Journal article
The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows
Acta linguistica asiatica, Vol.15(1), pp.9-30
01/31/2025
DOI: 10.4312/ala.15.1.9-30
Abstract
The Korean language has a complex honorific system that reflects the social dynamics between speakers, listeners, and referents. Korean honorifics include address terms, sentence endings, honorific words, and the subject honorific suffix -si-. In principle, the suffix -si- should be used only with human subjects; however, in actual communication, it is often used with non-human subjects. This so-called ‘misuse’ is especially common in service sectors, where businesses aim to show extreme politeness to customers. Public media criticizes this trend, arguing that it improperly elevates inanimate objects rather than people. Research on this phenomenon is limited, particularly in the context of everyday conversation. This study aims to investigate the use of -si- with non-human subjects in TV talk show conversations, exploring the factors contributing to this seemingly ungrammatical usage.
Korejščina ima zahteven način izražanja spoštljivosti, ki odraža družbeno dinamiko med govorci, sogovorci in referenti. Korejski spoštljivi govor se izraža z rabo nazivov, stavčnih končnic, spoštljivega besedišče in pripone -si-. Slednja izraža spoštljivost do osebka v stavku in se praviloma uporablja v primerih, ko je osebek človek. Vendar se v dejanski komunikaciji pogosto uporablja tudi, ko osebek ni človek ali je celo stvar oziroma pojem. Ta ‘nepravilna raba’ je še posebej pogosta v storitvenih sektorjih, kjer želijo ponudniki strankam izkazati prekomerno spoštljivost. Javni mediji kritizirajo tako rabo in trdijo, da se z njo povzdiguje stvari in pojme namesto ljudi. Raziskave o tem pojavu so omejene, zlasti v kontekstu vsakdanjega govora. Namen študije je v pogovorih televizijskih oddaj raziskati rabo pripone -si-, ki se nanaša na nečloveške osebke, ter raziskati dejavnike, ki prispevajo k tej na videz neslovnični rabi.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows
- Creators
- Sang-Seok Yoon
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Acta linguistica asiatica, Vol.15(1), pp.9-30
- DOI
- 10.4312/ala.15.1.9-30
- ISSN
- 2232-3317
- eISSN
- 2232-3317
- Number of pages
- 22
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/31/2025
- Academic Unit
- Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures; World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- Record Identifier
- 9984787178302771
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