This research investigates perceptions that Gyeongsang dialect speakers have about the Korean language and their language attitudes toward the Gyeongsang dialect and standard Korean. In previous research, most participants’ home dialect was overwhelmingly rated as "most pleasant”; however, only Gyeongsang dialect speakers did not view their home dialect positively but rather rated standard Korean as “most pleasant” (Jeon 2013; Kang 2010).
The following research questions were addressed: (1) Where do Gyeongsang dialect speakers perceive differences in the Korean language? (2) What characteristics do they associate with those differences? and (3) How do Gyeongsang dialect speakers feel about their own dialect compared to standard Korean?
Participants were asked to draw a boundary around each part of Korea where they believe people speak differently and label those areas on a map accordingly. Participants also responded to a questionnaire concerning language attitudes toward standard Korean and Gyeongsang dialect. A total of 521 informants participated; they ranged in age from 20 to 58 years. All have lived in Gyeongsang province for at least 20 years.
Previous studies claimed that Gyeongsang dialect speakers are linguistically insecure, and they suffer from a dialect inferiority complex. In the present study, at first glance it may also seem that Gyeongsang dialect speakers viewed their own dialect negatively and viewed standard Korean positively. However, the data show that there is a mixture of dialect inferiority and regional pride assigned to the Gyeongsang dialect; Gyeongsang dialect speakers value highly for Gyeongsang dialect in solidarity, but they have a low regard for Gyeongsang dialect in status.
Furthermore, the language attitude survey shows two interesting results: (1) there are significant social pressures towards the Gyeongsang dialect; and (2) Gyeongsang dialect speakers believe that standard Korean speakers mimic the Gyeongsang dialect to covertly index negative stereotypes of Gyeongsang dialect speakers and simultaneously to indirectly index standard Korean as "an unmarked normative order."
- Jeon, L. (2013), Drawing boundaries and revealing language attitudes: mapping perceptions of dialects in Korea (Master’s thesis, University of North Texas).
- Kang, H. S. (2010), Chungnam Residents’ Consciousness of Dialect Boundaries, and Recognition, Sociolinguistic Society of Korea,18, 249- 286.
