The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows
The Korean language has a complex honorific system that reflects the social dynamics between speakers, listeners, and referents. Korean honorifics include address terms, sentence endings, honorific words, and the subject honorific suffix -si-. In principle, the suffix -si- should be used only w...
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| Language: | English |
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University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Acta Linguistica Asiatica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uni-lj.si/ala/article/view/19795 |
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| author | Sang-Seok Yoon |
| author_facet | Sang-Seok Yoon |
| author_sort | Sang-Seok Yoon |
| collection | DOAJ |
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The Korean language has a complex honorific system that reflects the social dynamics between speakers, listeners, and referents. Korean honorifics include address terms, sentence endings, honorific words, and the subject honorific suffix -si-. In principle, the suffix -si- should be used only with human subjects; however, in actual communication, it is often used with non-human subjects. This so-called ‘misuse’ is especially common in service sectors, where businesses aim to show extreme politeness to customers. Public media criticizes this trend, arguing that it improperly elevates inanimate objects rather than people. Research on this phenomenon is limited, particularly in the context of everyday conversation. This study aims to investigate the use of -si- with non-human subjects in TV talk show conversations, exploring the factors contributing to this seemingly ungrammatical usage.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3da778baf61844228076c50bf0499deb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2232-3317 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Linguistica Asiatica |
| spelling | doaj-art-3da778baf61844228076c50bf0499deb2025-02-05T12:07:06ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Acta Linguistica Asiatica2232-33172025-01-0115110.4312/ala.15.1.9-30The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-showsSang-Seok Yoon0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6060-5920University of Iowa The Korean language has a complex honorific system that reflects the social dynamics between speakers, listeners, and referents. Korean honorifics include address terms, sentence endings, honorific words, and the subject honorific suffix -si-. In principle, the suffix -si- should be used only with human subjects; however, in actual communication, it is often used with non-human subjects. This so-called ‘misuse’ is especially common in service sectors, where businesses aim to show extreme politeness to customers. Public media criticizes this trend, arguing that it improperly elevates inanimate objects rather than people. Research on this phenomenon is limited, particularly in the context of everyday conversation. This study aims to investigate the use of -si- with non-human subjects in TV talk show conversations, exploring the factors contributing to this seemingly ungrammatical usage. https://journals.uni-lj.si/ala/article/view/19795Korean honorificssubject honorific suffix -si-honorific agreement referent honorificsaddressee honorifics |
| spellingShingle | Sang-Seok Yoon The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows Acta Linguistica Asiatica Korean honorifics subject honorific suffix -si- honorific agreement referent honorifics addressee honorifics |
| title | The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows |
| title_full | The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows |
| title_fullStr | The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows |
| title_short | The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows |
| title_sort | use of the honorific suffix si for non human subjects an analysis of talk shows |
| topic | Korean honorifics subject honorific suffix -si- honorific agreement referent honorifics addressee honorifics |
| url | https://journals.uni-lj.si/ala/article/view/19795 |
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