본문 바로가기
  • Home

Communicative-Symbolic Language Shift Link

  • The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea
  • Abbr : 사회언어학
  • 2014, 22(2), pp.135-156
  • Publisher : The Sociolinguistic Society Of Korea
  • Research Area : Humanities > Linguistics

Choi, Jin-Sook 1

1영산대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study sets out to investigate whether communicative language shift to English is associated with symbolic language shift from Korean mother tongue. In order to investigate the issue, the length of stay and English proficiency level were used as variables of communicative language shift to English, and the symbolic language shift from Korean was measured by attitudes towards Korean and English in this study. Eighty two Korean-Australian secondary school students whose mother tongue was Korean participated in the questionnaire survey. As a result, the length of stay in Australia turned out to be an important factor in explaining the symbolic language shift from Korean: the participants' attitudes towards Korean were more negative and their perception of Korean language was weaker, as the stay length was longer. English proficiency also seemed to work as a factor that affects symbolic language shift from Korean: the higher degree of English proficiency the participants had, the weaker the perception of their mother tongue was. Therefore, this study suggests that communicative language shift to English and symbolic language shift from mother tongue cannot be separated; the two language shifts are closely related each other.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.