Small talk - Small talk

A type of storytelling. It refers to the kind of gossip that is discussed in everyday conversation. It is usually in the form of hearsay, such as "It is said that..." or "It seems that...", rather than talking about direct experiences or facts. Before the development of media for transmitting information such as mass communication, contact between people was the basic form of obtaining information, and in traditional Japanese society, when people gathered, they often talked about various things. Gossip is, so to speak, the news stories of that era. There are topics that are highly newsworthy and disappear on the spot, but interesting topics are often categorized as literary works, and therein lies the significance of gossip as a storytelling. Old tales are often told as if they were facts. "Funny stories" also easily become gossip when accompanied by proper nouns. Stories about foolish villages and clowns are examples of this. Stories about strange phenomena, such as "monster stories" and "animal tales of gratitude", are often discussed when combined with proper nouns. Because of the reality of the subject matter, "stepchild stories" have become everyday talk and are sometimes passed down as if they actually happened in other places.

Even in modern urban society, small talk maintains its vitality. Stories such as "Boots on the Telegraph Wire," in which a package was dangling from a telegraph wire to be sent, and "The Phantom Train," in which a fox or a raccoon dog transformed into a train and ran along the tracks, are not only told throughout Japan, but also in the United States and Europe. The "ghost taxi," in which the woman riding in the car turned out to be a ghost, has repeatedly become a topic of conversation as a new phenomenon in the United States, Japan, and related areas since around 1935 (Showa 10). The stars of modern machine civilization have also been incorporated into jokes and strange tales, becoming the material for small talk. In modern times, rumors have become linked to mass communication and become very popular as small talk, such as the "mouth-mouthed woman" that became popular around 1979. It can be said that the information society has increased the propagation power of small talk.

[Yo Kojima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

説話の形態の一種。日常的な談話のなかで話題に供する噂(うわさ)話のたぐいをさす。直接の体験や事実を語ろうとするのではなく、「――であるということだ」「――だそうな」といった伝聞の形をとるのが普通である。マス・コミュニケーションのような情報伝達の媒体が発達する以前は、人と人との接触が情報を得る方法の基本形態で、日本の伝統的な社会では、人が集まると、なにかと世間の話題に花を咲かせることが多かった。世間話は、いわば、そうした時代のニュース・ストーリーである。その場で消えてゆくニュース性の強い話題もあるが、興味をひく話題は、むしろ文芸として類型化したものが多く、そこに説話としての世間話の意義がある。昔話が事実譚(たん)のように語られることも多い。「笑い話」も、固有名詞を伴って、世間話化しやすい。おろか村やおどけ者の話はその例である。怪異譚も「化け物話」や「動物報恩譚」などが固有名詞と結び付いてよく話題にのぼる。「継子(ままこ)話」も、その素材の現実性から世間話になり、よその土地で事実あったことのように伝えられることもある。

　近代的都市的社会でも、世間話は生命力を維持している。電信線に荷物をぶら下げて送ろうとした「電信線にブーツ」や、狐(きつね)や狸(たぬき)が汽車に化けて線路を走った「幻の汽車」なども、日本の各地で語られているだけではなく、アメリカ合衆国やヨーロッパなどにもある。自動車に乗せた女の人が幽霊であったという「幽霊タクシー」は、1935年（昭和10）前後から、アメリカ合衆国、日本、それにその関連地域で、繰り返し新しいできごととして話題になってきた。近代機械文明の花形も、笑い話や怪異譚に取り込まれ、世間話の素材になっている。現代では、1979年ごろ広まった「口さけ女」のように、噂話がマス・コミュニケーションとも結び付いて、世間話として大流行するような現象もおこっている。情報化社会は、世間話の伝播(でんぱ)力を増大しているともいえる。

［小島瓔］

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