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  • Chapter 24 - Performing Gender in Korean: Language, Gender, and Social Change

  • from Part V - Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics
  • Edited by Sungdai Cho, Binghamton University, State University of New York, John Whitman, Cornell University, New York
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Korean Linguistics
    Published online:
    30 September 2022
    Print publication:
    25 August 2022, pp 689-716

  • Summary

    Chapter 24 examines the topic of language and gender in the context of Korean studies. Korean is well-known for its highly sophisticated honorifics and other resources that index hierarchy, formality, personal closeness, etc. Korean speakers “perform” gender using politeness distinctions as a primary resource. Studying how gender is performed requires the examination of language and gender in local contexts as they are indexed and constructed. This chapter also looks at the relative frequency of men’s use of formal language such as caney “you”, yey “yes”, and the supnita style, in comparison to women. The result of this is that women may feel like “interlopers” in prestigious professions where formal language is the norm. On the other hand, as Korea is rapidly moving away from a hierarchical society and toward a more egalitarian one, informal language, including caki “you”, ney “yes”, the eyo style, and other patterns associated with women, is becoming preferred over formal language to some extent across genders. This is especially evident among the younger generation.