Nourishing Through Dialects of Care: Linguistic Hospitality and Identity in a Hiroshima Kodomoshokudō.

This study investigates how speaker identity is constructed through language in kodomoshokudō (children's diners) in Japan, focusing on Chikako Nakamoto, who operates Motomachi no Ie in Hiroshima Prefecture. Drawing on documentary data, the analysis highlights Nakamoto’s use of routine expressions like *okaeri* ("welcome home") and *erakatta* ("well done"), alongside frequent shifts between the local Chūgoku dialect, Standard Japanese (SJ), and sparse honorifics. Nakamoto’s predominantly dialectal and informal speech style, including expressions considered vulgar or masculine by SJ norms, reflects her marginalized social position and a “vicarious” relationship with SJ, which she rarely claims as her own. Her linguistic practices foster intimacy, authenticity, and a maternal authority that challenges traditional Japanese women’s language ideologies, creating a supportive environment for vulnerable youth in this community-based food-sharing space.