Conventionalization and legitimization of lexical borrowings (on the example of the English-Korean language pair)

Lexical borrowings are considered to be one of the most widespread manifestations of linguistic interference. The linguistic innovations identified in the context of linguistic interference are associated with the transformation of existing knowledge structures that are shared within society and are influenced by socio-cultural phenomena. The different ways in which linguistic interference is fixed in the consciousness of speakers of the receiving language are also  reflected in the nature of codification. Therefore, systemic interference results in the transfer and consolidation of knowledge structures in the general fund of knowledge about language (fixation in dictionaries and grammars as a linguistic norm, i.e. legitimisation). Meanwhile, functional interference does not always imply fixation in the general fund of knowledge as a linguistic norm and correlates with legitimisation (i.e. social codification). The purpose of this article is to study the mechanisms and specifics of codification processes of lexical borrowings in the language pair of Korean (South Korean variant) and English. It is important to note the marked asymmetry observed in both lexical borrowing processes (in terms of the number of borrowings recorded in dictionaries and the range of knowledge fields in which new words are borrowed) and codification processes in this language pair. The Republic of Korea has demonstrated a clear commitment to the active legitimisation and conventionalisation of Anglicisms within the national language. This phenomenon is widely considered to be a reflection of the significant role of English as a source of neologisation, as well as the intensity of interference occurring in the English→Korean direction. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has recorded a small number of Korean loanwords in the USA (less than 0.01% of the total number of dictionary entries). However, the increasing processes of social codification attracted by the influence of the phenomena known as the Korean wave.

1. Mozol TS. Language Interference: evolution of the concept, current understanding and correlation with related concepts. Vestnik of Moscow State Linguistic University. Humanities. 2023;11(879):35-41 (in Russian).

2. Kruger H, Van Rooy B. Editorial practice and the progressive in Black South African English. World Englishes. 2016;36(1):20-41 (in English).

3. Baratta A. The societal codification of Korean English. London: Bloomsbury Academic; 2021:224 (in English).

4. Geeraerts D. Theories of lexical semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2010:341 (in English).

5. Miller G. Lexicogenesis. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2014:336 (in English).

6. Britain DJ. Space and spatial diffusion. In: Chambers JK, Trudgill P, Schilling-Estes N (eds.). The handbook of language variation and change. Malden: Blackwell; 2002:603-637 (in English).

7. Britain DJ. Innovation diffusion in sociohistorical linguistics. In: Hernández-Campoy JM and Conde-Silvestre JK (eds.). The handbook of historical sociolinguistics. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell; 2012:451-464 (in English).

8. Wolfram W, Schilling-Estes N. Dialectology and Linguistic Diffusion. In: Brian J, Janda R (eds.). The handbook of historical linguistics. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell; 2003:713-735 (in English).

9. Nerbonne J. Measuring the diffusion of linguistic change. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 2010;365(1559):3821-3828 (in English).

10. Marshall J. Language change and sociolinguistics. Rethinking social networks. Hampshire, NY: Palgrave Macmillan; 2004:246 (in English).

11. Lipka L. Lexicalization and Institutionalization. In: Asher RE (ed.). The encyclopedia of language and linguistics. Oxford: Pergamon Press; 1994;4:2164-2167 (in English).

12. Bamgbose A. Torn between the norms: Innovations in world Englishes. World Englishes. 1998;17(1):1-14 (in English).

13. Brinton LJ, Traugott EC. Lexicalization and language change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2005:207 (in English).

14. Bourdieu P. Sociology of Social Space. Мoscow: Institute of Experimental Sociology; Saint Petersburg: Aleteiia; 2007:288 (in Russian).

15. Mozol TS. Linguistic interference as sociocognitive phenomenon. Vestnik of Moscow State Linguistic University. Humanities. 2024;5(886):78-85 (in Russian).

16. Mufwene SS. The Ecology of Language Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2001:255 (in English).

17. Mozol TS. Language policy of the Republic of Korea in the 21st century. Modernization of Korea: Politics, Economy, Society, Culture. Moscow: VCIOM: Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 2022:234-258 (in Russian).

18. stdict.korean.go.kr: [website]. Standard Korean Dictionary. Available at: https://stdict.korean.go.kr/statistic/dicStat.do#static_menu3_3 [Accessed 12 October 2024] (in Korean and Russian).

19. Choi YK. Understanding Korean Politics. Seoul: History of Korean Culture; 2010:566 (in Korean).

20. Lee JS. Linguistic hybridization in K-pop: Discourse of self-assertion and resistance. World Englishes. 2004;23(3):429-450 (in English).

21. Lee JS. Linguistic constructions of modernity: English mixing in Korean television commercials. Language in Society. 2006;35(01):59-91 (in English).

22. Lee JS. I’m the illest fucka: An analysis of African American English in South Korean hip hop. English Today. 2007;23(2):54-60 (in English).

23. Lee JS. Globalization of African American vernacular English in popular culture: Blinglish in Korean hip hop. English World-Wide. 2011;32(1):1-23 (in English).

24. Lawrence CB. The verbal art of borrowing: Analysis of English borrowing in Korean pop songs. Asian Englishes. 2014;13(2):42-63 (in English).

25. Ryu SB. A study on the standardization of foreign language terminology in disaster management. In: Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Korean Society of Disaster Information. Seoul: The Korean Society of Disaster Information. 2019:321-322 (in Korean).

26. Moon HJ. Analysis of specialized terminology in hairdressing textbook for high schools. Asian Beauty Cosmetics Journal. 2013;11(3):459-463 (in Korean).

27. Ha YuS. Analysis of English loanwords related to fashion in mass media. Master’s Thesis in Education. Chungbuk National University; 2021:82 (in Korean).

28. Lee JS. Discourses of Fusion and Crossing: Pop Culture in Korea and Japan. PhD Thesis. Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois; 2005:614 (in English).

29. Kwon JI, Ha GY. A study on the use of loanwords and foreign words in broadcasting. Seoul: National Institute of Korean Language; 2009:102 (in Korean).

30. Yun YJ, Na YJ. A comparative study of affective responses to Korean and loanword terminology in the clothing and fashion industry. Journal of Emotional Science. 2015;18(1):79-94 (in Korean).

31. Ross NJ. Signs of International English. English Today. 1997;13(2):29-33 (in English).

32. Tan XW, Tan YY. Examining the functions and identities associated with English and Korean in South Korea: a linguistic landscape study. Asian Englishes. 2015;17(1):59-79 (in English).

33. Christian D. Looking at Federal Education Legislation From a Language Policy/Planning Perspective. In: Kathryn A. Davis, Huebner T (eds.). Sociopolitical Perspectives on Language Policy and Planning in the USA. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company; 1999:117-130 (in English).

34. Kang W. The K-pop dictionary. USA: New Ampersand Publishing; 2016 (in English).

35. Kang W. The K-pop dictionary 2. USA: New Ampersand Publishing; 2018 (in English).