Second Cultural Post SDLC 110: Formality and Informality in Target Language

[Taiyaba Ali]

Formality is extremely important in Korean culture. In fact in Korea, there are about six formal speech forms and one informal form in Korean. Depending on status/rank, familiarity, and age, Koreans will choose whether to address one another in informal or formal speech. The standard polite ending uses ““–요” to indicate formality. It is crucial to address one another in the correct manner in Korea. If one were to talk to an elder or stranger in the informal form, it would be seen as odd in Korea, or even as disrespectful of the culture. This is something I am curious to see how much we learn about as an Introductory class. Will we learn all forms of formality? What are the most commonly used versions of formality forms used? Or will we just focus on informality as it is an introductory class? These are just some of the questions I have about formality and informality pertaining to my Korean class.