Korean Linguistics - Volume 12, Issue 1, 2004

Abstract. This study uses static palatography to determine articulatory positions for coronal obstruents, for five native speakers of Seoul Korean in their twenties. For four of the speakers, affricates are consistently articulated slightly further back on the teeth than stops. However, stops, affricates and fricatives all show contact patterns in the denti-alveolar region. These results may reflect a shift in place of articulation of affricates from post-alveolar to denti-alveolar, for younger speakers of Korean. Gender differences are not observed for contact patterns on the palate, but contact patterns on the tongue do vary with gender. Female speakers in this study use laminal articulations, while male speakers use apico-laminal ones. The plain-aspirated-tense distinction does not affect articulatory measures of place of articulation, or amount of tongue-palate contact, implying that the lax-aspirated-tense distinction need not necessarily involve concomitant place distinctions.

Abstract. In an attempt to understand the variable nature of phonological phrasing in Korean, this study analyzes intuitional judgments of 53 native speakers of Korean who evaluated possible phonological phrasings of simple Subject-Object-Verb sentences: [S]-[OV], [SO]-[V], [SOV], and [S]-[O]-[V]. Analysis of the quantified rating data reveals a strong preference for a subject-predicate phrasing ([S]-[OV]) and a distinct dispreference for the phrasing in which the subject and object were grouped into a single phonological constituent ([SO]-[V]). These preferences are then analyzed in the context of a constraint-based theoretical framework; by extending the Optimality Theory (OT) notion of "ranking" to include not only constraints but also candidates, we corroborate the existence of preference patterns in native-speaker intuitions regarding the phrasing of [SOV]. These patterns are explained by referencing three putatively universal constraints that govern the phonological phrase formation: one that aligns phonological phrases with syntactic phrases, a second that requires phonological phrases to be binary branching, and a third that limits the weight of phonological phrases to five syllables. Although the quantitative data and the proposed OT account are not in complete agreement, the account put forward should encourage further research into a more comprehensive integration of variation studies and OT.

Abstract. Verbal nouns in Korean exhibit properties of both nouns and verbs in that they assign both verbal and nominal cases to the arguments. Such mixed categorial behavior of verbal nouns is manifest only in certain environments, namely in the complement position of ha (a so-called light verb in Korean) and in the complement position of aspectual morphemes such as cwung 'during', cen 'before', and hwu 'after. Due to their mixed properties, the categorial status of verbal nouns in these environments has long been an issue of debate. This paper mainly discusses temporal-aspectual constructions, and proposes that they can be distinguished into three types, Types A, B, and C. Each type of temporal-aspectual construction has a different morpho-syntactic structure. The paper further claims that verbal nouns are inherently unspecified for their grammatical category (following Alexiadou 1997, 1998, Halle and Marantz 1993, and van Hout and Roeper 1998 among others), and different morpho-syntactic structures trigger different categorial status of verbal nouns in these environments. The complex categorial behavior of verbal nouns in temporal-aspectual constructions, then, is not only explained under the analysis proposed in this paper but is also expected.

Abstract. This paper examines the contemporary functions of the Korean pragmatic marker ceki by examining data gathered from naturally occurring phone conversations and three contemporary television dramas. The marker ceki is frequently used in contemporary Korean across boundaries of gender, education, age, region, etc. However, the standard treatment of the marker in dictionaries does not capture the multifunctional characteristics that ceki evinces in the creation and construction of coherent text and in the indexing of the speaker's interpersonal and affective stances during social interaction. Ceki signals topic change and marks discourse transition. By linking independent propositions, states, and events, ceki brings about sequential coordination and intra-textual coherence. This marker also functions for the structuring of text while allowing the speaker to hold the floor by affording the speaker time during the process of information retrieval. In addition, ceki functions as an attention-getter and is an ideal candidate for initiating discourse, especially with the unknown. In the speech contexts of making excuse, apology, disagreement, and request, the pragmatic marker ceki indexes the speaker's interpersonal and affective/empathetic stances vis-�-vis interlocutors in relation to the upcoming utterance.

Abstract. At the beginning of the 21st century, South Koreans have embraced foreign languages with almost unbridled enthusiasm. Most of the enthusiasm is directed toward English of course but, for both economic and cultural reasons, Japanese also looms large. Moreover, the decision by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in October 1998 to open up the country to Japanese popular culture has increased the appetite for the Japanese language, especially among the young. Koreans now study Japanese again; they access Japanese Web sites; they travel to Japan. Yet Koreans' enthusiasm for Japanese is qualitatively different from their appetite for English. Japanese may be learned, but it is to be kept out of the Korean language itself. English loans may be adopted "out of necessity," but not Japanese. The South Korean policy of linguistic purism is aimed explicitly at Japanese, and numerous books, manuals, and pamphlets instruct the public on how to recognize and purge Japanese influences from their speech and writing. Newspapers and other media wage periodic campaigns to do the same. The Korean public generally supports and cooperates with these policies and campaigns, which, for the most part, are surprisingly effective. There are numerous problems with Korean linguistic purism, however, and prescriptive intervention in the Korean language by government and media requires a continued investment of research, resources, and public support. How successful these efforts will be in the face of ever-closer ties with Japan remains to be seen.

Abstract. Ever since Korea was divided into North and South in 1945, the two Koreas have independently launched extensive movements to "purify" the Korean language. Although the two Koreas' movements started with essentially the same nationalistic spirit, the subsequent developments have led to markedly different consequences, mainly due to complete physical separation for over half a century; polarized political, social, and ideological divergence; and the distinct language standardization policies implemented by the two governments, culminating in North Korea's institution of "Cultured Speech" as their standard language as against South Korea's traditional "Standard Speech". This paper examines in what areas purification efforts have been exerted thus far. Specifically, it identifies and discusses the major conceptual goals that motivated the movements: to compare the two Koreas' policies and practices relating to the exclusive use of hankul vis-�-vis the mixed use with characters, arguing somewhat digressively for the importance of character education; to observe the emergence and nature of Cultured Speech vis-a-vis Standard Speech; and to overview the extent of lexical refinements and the degree of divergence. The paper concludes with some general suggestions on methods of linguistic unification.

Abstract. Today, Chinese characters (hanca) and Chinese-based Korean vocabulary (hancae or Sino-Korean) are either embraced or rejected as part of Korean identity. For more than a millennium, Koreans internalized Chinese belles lettres, making Chinese high culture a guiding light for gentlemen. Many Koreans today resent attitudes of satay ('serve the great') or mohwa ('adulate China'). However, others find this cynical self-image distorted or misguided. While the debate about mixed writing continues, the language will take its natural course. Since the "hankul only" policy was adopted in both Koreas, the need for continued use of Chinese has been felt, and policies have fluctuated. Nevertheless, Chinese � slowly coming to be seen as heavy, unclear, and perfunctory � is being abandoned. Hankul is there to stay, although it must keep "reforming" to trace language change. In today's global age, most South Koreans are no longer obsessed with independence. Mixed script with English or other European languages and logography in cyber writing may denote a contemporary educated people, despite strident voices from purists. Such mixed script constitutes an interesting new development in the Korean writing tradition. Whatever may evolve in both spoken and written Korean will be an important manifestation of national identity.

Abstract. Translation and language studies in Korea have been very much influenced by the political and social changes in the country, which in turn affected by its geopolitical positioning. Although each stage of the developments in the language and translation shares the very influence of the social, political and economical changes in the country, language studies and Translation in Korea seem to have developed independently of each other. From Ancient Korea to the present day, language has been through many different developmental stages, from the borrowing from Old Chinese to the invention of hankul. As for translation activities, neighboring countries such as China and Japan have played a key role in the development of translation. They are the source of translation needs, as well as the indirect source of translation from other languages. This paper will give an overview of the history of Korean language and translations of Korean � translation both to and from Korean � by sketching the nation's history. It, however, does not aim to evaluate the relationship between the development of the language study and the translation activities. Rather, it aims to present a historical account of the two.