IntroductionIn addition to the creation of Konglish, a new dialect of English in Korea, the English language has influenced the Korean language itself. This includes the nativization of English and Japanese loanwords (which had in turn been borrowed from English), the Englishization of Korean lexis, and influence on Korean discourse.
English has had extensive influence on Korean for a number of reasons. As an international language, English has come into contact with Korean more than any other language, and knowledge of English is emphasized in business and higher education (Rosa Jinyoung Shim, "Englishized Korean: Structure, Status, and Attitudes"). Interaction between Korean and Chinese has decreased as its contact with English has increased, resulting in the preference of English loanwords over Chinese loanwords. |
English Loanwords from Japan |
During colonial rule under Japan (1910-1945), the Korean language borrowed many words from Japanese, including technical terms, sports and literary terms, and terms having to do with modernization. However, Korean also adopted and changed Japanese words that had in turn been borrowed from English.
Examples Japan borrowed the word "telephone" from English, which in Japanese is directly translated as "electronic speech," or denwa when written in Kanji. When the word is written in Chinese script (used to write Korean at the time) the word becomes conhwa. In other cases there is also semantic change involved. Dorai is the Japanese loanword form English meaning "serious." In Korean the word became ttorai, meaning "crazy." The Japanese loanword from English kanninggu (meaning "to cheat on exams") became the word kkonning (meaning "cunning") in Korean. |
English Loanwords |
Truncation
Truncation is the shortening of borrowed compound words.
In some cases meaning shifted when the word was borrowed.
A word borrowed from English can take on a new meaning and context.
English nouns and verbs are joined with the predicative -hata, adjectival -han, and adverbial -hake
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Englishization of Korean Lexis |
When English words were borrowed by the Chinese and Japanese languages (which occurred before they were borrowed by Korean), they were loosely translated, borrowed with pronunciation, and written with Chinese characters (which are understood by speakers of all three languages). Before these English words were brought to Korea they had already been nativized by the Chinese and Japanese; therefore, the words were virtually indistinguishable from other Chinese-character words already being used in Korea. However, in recent times the original English words are becoming increasingly more prevalent than Chinese-character (CC) loanwords.
English references to sexual organs has gained popularity in Korea. The pure Korean words for "penis" (cot) and "vagina" (ssip) are now used exclusively as slang or vulgarity. The English loanwords for the sex organs (phenisü and pöcaina) are used neutrally. English vulgarity and slang words (bitch, shit, etc.) are also gaining popularity in Korea, although they are not listed in Korean dictionaries. Swearing in English is most popular among women, who are discouraged from swearing more than men are. When women were instructed not to swear in Korean, they simply began to use English profanity instead. |
Phonology |
Unlike English, the Korean language lacks consonant clusters in the initial and final syllables of words. When English loanwords were adopted, the the back rounded vowel /ü/ was added to break up the cluster or prevent a word from ending in a consonant. However, in recent times Korean speakers have dropped the added vowel, resulting in the word sounding even more similar to English than before.
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Information gathered from "Englishized Korean: Structure, Status, and Attitudes" by Rosa Jinyoung Shim. World Englishes Volume 13