Based on in-depth analyses of Japanese, my research focuses on issues that emphasize the importance of context in understanding the structure, meaning and use of language. I have worked on pragmatics of linguistic constructions (e.g. frame semantics of noun-modifying construction, reference, honorifics, discourse markers) and sociocultural aspects of discourse (e.g. politeness theories, speech acts, bilingualism, relation among language, gender and age, ideology, and identity reflected in Japanese as a second language). Topics of my current research center around conversational narratives (especially of older women), integration of pragmatic factors in construction grammar, and typology of noun-modifying constructions.