Overview
This talk, by Dr Soung-U Kim, will examine the relationship between linguistic nationalism, standard language ideology and marginalisation in the context of South Korea.
Founded in 1948, three years after the collapse of the Japanese Empire, nationalism and its language ideological expression have been crucial in the construction and reproduction of the South Korean nation state. An essential link between the two was academia, which developed a rigidly monolingualist perspective on Korean language and society.
Pretty much in line with the global zeitgeist, multilingualism and linguistic diversity were perceived as an obstacle to the socio-political unification of the country. With a special focus on South Korea’s island province and ‘honeymoon hotspot’ Jeju Province, this talk explores the wide-reaching consequences of linguistic nationalism and standard language ideology.
Discussing (the somewhat obvious) advantages, as well as negative consequences of this ideological constellation, Dr Kim concludes that successful nation-building does not come at the expense of linguistic diversity. Dr Kim's proposal for an alternative multilingual vision will emphasise the fact that none of us are exempt from perpetuating potentially harmful ideologies, and that seemingly unrelated activities such as teaching a language to non-native speakers abroad can be rather impactful.
Speaker
Dr Soung-U Kim is Assistant Professor (Ricercatore RTDB) for Korean Language and Literature at Università di Napoli L’Orientale. With a PhD in Linguistics from SOAS University of London, his interests lie in the description and documentation of marginalized language varieties, with particular interest in Koreanic-speaking communities, Japan and Western Europe.
Recent years have led him to explore the relationship between nationalism and language ideology, as well as the relationship between descriptive-linguistic research practice and the linguist’s socio-political embedding.
His other interests lie in studying linguistic politeness, Korean music, race and society, and Welsh.
Details
This is a hybrid event, which will take place in-person in the Gatsby Room (Chancellor's Centre) and also on Zoom.
If you would like to attend online, please .
Refreshments will be available for the in-person audience.
Access
This event will take place in the Gatsby Room on the first floor of the Chancellor's Centre. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located each floor of the building.
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