2023, Vol.31, No.4

The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.57

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

This study investigates the speech act of explanation within a corpus of approximately 243 closure signs posted during the Covid-19 pandemic in Korea. Using a classification system derived from Bella and Ogiermann (2022), the explanations are categorized into four distinct groups. Category 1 explanations are further divided into three subcategories: signs revealing the relationships between government decisions and closures, those with expressions of support for official mandates, and those presenting dissent with closure directives. A comparative analysis between the third sub-category and pandemic-related activities (i.e., My Body My Choice Activities) is also conducted, highlighting similarities and differences. Category 2 centers on safety concerns, emphasizing public health and safety as the primary justification for closures. Notably, this category showcases an elevated sense of agency among sign authors. Explanations in Category 3 combine Categories 1 and 2. Category 4 explanations, which attribute closure to Covid-19, necessitate an investigation of terms referring to Covid-19. It is observed that the naming closely adheres to normative and public guidelines, reflecting a collective awareness of the crisis and a commitment to cooperation. The findings contribute valuable insights into the linguistic and cultural characteristics of explanations within Korean business closure signs, indicating phenomena specific to Korean communities.

This paper critically assesses existing studies on Korean language variation by social strata, proposing alternative approaches to address issues related to these variables. Previous researches have involved papers hierarchically categorizing social strata variables based on common perceptions or assigning weights to them arbitrarily. However, the impact of social strata variables and their weights on language variation remains unknown without thorough data collection and statistical analysis. Consequently, we emphasize the need for a more comprehensive presentation of social strata variables through an interdisciplinary approach taking into account sociological, economic, and political foundations, and stress the necessity of statistical test, observing the influence of each variable on linguistic forms through regression models.

This study aimed to determine the patterns of Korean language learning motivation according to the acculturation of marriage-immigrant women. To this end, this researcher applied cluster analysis to a total of 90 questionnaires based on Berry’s Acculturation Model (BAM), using SPSS to verify differences in Korean language learning motivation by type of acculturation. The cluster analysis of acculturation was classified into four types: Marginalization, Segregation, Assimilation, and Integration. Differences in Korean language learning motivation were analyzed according to the acculturation type. There was no significant difference between the groups, except for the ideal self group, which had high Marginalization and Segregation but low Assimilation and Integration. The results indicate that when types of acculturation change from Marginalization and Segregation to Integration and Assimilation, Korean language learning motivation related to the ideal self can decrease. There are various reasons for this change in the motivation to learn Korean. The current content of the Korean language curriculum is limited to the roles of mothers and wives at home; that is, it reduces their Korean language learning motivation to an instrumental motivation for performing their roles at home, rather than for their personal development. This study revealed that marriage-immigrant women’s motivation to learn Korean can change depending on their type of acculturation. However, the analysis of only quantitative research data is a limitation of the study.