By Steven L. Shields
In recent years, periodic updates of the Oxford English Dictionary have added many Korean-language words, albeit romanized, to fit the English language. The OED is the leading authority on the English language's vocabulary. Intended to trace the history of the English language, the dictionary was first published in 1884. A second full edition was published in 1989, comprising 20 volumes. The third edition is underway, which Oxford University Press has said will not be printed but will be available only electronically. More than 500,000 words are included, with information on etymology, archaic usage and current usage.
It's not my purpose to list all the Korean-sourced words added to the OED in recent years (a couple dozen). The globalization of K-culture has significantly affected English speakers' use of such vocabulary. We can be certain that English is not the only language affected by globalization. Languages evolve over time as outside cultural forces come into play. Such evolution is multidirectional.
When I first came to Korea in the 1970s, many borrowed Japanese expressions were still used in everyday Korean conversations. Of course, since the 1950-53 Korean War era, many English words have also come into common usage. More and more, with its decidedly Western and U.S. orientation, English words crop up constantly in daily conversation. Korea’s phonetic alphabet makes such a transformation easily possible.
I recently lectured to a group of high school students at a “foreign language” high school near Seoul. These young people asked me to reflect on my experiences of my almost 50-year-long journey with the Korean language and culture. The group of students, more than 100 in all, is the “cream of the crop” of Korean high school students.
As we examined the intersection between language and culture, I began to understand that sometimes, the intersection is more like a collision, for there are no traffic signals. As much as some would like to think their culture and ethnicity have developed in a vacuum without outside influence, nothing could be further from the truth.
The English language, as we know it today, is the product of a millennia-long confrontation between warring empires, invasions, ever-changing political alliances and both emigration and immigration. For centuries, the church that prevailed in most of Europe, known today as the Roman Catholic Church, insisted on using Latin regardless of the common vernacular. Church authorities had power over kings and princes and could make the rules. The Bible was available only in Latin. Vernacular translations were forbidden on pain of death. Prayers, songs etc., during worship were done in Latin.
Unsurprisingly, many European languages, English included, have extensive vocabularies based on Latin words. Before the heavy Latin influence, the Angles and the Saxons had their own languages, which morphed into the Anglo-Saxon language about 1,000 or so years ago. As the British Isles became Christianized, the Latin language exerted its influence. But Germanic languages still played a big role. By the time of Queen Elizabeth I in the mid-1500s, French was the commonly spoken language of diplomacy, and educated people in England could use the language easily. The official title of the British monarch is “Dei Gratia Rex…” “By the grace of God, King.” “Rex” is Latin for king (“Regina” for queen). Institutions of higher learning, even many in Korea, have adopted mottos using the Latin language.
Over the several thousand years of history on the Korean Peninsula, there have been dozens of statelets and tribal confederations, which eventually morphed into kingdoms and, finally, the republic. But throughout those many long years, wars have been fought up and down the peninsula. Outside forces from mainland Asia, including the many kingdoms of China and the northern invaders from Mongolia and Manchuria. Baekje and Silla fought each other, and Goguryeo fought on one side and then another. And so goes the course of human history. In every case, the cultures and idiosyncrasies of language affected the others. (Dispel all imaginations of a unified language spoken on the peninsula in ancient times!)
So, the Korean language’s time has come. After all the outside forces, wars, imperialists and colonialists have passed, Korea is now “invading” the cultures and languages of the rest of the world. We see this in food culture, music styles, cosmetics, automobiles, electronics etc. The list is long. The OED’s recognition of Korean vocabulary is a timely response to the extension of Korea’s rich heritage worldwide.
Language is not and never has been static. From the earliest spoken communication, expressions have been developed within the context of the speaker group’s cultural environment. Be it the many words for snow in the languages of the northernmost parts of the world or the several words for rice in Asia — in each case, dependent on the condition of the snow or the rice (light, fluffy snow, heavy wet snow, rice seedlings, rice kernels, cooked rice). As humans continue to grow, evolve, learn and mix with others, our languages will change so we can communicate as effectively as possible.
Rev. Steven L. Shields, FRAS {[email protected]} has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. A Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, he is also a lifelong member of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea, of which he was a director, vice president and president. He was a copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect The Korea Times’ editorial stance.
English (United States) ·