KJC Korea
Journal Central

Kim, Jung-woo. 2006. A Study on the Aspects of Expression of Identity in E-mail IDs. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 14(1). The aim of this study is to uncover the characteristics of expression of identity in e-mail identification (ID). At the present, people live in two societies. One is the real society and the other is virtual society. To live in each society, people must have their own unique identity. A person's identity in real society is ascribed by his/her social status. However, in virtual society, one can create an identity in his/her individual way. Name and e-mail ID are very effective ways to distinguish one from others in each society. Therefore, in this study, the ways of creating an e-mail ID are researched and nine aspects of making an identity by using language is examined. As a result of this research, it is concluded that an e-mail ID has distinctive characteristics that a family name does not, which stem from spontaneity and creativity.

Yu, Kyong-ae. 2006. Impact of Culture in Communication: Different Verbal Styles and Miscommunications. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). Verbal interaction styles reflect the overall values and patterns of a culture. As Hall (1976) suggests, meaning or intention in low-context communication is best expressed through explicit verbal messages, while in high-context communication it is best conveyed through context and non-verbal channels such as pauses, silence and tone of voice. If different verbal styles are ignored or not understood, miscommunication may occur in cross-cultural communication, which may contribute to communication conflict or even hostile stereotyping (Milroy 1984: 26). Understanding of communication rules, sociocultural norms, and inferences involved in conversation are being accorded greater importance in language teaching and learning for effective communication in intercultural interactions. This paper introduces different communication styles based on cultural diversity, discusses the extent to which Korean EFL students are concerned with English pragmatic strategies, and analyzes Korean language and culture influence on their communication styles in English speech. This paper shows that Korean EFL students attempt to follow English styles in English conversation but their communication styles in English are largely influenced by their native language and culture, which can lead to miscommunication and conflict in intercultural interactions.

Lee, Keun-mo. 2006. Ambiguous Words in the Lives of Japanese People. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). There are many ambiguous words amid the linguistic lives of the Japanese people, and the reasons include the following. First, in terms of the Japanese language, its vocabulary is comprised of over 720,000 words, compared to that of syllables, the minimal unit in pronunciation, consisting of just 112 units. The structure of the Japanese language is composed of (1) wago, the original Japanese language of history, (2) Chinese characters, introduced from China, (3) borrowings, originating from the West, and (4) hybrid words, formed by a combination of these languages. Thus, there are many points in which vocabulary use is complex and confusing. Second, compared to the West being nations of hunting and livestock rearing, the Japanese people are an agricultural nation, and as such, priority is placed on the goal of achieving group unity and harmony rather than on the individual. As a result, the linguistic behavior has developed towards a direction that emphasizes politeness and deference and prescribes taciturnity or reserved speaking. Consequently, verbal communication becomes ambiguous due to consideration of others.

Yim, Young-cheol. 2006. A Study of Language Identity in Immigrant Communities. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). This is a report on the linguistic life of Korean-Americans and Korean-Chinese, i.e., immigrants and their descendants who reside in the United States and China (mainly in Manchuria), respectively. A field study was conducted in the United States and China on the immigrants' consciousness and attitudes of the use of languages, i.e., Korean vs. English, and Korean vs. Chinese, respectively. Here, the transformation of Korean and what factors were responsible for changes in both communities were examined. Observation shows that first, Korean- Americans maintain a closer relationship with native Koreans than the Korean-Chinese do. However, the Korean-Chinese maintain a stronger community relationship among themselves. Second, Korean-Chinese maintain more coherent racial homogeneity than the Korean-Americans. Third, Chinese-Koreans seem to more easily adapt to Chinese culture than Korean-Americans do to American culture. Fourth, food is the most well-inherited and preserved culture in both communities. Fifth, Korean-Americans regard Spanish as a second foreign language; the Korean-Chinese people Japanese or English. Lastly, for both groups, there seem to be generational differences regarding language use and culture.

Jeong, Yeo-hoon. 2006. A Study on the Types of Newspaper Headlines and Their Realizations. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). This study is to analyze newspaper headlines in terms of text linguistics by categorizing the types of newspaper headlines and considering their realizations. The newspaper headlines are categorized according to textuality, mainly to the editor's intentionality and the headlines' informativity. The headlines are divided into two major classes which are the informative and the attention-attracting types according to the editor's intentionality. The informative headlines present their information directly by summarizing or quoting the news story, whereas the attention-attracting headlines present information indirectly by decreasing the amount of information or rather minimizing the amount of information given. To present information indirectly through the headlines, the editor expresses his own attitude and feelings concerning the news using grammatical elements or words that express how the editor judges and feels about the news, and also some expressive devices such as metaphors, parodies, idioms or proverbs. Lastly, information-minimized headlines which attract the readers' attention the most are categorized into two types: elliptical style and interrogative style. As a result of this analysis, it is noted that the attention-attracting headlines are realized in fairly complex patterns compared to the patterns of informatives, and that this could be considered as one of the strategies that the editors use to attract readers to an ensuing news story.

Cho, Tae-rin. 2006. Positions on the Status and the Signification of Sociolinguistics. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). The purpose of this article is to examine the status and the signification of sociolinguistics by providing a comparative analysis of the various positions on this issue. Numerous positions have been distinguished too simply by denominations such as ‘OO sociolinguistics’ but have to be classified by criteria which show their essential difference (i.e., sphere of the object of study, relation with neighboring fields, autonomy as a field of science, epistemological viewpoint, consideration for the language user, viewpoint of the society, relation with real problems, etc.). After a brief examination of the logic, persuasiveness and limits of each position, this article clarifies its own position by offering a conceptual definition of sociolinguistics as a ‘study of the dynamic interaction between language, language user and social structure from a trans-disciplinary, hermeneutic and participatory point of view’. This discussion will contribute to elucidating the nature and the actual reality of sociolinguistics and exploring ideal ways toward its future development.

Jin, Jae-hee. 2006. A Study of the Institutional Talk Characteristics of the Medical Interview in Terms of Functional Stages. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). This study examines how asymmetry is produced in medical interviews as institutional interaction. In medical interaction, there are two primary asymmetries caused by status and power differences: the asymmetry of knowledge and the asymmetry of tasks between participants. For this research, dialogues between a doctor and his patients were investigated. In terms of analysis, this paper identifies five functional stages into which the procedures of a medical interview are arranged: opening, examination, diagnosis, prescription, and closing. As a result, two distinct exchanges were found: the question-answer sequence and the directive-response sequence. First, initiation of each sequence was conducted mainly by the doctor at each stage. A distinctive feature of the exchange was that the doctor's questions at the introduction stage did not have any special purpose but were just an automatic courtesy greeting. The doctor's initiations were usually followed by the patient's response without any interruption. Second, the directive-response sequence was the most distinct phenomenon at the prescription stage. Two different forms of directives were used: warning and advising. The doctor's directives had two functions. The first function was to maintain the doctor's institutional authority and the second was to gain patient compliance with the doctor's directives.

Heo, Jae-young. 2006. The Nature of Literacy in Textbooks for Women's Education in the Modern Enlightenment Period. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 14(1). This study investigated the nature of literacy in textbooks for women's education in the modern enlightenment period. Expectations of literacy in textbooks greatly differs from the literacy level of people in reality. Although textbooks are the means for realizing educational goals, the implications of literacy presented can vary according to the educational system, textbook writers, and target audience. This examination of textbooks for women's education in the modern enlightenment period focused on various aspects such as changes in the content presented and the language used (e.g., Hangeul, translations from Chinese classics, Chinese characters). Textbooks for women's education in the modern enlightenment period reflected the plight of women who strived to acquire knowledge but were limited by literacy and the duties of everyday life. There seems to have been a great divide between the literacy level of these women in reality and that presented in educational texts. Consequently, attempts were made to understand women's life in the modern enlightenment period by investigating the acquisition of literacy by women and the processes involved in women becoming full-fledged members of society.

Hong, Mi-ju. 2006. A Study on the Relation between Actual Pronunciation and Attitudes toward Standard Pronunciation. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 14(1). The objective of this study was to investigate university students's pronunciation, their knowledge of standard pronunciation, attitudes toward standard pronunciation through a questionnaire on the relation between actual pronunciation and attitudes toward standard pronunciation. Analysis of the questionnaire shows several notable results. University students make nonstandard pronunciation such as ㅅ→ㅆ, ㅈ→ㅉ in initial positions and in consonant clusters of a declinable word stem ㄺ→ㄹ, ㄼ→ㄹ. University students also show a good knowledge of orthoepy. They tend to think that people should follow orthoepy as much as possible but at the same time, people can make use of nonstandard pronunciation if the pronunciation is easier for speaker. The result on attitudes toward orthoepy showed that if a speaker's own pronunciation corresponds with standard pronunciation, people think they should observe orthoepy. Results regarding the pronunciation of consonant clusters of a declinable word stem ㄺ→ㄹ, ㄼ→ㄹ, suggest that standard pronunciation of a declinable word stem ending in ㄺ, ㄼ should be modified.