The existence and use of Korean honorifics is an example of how culture, social structures, and linguistics complement and interact with one another. The use of honorifics is common, if not socially mandatory, to show varying levels of respect between Korean speakers of different ages and social statuses (TVTropes). While watching Korean shows, I would regularly hear characters using honorifics like 씨, which is attached to the end of someone’s name to show that speaker is of the same or lower social status than the person spoken to, unless, as TVTropes points out, it is use at the end of a surname which would then indicate that the speaker is of a higher social position than the person spoken to. The use of honorifics is not limited to the expression of social status, it is also a way to express sentiment and the relative relationship of the speakers: the use of honorifics is dependent on the relationship that the speakers have with one another as “vertical distance (gender, age) and horizontal distance (the degree of intimacy)” directly influence the use of honorifics (Ku iii). This serves to show the importance of the use of honorifics in daily conversations: if executed incorrectly, one may be considered rude and disrespectful.
Bibliography
Ku, Jeong Yoon. Korean Honorifics: A Case Study Analysis of Korean Speech Levels in Naturally Occurring Conversations. Australian National University, 2014.https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/12376/1/Ku,%20J%20Y%20Masters%20sub%20thesis%202014.pdf.
TVTropes. “Useful Notes / Korean Honorifics.” TV Tropes, http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/KoreanHonorifics.
Comments