This paper addresses the paucity of research on women’s language use in regional Japan by investigating Iwate Dialect (ID) and Japanese Women’s Language (JWL) in face-to-face interactions among women in northeastern Japan. By bringing a consideration of region to bear on investigations of women’s language use in Japan, the aim is to contribute to work that breaks down essentialist categories of “the way Japanese women speak” to a more fruitful focus on the range of resources women employ in situated interactions.

Analysis is based on ethnographic data and a close analysis of interactions, and focuses on speakers’ use of ID and JWL as devices for negotiating roles. Findings show ID is used by speakers in hesitating to take on a high-status role, and to mitigate direct challenges to claims made by other participants. JWL features are used when reiterating a point or disclaiming a role.