 to 2020. This paper has three objectives. First, to identify the themes presented in the contest. Second, to look at the topics in relation to life events of the participants. And lastly, to identify the actors involved in defining “Filipino roots.” The speech contest scripts are viewed as a dialogic exchange, therefore it is “multi-voiced.” While each Wai Wai! Talk contestant has their own framing about being an individual with “roots from outside of Japan,” the students are observed to weave their own experiences with people around them and these individuals’experiences.