I just plowed through one of the explanations I was dreading and it wasnt so bad or quite as awkward as I thought it would be. Its rough, but bear with me: Korea has become an imagined community of consumers whose primary identity as Koreans has been supplanted by a new identity of Koreans–as–consumers. Even the language itself—which is always the locus and focus of nationalist to preserve culture—has undergone fundamental shifts that have yielded new grammar forms that have come about as the result of consumptive practices and expectations in the growing service sector in South Korea. One might note how a new form of honorific speech, which I call here fake nopim-mal, now exists in the language. In traditional Korean honorific speech (nopim-mal), and honorific marker (shi) is added in the conjugation of the verb, or alternatively, another verb form is used altogether to honorize the subject and person being spoken about. For example, a simple sentence such as “he goes to the store [Kuh-nun ka-geh-ro gamnida] would be placed into the honorific by saying [Kuh-nun ka-geh-ro gaSHImnida]. This has long been understood to be the proper grammatical structure for the honorific, and linguistic preservation has long been considered to be within the realm of what the nationalists do. One might expect that within the mindset of the hangukinron nationalist paradigm, linguistic integrity would be a central societal concern. However, it has become common practice to use unnecessary and previously nonexistent honorifics in reference to nonhuman subjects that have a relation to an honored guest or client in the service sector. In this way, it has become possible -- and nearly expected as a matter of course and politeness to consumers -- to hear sentences such as The bathroom is to your right [Hwajang-shil-un oreun-jjok-eh-issuyo.] finding expression as The honorable bathroom is to your right. [Hwajang-shil-un oreun-jjok-eh-issu-SEH-yo.] This new grammar form is quite common in the service sector-based consumer society, without much consternation from linguistic authorities or even the media.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:24:26 +0000
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