2023, Vol.31, No.1

The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.57

pISSN : 1226-4822
https://journal.kci.go.kr/socioling

By adopting conversation analysis, this study examines how action formation and understanding displays construct a socially inept and humorous character in the TV sitcom, The Office. The analysis revealed two recurrent patterns in the main character’s interactions—improper action formation and insufficient understanding displays. Specifically, the findings showed that the main character, Michael, was construed as one that is unaware of his uncanny actions and unable to understand the interlocuter’s inferential and sarcastic remarks. The inserted interview scenes also highlighted that a conversational norm has been violated and contribute to the characterization of Michael as a quirky, socially incompetent worker. As a result, the collective sender is not only able to establish common ground with the audience but also dramatize the humorous potential of the episode. These analytic findings demonstrate that CA can be a rigorous tool for revealing the specific interactional devices that are exploited by scriptwriters to configure characters and infuse comical elements into TV sitcoms.

This paper aims to investigate Korean EFL learners’ pragmatic performance in request speech acts in comparison with native speakers of English. Written discourse completion tasks (WDCT) are used to examine how native and non-native speakers request in terms of request strategies, internal modifications, and external modifications. The results show that first, Korean learners had a higher frequency of inappropriate strategies than native speakers. Second, they lacked the quantity and variety of internal modifications both lexically and syntactically. However, regarding external modifications, their use of supportive moves was similar to that of natives in frequency and order. In addition, this study identified newly emergent supportive moves that are Korean-specific and detrimental to communication goals. The findings shed light on pragmatic instruction in the Korean EFL situation by providing research-informed data. Several pedagogical implications are suggested for application in teaching.

This study examines the relationship between the Korean Language Institute (KLI), established at Yonsei University after 1959, and the Korea Inter-Mission Language Committee (KIMLC), which represented the Protestant missions in Korea at the time. The existence of the KIMLC and its relationship with the KLI had not been reported until now. The evidence for this study is primarily found in records collected from the archives of the Presbyterian Historical Society. These records indicate that the KIMLC was the successor to the Yonsei Language School Consultation Committee, which was responsible for establishment of the Korean Language Institute at Yonsei University and qualified as the official agent for Korean language learning for missionaries. Futhermore, I discovered that KIMLC was actively involved with KLI through the mid-1960s, advising, participating in, and auditing KLI's Korean language programs. Moreover, from the late 1960s onward, as KLI expanded its language education programs, the KIMLC's role in teaching Korean to missionaries diminished, thus allowing KLI to develop into a more independent institution.