A CONTRASTIVE STUDY of NET-LINGO in ENGLISH and KOREAN by JI-YOUNG LEE DANIEL (Under the Direction of Keith Langston) ABSTRACT O
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A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF NET-LINGO IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN by JI-YOUNG LEE DANIEL (Under the Direction 1 of Keith Langston) ABSTRACT Over the past decade, the use of the Internet has become an indispensable part of life in the new millennium. One of the most popular activities in the era of the Internet is online communication. Net-Lingo, which is a product of online communication, is a new language variety that differs from both writing and speech as traditionally understood. Given that Net- Lingo is considered as a language variety (Crystal, 2001), I describe the salient linguistic characteristics of Korean Net-Lingo (KNL) and English Net-Lingo (ENL) respectively, from orthographic, morphological, syntactic, lexical and discursive perspectives, based on written data collected from casual online situations. Along with the descriptions, I investigate the specific mechanisms that govern the observable linguistic characteristics. I also explain why the cross- linguistic investigation of linguistic characteristics of Net-Lingo is important in showing the impact of language contact. The globalization of the Internet is prompting different languages to come into contact online, which is different from a physical contact. As evidence of language contact in electronic communication, I investigate the influence of English on KNL. Net-Lingo 1 To clarify any confusion regarding the composition of my committee, it should be stated that Dr. Baptista directed this dissertation. Dr. Marlyse Baptista , my mentor, was my major professor until she received a position at the University of Michigan. Thus, I have officially changed my major professor to Dr. Keith Langston. I am thankful to Dr. Langston and the Graduate School for allowing Dr. Baptista to serve as a committee member. Even though Dr. Baptista went to Michigan, she promised to direct the rest of my dissertation. I am proud to say that she kept her promise. I took a trip to Ann Arbor during the academic year 07-08 to carry out revisions on this dissertation under Dr. Baptista's continuing supervision. She remains my major professor in my heart. has become so widespread that it is breaking through the boundaries of online communication and ultimately reaching Korean school curricula in South Korea. Based on offline data, I investigate the influence of Net-Lingo on multi-layered offline domains. Given the influence of KNL on Korean language education, I also discuss pedagogical implications by raising questions such as whether KNL should be introduced into the KFL classroom, and to what extent it should be incorporated. Net-Lingo is still in its infancy. There is a need and space for consistent scholarly investigation on the direction of language change. Given the number of significant consequences such as language contact effects, the influence on offline domains, and pedagogical issues, the investigation of Net-Lingo becomes more valuable and robust and in the long run contributes to the study of language change and history. In this sense, Net-Lingo is a window to the future of language. INDEX WORDS: Online communication, Net-Lingo, English Net-Lingo (ENL), Korean Net-Lingo (KNL), Internet language, Telecommunications, Language contact online A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF NET-LINGO IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN by JI-YOUNG LEE DANIEL B.A., The University of Georgia, 2000 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Ji-Young Lee Daniel All Rights Reserved A CONTRASTIVE STUDY OF NET-LINGO IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN by JI-YOUNG LEE DANIEL Major Professor: Keith Langston Committee: Marlyse Baptista Hyangsoon Yi Sarah Blackwell Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2009 Dedicated to my late father, Moo-Jin Lee, and my husband, Ben Daniel iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who guided and helped me through my life as a doctoral student at the University of Georgia, especially for the last few years working on my dissertation. First of all, my deepest gratitude goes to my major professor and mentor, Dr. Marlyse Baptista. Warm-hearted as a person and academically objective as a scholar, it is no wonder that graduate students long for her as a major professor. Her enthusiasm in the academic field and her countless devotion to her students have been simply inspirational, and I feel honored to have her as my major professor; and moreover, to know her as a person. Her sincere support for the topic of my dissertation encouraged me to challenge myself in a new area of Linguistics. Even when other opportunities led her to a position at The University of Michigan, distance from Georgia did not prevent her from advising and supporting me both intellectually and emotionally. Regular discussion with her both online and offline helped me stay on the right track and continue to progress. Her deep knowledge on various aspects of Linguistics provided invaluable insight beyond my expectations. Whenever I felt discouraged by my studies, her encouraging comments helped me stay confident and continue my research. With her emotional support, her critical reading, and valuable input on my paper, she greatly contributed to the completion of my dissertation. She serves as my role model not only as a scholar but also as a human being, and I hope she will continue to be. I will not forget all the moments that I have shared with her. My sincere thanks go to two other members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Keith Langston and Dr. Hyangsoon Yi. Both are specialists in their respective fields; they helped me v see my study through to completion. I am grateful to Dr. Keith Langston, who provided valuable suggestions and comments on various aspects of my dissertation. His passion for scholarship and personal work ethic, which I witnessed in his classes and in discussion with him on Korean data, have opened up to me the breathtaking world of Linguistics, and he showed me how to be a true linguist. Despite his busy schedule with both his academic and administrative responsibilities, his willingness to give me advice in analyzing Korean data certainly enriched my dissertation. I am also very thankful to Dr. Hyangsoon Yi, who not only provided timely direction on my research, especially on my Korean data, but also inspired my interest in Korean linguistics and Korean language education. I am grateful for Dr. Yi’s role in allowing me to teach Korean to undergraduates; I have gained a first-hand understanding of KFL (Korean as a Foreign Language) pedagogy, and I have met many remarkable students along the way. The future of the Korean Program at Georgia is bright. Finally, I will also treasure her thoughtful remarks, which encouraged me during difficult times in my graduate studies, and her genuine willingness to share her previous experiences as a graduate student and as a daughter. My years of graduate study would not have been possible without my family in South Korea, whom I miss in every moment of my life. I thank my parents who gave me an opportunity to study in the United States. I appreciate my mother who has always prayed for me and has been cheering me up. I also thank my late father who always believed in the value of education and inspired me to pursue a PhD. To him, I dedicate this dissertation. I believe that he is going to give me a big smile and a big hug in my dream. Without their support and unconditional love, I could not have come this far in my education. I will never be able to thank my husband, Ben, enough for his endless love, encouragement, sacrifice, understanding, patience and prayer. He brings joy and laughter to my vi life, and it is an invaluable source of energy. His continuing faith in me is cherished. He made my goal of earning a PhD his goal from the beginning to the end. Without his support and belief in me, I doubt that I could have completed my dissertation. Thank you for being my best friend and soul mate. Finally, I thank God who shows His love in my life in so many ways, but especially through those aforementioned. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Objectives of the Study ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Development of ENL and KNL ............................................................................... 3 1.3 Demographics of Korean and English Netizens ............................................................. 7 1.4 Net-Lingo: Writing or Speech? ..................................................................................... 14 1.5 Defining Net-Lingo ....................................................................................................... 18 1.6 Significance of Net-Lingo............................................................................................. 21 1.7 The Organization of the Study .....................................................................................