국어 청자 존대어 체계의 기술을 위한 방법론적 검토

Abstract

This paper attempts to sidcuss some methodological problems in describing the system of speech levels in Korean. It starts by briefly reviewing previous studies of speech-level classification done primarily by grammarians. The main body of the paper is devoted to presenting the actual organization of speech levels, which is a product of empirical research in a rural Korean village, Cihwali(pseudonym). This presentation consists of the identification of levels and their constituent forms, distinction between levels and its implication of class identity, the current honorific repertoire as a result of cutural contact, and synchronic variability and diachronic change in speech levels. And the whole description emphasizes treating honorifics in their broad ethnographic context. In summary and conclusion, the paper points out that most previous linguistic models on the organization of speech levels have overlooked the close relationship between social classes and patterns of honorific usage. It is addressed, therefore, that an adequate description of speech levels must be based not upon a regional dialect but upon a socially defined group whose members are expected to share both related linguistic and cultural knowledge.