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Article published In: Korean Linguistics
Vol. 20:2 (2024) ► pp.127–168

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L2 Korean learners’ pragmalinguistic features

Focusing on making requests in power‑asymmetrical situations

 | Pennsylvania State University
ORCiD logo with link | University of Iowa
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 8 November 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/kl.00010.kim
Abstract
This study investigates the pragmalinguistic features of Korean as a Foreign Language (KFL) learners’ request speech acts in power-asymmetrical situations, focusing on interactions with social superiors. Through a discourse completion test (DCT), 31 KFL students and 12 Korean native speakers (KNS) were analyzed using a coding system which is developed based on the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) (Blum-Kulka, Shoshana, Juliane House & Gabriele Kasper. 1989. Cross-Cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Despite acquiring basic linguistic elements, KFL learners struggle to apply them effectively, particularly in nuanced social contexts. The findings underscore the necessity of explicit instruction on the pragmalinguistic functions of grammatical forms to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world language use. This study contributes valuable insights into the intercultural pragmatics of KFL learners, addressing gaps in the literature regarding the detailed analysis of learners’ language use in request speech acts, especially in situations involving social superiors. The pedagogical implications emphasize the need for enhanced instruction in KFL pragmatics to cultivate learners’ pragmatic awareness.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Data collection
    • 3.3Methods
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1Alerter
    • 4.2Head act strategies and linguistic forms used
      • -e/a cwuseyyo ‘please do something for me’
      • -ko siphta ‘want to’
      • Absence of head act (Hint)
      • pwuthak tulipnita ‘I am asking you a favor/I am looking forward to your cooperation.’
      • A query preparatory modal -(u)l swu issta ‘can’
      • -(u)l swu issta ‘can’ for seeking permission
      • ‘-eto/ato toyta’ for requesting permission
      • -keyss-...? ‘will...?’
    • 4.3Internal modifications
      • hoksi ‘by any chance, maybe’
      • kanunghata ‘to be possible’ and kwaynchanhta ‘to be okay’
      • com ‘a little’
    • 4.4Supportive moves
    • 4.5Honorifics and humble expressions
      • Sentence endings
      • Subject honorific suffix -(u)si-
      • Humble expressions
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Implications for teaching
  • 7.Limitations and suggestions for future study
  • Notes
  • References
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