Free English Language Dissertations - The South Korean Language-planners Believe That This Reduction Of Alien
The South Korean language-planners believe that this reduction of alien Chinese characters purifies and therefore makes more precise and clear communication amongst Koreans. This hewing of Chinese from Korean has however met some opposition amongst Korean language-planners: most of whom contend that China’s imminent economic and military world-supremacy makes it sensible for Korea to align itself with China. Phrases such as segyehwa (globalization) and kukchehwa (internationalization) are used in this context, and there are growing calls for the reintroduction of teaching of Chinese characters for young children these being scrapped by Pak Chung Hi in 1970. From a linguistic point too, campaigners for the inclusion of the Chinese symbols argue that they are a gateway to the rich literature and philosophy of China.
The history of North Korean language-planning in the past sixty years is an example of how language can be manipulated to preserve and embalm the doctrines and ideologies of a particular state. When this happens, the function of language reverses so that the quality of communication is reduced. Seeking to distance themselves from South Korea, the north proclaimed the dialect of pyongyang to be the official language of Korea. North Korea spoke of a ‘language revolution’ and of a new ‘cultural language’: though in reality the ‘new’ dialect is hardly distinguishable from South Korean and yet has not kept up with the communicative improvements made by the South Koreans in the past fifty years. The policy of politicizing language began in 1964 with the maltadumgi undong (Language Regulation Movement) produced a revision of Korean orthography and a partial abolition of Chinese characters. Kim Il-Sung proclaimed that all foreign technical words should be expelled and substituted with solely Korean words. This move obviously undermined the technical vocabulary of the Korean language. A further, distressing, policy is the substitution of personal names for men and women if they do not coincide with the convictions of the regime.
In the end, North Korean language-planning is an example of a prudent response to the demands of international commerce and conversation, whilst that of North Korea shows evidence of ossification and its corresponding lack of precision.
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Dissertations - Free English Language Dissertations
