Toward a linguistic anthropological approach to listening: An ear with power and the policing of “active listening” volunteers in Japan

Abstract

This article develops the concept of an ear with power. An ear with power works through listeners who can, by listening, alter people's speech and other actions. It does so in ways that suit the institutions on whose behalf the listener acts. Unlike approaches focused on the effects of listening in interactions, an ear with power is a triadic relation in process, requires listening to listeners, and shows how absent listeners affect social relations. The article traces the implications of a complaint filed against Buddhist “active listening” volunteers in Japan after the 2011 disasters. Despite not using “Buddhist language” while volunteering, they were reported for “religious‐sounding speech,” which led to the temporary hiatus of their volunteer activities. Analyzing the distributed listening that led to that censure, this article demonstrates how linguistic anthropology might reframe critical analyses of power and governance, which have tended to rely on vision and speech. More specifically, it considers the ramifications of acts of listening that precede the speech that they are imagined to follow, the process whereby listeners come to hear themselves through the ear of another, and the ways that policing listening can alienate listening from listeners.