Language is the most important set of symbols.

Languages influence people’s thought and experience more than we recognize.

The most important fact about language is that people’s worldview is shaped and reflected by the language they speak.

That is, people see and interpret the world through the grammatical forms, labels, and categories provided by their language.

What this means is that societies with different languages actually perceive the world differently; that is, they use a different set of labels to describe and interpret the same thing.

It is also true that the language reflects the core values of the speakers in society, e.g., Eskimo’s terms for “snow” and Philippino’s terms for “banana.”

Koreans have three terms for “rice”: 1) byeo (a young plant)2) ssal (hulled grain) 3) bap (cooked rice).

The fact that languages influence people’s thought is exemplified by the fact that bilingual speakers seem to think differently when they change languages.

In one study, students in Hong Kong were asked to complete a values test and they expressed more traditional Chinese values when they answered in Cantonese than when they spoke English.

In another example, North Americans value straight talk and grow impatient with “beating around the bush.” The idea of “Calling spade a spade” is valued.

In many Asian cultures, in contrast, maintaining harmony is important, so communicators will avoid speaking clearly or directly if that would threaten the group’s harmony or another person’s face.

For this reason, Koreans and Japanese are less likely than North Americans to offer a clear “No” to an undesirable request.

Even when they have to decline an invitation, they don’t give a definitive response by saying they cannot go, but say rather that they probably won’t be able to go.

It is also considered polite to say “No” a couple of times before accepting any kind of an offer.

Korean Language Korean language is one of the eleven

most spoken languages in the world. There are about 80 million Korean

speakers (49 million in South Korea, 23 million in North Korea, and 7 million expatriates).

Question: Which languages have the largest number of native speakers?

1. Mandarin: 873 million (+178 million second-language speakers)

2. Hindustani: 366 million

3. Spanish: 322 million (+100 million second-language speakers)

4. English: 309 million (+1,500 million) 5. Arabic: 206 million 6. Portuguese: 177 million 7. Bengali: 171 million 8. Russian: 145 million 9. Japanese: 130 million 10. German: 95 million 11. Korean: 80 million [All are 2005

estimates]

Like Japanese, the Korean language was influenced by the Chinese language in the form of Sino-Korean words.

Native Korean words account for only about 35% of the Korean vocabulary, while about 60% of the Korean vocabulary consists of Sino-Korean words.

The remaining 5% comes from loan words from other languages, 90% of which are from English.

Origin of writing in Korea Chinese writing has been known in

Korea for over 2,000 years. It was used widely during the

Chinese occupation of northern Korea from 108 BC to 313 AD.

By the 5th century AD, the Koreans were starting to write in Classical Chinese—the earliest known example of this dates from 414 AD.

They later devised different systems for writing Korean with Chinese characters.

These systems were similar to those developed in Japan and were probably used as models by the Japanese.

The Idu system, for example, used a combination of Chinese characters together with special symbols to indicate Korean verb endings and other grammatical markers.

Koreans borrowed a huge number of Chinese words, gave Korean readings and/or meanings to some of the Chinese characters and also invented about 150 new characters, most of which are rare or used mainly for personal or place names.

The Korean alphabet was invented in 1443 and promulgated it in 1446 during the reign of King Sejong (r.1418-1450), the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty.

The alphabet was originally called Hunmin jeongeum or “The correct sounds for the instruction of the people,” but has also been known as Eonmun (vulgar script) and Gukmun (national writing).

The modern name for the alphabet, Hangeul, was coined by a Korean linguist called Ju Si-gyeong (1876-1914).

Even after the invention of the Korean alphabet, most Koreans who could write continued to write either in Classical Chinese or in Korean-Chinese combination systems.

The Korean alphabet was associated with people of low status, i.e. women, children and the uneducated.

During the 19th and 20th centuries a mixed writing system combining Chinese characters (hanja) and Hangeul became increasingly popular.

Since 1945 however, the importance of Chinese characters in Korean writing has diminished significantly.

In South Korea school children are expected to learn 1,800 hanja by the end of high school.

The proportion of hanja used in Korean texts varies greatly from writer to writer and there is considerable public debate about the role of hanja in Korean writing.

Most modern Korean literature and informal writing is written entirely in hangeul, however academic papers and official documents tend to be written in a mixture of hangeul and hanja.

Notable Features of Hangeul There are 24 letters in the Korean

alphabet: 14 consonants and 10 vowels.

The letters are combined together into syllable blocks. For example, Hangeul is written as 한글 in Korean:

한 (han): ㅎ (h) + ㅏ (a) + ㄴ (n) 글 (geul): ㄱ (g) + — (eu) + ㄹ (l)

The shapes of the vowels are based on three elements: man (a vertical line), earth (a horizontal line) and heaven (a dot). In modern Hangeul the heavenly dot has mutated into a short line.

Korean can be written in vertical columns running from top to bottom and right to left, or in horizontal lines running from left to right.

Norms are rules, guides and standards of conduct; they determine acceptable behaviours

Prescriptive and proscriptive norms. Question: Do you know any Korean norms? Bow to greet each other, except among

the same-aged friends. Subordinates must greet or bow to

superiors first; subordinates have to bow deeper to superiors.

Use honorific in speaking to strangers, older people, superiors, etc.

Practically everyone is called by his or her title, including older siblings and cousins, except the same-aged friends.

Do not use red ink in writing a person’s name.

Tipping is welcomed. Pass or receive objects with both

hands.

Covering your mouth when yawning or laughing, especially for females.

Don’t blow your nose in the presence of others (out of consideration for others).

When drinking in a group, Koreans don’t fill their own glass; they fill each other’s glass and often offer their own empty glass to other members in the group.

Turning sideways when drinking alcohol in front of an older person.

Public display of affection is frowned upon.

Young people don’t smoke in front of older people.

Women should not smoke in public. Do not leave a spoon or chop sticks in

your bowl. Men pay. An older person pays. Subordinates are expected to stand up

when a person of higher rank appears. Subordinates must not assume relaxed

or cross-legged sitting.

Values are conceptions of what is important and worthwhile.

- Our values are the basis of our judgments about what is desirable, beautiful, correct, and good as well as what is understandable, ugly, incorrect and bad.

- Most of our basic values are learned early in life from family, friends, schools, and the mass media.

For comparison, can you name the most important values of Americans?

Success Prestige Wealth Power Individualism (each person being

responsible for success or failure) Family Freedom Democracy Patriotism

Justice Equality Hard work Honesty The do-it-yourself attitude Belief in science and technology to

solve problems Charity toward others Sex?

Question: What are the most important values of Koreans?

Of all the values and norms of Koreans, the most important ones are the following: - success and prosperity- health and long life- filial piety (ancestor worship)- emphasis on the family- deference to the elderly

- emphasis on education - collectivism - emphasis on hierarchy- emphasis on social harmony- emphasis on conformity - emphasis on loyalty

Other Korean values may include chastity, ethnic homogeneity, son preference, and respect for authority.

1. Korean Values: Shamanism Cultural values of success,

prosperity, health and long life derive from Shamanism, while other values such as filial piety and deference to the elderly have roots in Confucianism.

The fundamental worldview underlying the mental landscape of Koreans derives from Shamanism, which has traditionally exerted the most powerful religious influence upon the Korean people.

Central to Shamanism is animism, the belief that every animate and inanimate object, such as animals, stars, mountains and rocks, has spirit.

Shamanism believes that spirits, including those of ancestors, nature, and prominent kings and generals in Korean history, wield power on the shifting fortunes of each individual.

Shamanism also believes that these spirits must be appeased through shamanic rituals to ask for their blessings, especially when something bad happens.

Indeed, the adherents of Shamanism try to appease the spirits through a shamanistic ritual called goot, usually entailing an elaborate setting of food, shaman’s dance and music, in hopes of realizing their material wishes, such as longevity, health, male births and wealth.

Difference between the-other-worldly religion and this-worldly religion.