Konglish (; pronounced as /ko/), more formally Korean-style English (; pronounced as /ko/) comprises English and other foreign language loanwords that have been appropriated into Korean,[1] and includes many that are used in ways that are not readily understandable to native English speakers.[2] [3] A common example is the Korean term "hand phone" for the English "mobile phone".[4] Konglish also has direct English loanwords, mistranslations from English to Korean, or pseudo-English words coined in Japanese that came to Korean usage. Sociolinguistically, South Koreans use English to denote luxury, youth, sophistication, and modernity.[5]
The term is a portmanteau of the names of the two languages and was first recorded earliest in 1975. Other less common terms include: Korlish (recorded from 1988), Korenglish (1992), Korglish (2000) and Kinglish (2000).[6] The use of Konglish is widespread in South Korea as a result of U.S. cultural influence, but it is not familiar to North Koreans.[7]
A possible explanation behind South Korea's acceptance and rapid integration of English into the Korean language and culture may lie in the overall South Korean attitude towards globalization. English-learning has become prevalent in South Korean society, which Joseph Sung-Yul Park, in his 2009 paper, attributes to three primary developments and qualities - necessitation, externalization, and self-deprecation.[8] Park believes necessitation stems from the general Korean belief that learning English is a must to succeed in the globalizing world, whereas externalization refers to treating English as the language of the so-called "other", opposite to the Korean identity. Finally, self-deprecation refers to Park's belief that Koreans think that they are viewed by the world to not be competent in their usage of English.
The English language has become so interpenetrated into the Korean language that English makes up over 90% of the loanwords in the Korean lexicon today,[9] and there continue to be debates among Korean linguists over whether establishing the national language of South Korea as English would be a prudent decision in the globalizing world.[10] In fact, Harkness attributes this development in South Korean society as a sign of South Korean ambivalence towards its engagement with the rest of the world to an extent.[11]
On the contrary, however, North Korea has undergone a systematic purging of its language, eliminating its reliance on foreign influences. In fact, language is viewed not only as a useful tool to further its propaganda, but also as a 'weapon' to reinforce its ideology and the "building of socialism".[12] Today, the North Korean language, which was officially established as "Munhwaŏ", or "cultured language", in 1966, consists of nativized Sino-Korean vocabulary and has eliminated foreign loan words from the North Korean lexicon. These steps first included its decolonization process in an attempt to re-establish a unique "North Korean" identity, eliminating the Japanese language and culture that had deeply penetrated the Korean peninsula during the decades of Japanese annexation. Additionally, it continued to resist adopting loan words from foreign sources, especially when it came to English - thus, there are barely, if any, "Konglish" terms in the North Korean language.
Korea became a colony of Japan between 1910 and 1945. During the colonial period, Japanese was the main language through which English terms of communication were imported into Korea, especially at times when teaching and speaking Korean was prohibited. As Japan actively imported Western culture and technology in the years that followed, the earliest English loanwords evolved gradually through this Japanese influence. For example, one of the well-known words is which originates from the word "coffee".[13] After the Second World War, U.S. culture and language had a deeper influence on Koreans with the arrival of the U.S. army. The popularity of the use of English in the Korean language also increased. According to data at the time, up to 10% of Korean vocabulary came from and was changed from English. Thus, Konglish was adopted with increasing usage during the years of U.S. presence in Korea.[14]
Konglish is relatively understudied and also varies in definition across individuals. However, some experts would agree that its formation parallels that of pidgins and creoles but that it cannot be defined as those categories because it is not yet its own category of English, but it is rather a subcategory of Korean that is conceptualized in the form of English words and phrases, which have been integrated with Korean.
Konglish is ambiguous in its category of linguistics but is similar to the definition of Platt's "New Englishes", which is distinguished from erroneous or temporary forms of English.[15] Konglish aligns with the standards of "New Englishes" by being developed through the education system in an area in which English is not the native language spoken by most of the population, used for a range of functions among the speakers, and has been localized by adopting some language feature of its own such as intonation patterns and expressions.
Many Koreans who immigrate to the United States and learn English have a distinct Korean-English variation, especially in early stages of acquisition. One reason this is so is due to distinct laterals between English and Korean languages, which affects the articulatory and acoustic characteristics of the languages. American English is often described as having "dark" variants, which involves a primary alveolar contact gesture as well as a secondary dorsal retraction gesture.[16] In most cases, English in America is spoken with very little anterior contact in the mouth, and instead uses the narrowed upper pharyngeal area with a retracted tongue dorsum.[17] The Korean lateral on the other hand is considered to be "light" in its acoustic and articulatory characteristics. The two gestures that make up the Korean lateral include tongue tip closure and palatalization, which involves the raising of the tongue body.
According to the Speech Learning Model, learning a second language is easier in later stages of acquisition for laterals that are more different than similar because one can recognize the differences in speech sounds more clearly. This is true for Koreans learning English, as they use distinct articulatory tongue shapes, using a low tongue body and a heavily retracted tongue dorsum for their English word-final lateral, similar to native English speakers.
In loanwords used in Konglish, the dark English lateral is often mapped onto the loanwords Koreans use, showing that Koreans see these loanwords as separate from purely Korean, even though it is used in everyday life.
These two lists of Konglish terms, the second being loan words that arrived via Japanese influence, are intended to contain Konglish terms not readily understandable to a native English speaker, similar to wasei-eigo terms in the Japanese language. Many Konglish terms were invented by Koreans through non-standard abbreviations or combinations of English words or by applying a new meaning or usage to a common English word.[18] [19]
While English words may have reached Korea via globalization, modernization, etc.) social and linguistic factors had an impact in the shift of meaning of the words introduced as they were propagated through the community. An example of a Korean false friend is the word "Korean: 미팅", which sounds like "meeting" in English but means "blind date".[20]
A trend in the naming of apartment buildings in Seoul is blending English words together because developers believe this will enhance the luxury brand image of the properties.[21] Some examples of apartment names with blended English words include: Luxtige, Blesstige, Tristige and Forestige, XI; these words are combinations of luxury, bless, prestige, trinity, forest, extra and intelligence.
Many loanwords entered into Korean from Japan, especially during the Japanese forced occupation, when the teaching and speaking of Korean was prohibited.[22] Those Konglish words are loanwords from, and thus similar to, Wasei-eigo used in Japan.
A simple example would be how the meaning of the English word "cunning" changes when used in a Konglish sentence. In South Korea, keonning means cheating, as the loanword was adapted from Japanglish kanningu (Japanese: カンニング), which means "cheating".[23] Konglish words may or may not have a similar meaning to the original word when used, and a well-known brand name can become a generalized trademark and replace the general word: older Korean people tend to use the word babari ("Burberry") or babari-koteu ("Burberry coat"), which came from Japanese bābari-kōto (meaning "gabardine raincoat") to refer to all trench coats. Coats made by Burberry are called beobeori-koteu (Korean: 버버리 코트), rather than babari-koteu in Korean (as the brand name, entered to Korean language directly from English, is Beobeori). Some examples such as "Burberry" and "fighting" can be considered pseudo-anglicisms as they follow certain traits: use native words in conjunction with an English suffix like -ting or -ism to create a word that does not exist in the English language. The word "fighting" (화이팅)is an instance of this.[24] Words like" Burberry" (바바리) are invented through other means due to social or cultural elements. The use of "Burberry"(바바리) over trench coats can be compared to Kleenex’s usage over tissue.[25]
Compared to Japanese, both English and Korean have more vowels and permit more coda consonants. Oftentimes when Japanesized English words enter into the Korean language, the "original" English words from which the Japanglish words were derived are reverse-traced, and the words undergo de-Japanesization (sometimes with hypercorrection).
Some foreign-origin words such as areubaiteu (Korean: 아르바이트, pronounced as /ko/, "part-time"), a loanword from German German: Arbeit (pronounced as /de/, "work"), are sometimes mistakenly considered as Konglish and are corrected into "accurate" English loanword forms such as pateutaim (Korean: 파트타임, pronounced as /ko/).
There is some debate around whether Konglish is harmful or helpful. Some argue that Konglish has limited benefit to South Korea's international competitiveness, and potentially negatively impacts the Korean language.[26] In contrast, Jasper Kim, a law professor at Ewha Womans University, wrote that Konglish is necessary in a global context and that strict adherence to grammatical rules shouldn't trump getting the message across.[27]
Some argue Konglish can lead to misunderstandings. Native English speakers can be confused by Konglish terms that are used differently from their English analogues.[28] This can have an impact on tourism.[29] [30] When Incheon Airport was first opened, more than 49 English-language signs were found to contain errors.
Some also argue that Konglish exacerbates linguistic divides in Korea. For example, North–South differences in the Korean language. Konglish exclusive to South Korea can be difficult to understand for North Korean defectors integrating into South Korean society.[31] There is also the possibility of rural–urban differences in the usage of Konglish.[32]
Konglish has perhaps been supported by flaws in the education system.[33] Underqualified Korean teachers may perhaps use Konglish in the classroom.[34] [35] [36]
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