International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology

The International Promotion Agency of Culture Technology (국제문화기술진흥원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Evaluating English Loanwords and Their Usage for Professional Translation, Focusing on News Texts

  • Bokyung Noh (Dept. of Korean-English Interpretation and Translation, Seoul University of Foreign Studies)
  • Received : 2024.03.19
  • Accepted : 2024.05.10
  • Published : 2024.06.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

As globalization has accelerated, the use of English loanwords is increasing in South Korea. In this paper, we have analyzed news stories from four Korean quality newspapers-Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, KyungHyang Sinmun, and Chung-Ang Ilbo to investigate the usage of English loanwords in news texts. Thirty-eight news stories on life, politics, business and IT were collected from the four newspapers and then analyzed based on the five types of loanwords-Direct, Mixed Code Combination, Clipping and Neologism and Double Notation, partly following Lee's and Rudiger's classification. As a result, the followings were revealed: first, the use of the category Direct was overwhelming the others with 90%, indicating that English loanwords were not translated from its source language and introduced into Korean directly with little modification; second, the use of English loanwords was significantly higher in the sections of business and IT than in other sectors, implying that English loanwords function in a similar way as a lingua franca does within those fields. Furthermore, the linguistic trends can provide a basic guide for translators to make an informed decision between the use of English loanwords and its translated Korean version in English-into Korean translation.

Keywords

References

  1. H. Ban and B. K. Noh, 'Analyzing Quotation in News Reporting from Western Foreign Press: Focusing on Evaluative Language,' International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology, 4-3, Sept. 2016. 
  2. T. A. van Dijk, 'Race, riots, and the Press: An analysis of Editorials in the British press about 1985 disorders,' Gazette, 43, 229-253, 1989.  https://doi.org/10.1177/001654928904300305
  3. E. Y. Kim, 'Anglicized Korean Neologisms of New Millennium: An Overview, English Today,  32(3), 52-60, 2012.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078416000250
  4. S. Ridiger, 'Spoken English in Korea: An Expanding Circle English Revisited. In Jenk, C. J. & J. W. Lee(eds.) Korean Englishes in Transnational Contexts, 75-92. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. 
  5. J. S. Lee, 'Globalization amd Language Education: Emglish Village in South Korea, Language  Research, 47(1), 123-149, 2011. 
  6. S. Ridiger, 'Mixed Feelings: Attitudes towards English Loanwords and their use in South Korea, Open Linguistics, 4, 184-198, 2018.  https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2018-0010
  7. H. J. Nam, 'GTP stores wither within two months,' Dong-a Ilbo, March, 20, 2024. 
  8. N. Tranter, 'Hybrid Anglo-Japanese Loans in Korean, Linguistics, 35, 133-166, 1997.  https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1997.35.1.133
  9. H. Shin, 'English Language Teaching in Korea: Toward Globalization or Glocalization? In  Cummins, Jim, Chris Davison (eds.), International Handbook of English Language Teaching - Part I, 75-86, New York: Springer, 2007. 
  10. J. S. Lee, 'Linguistic Construction of Modernity: English Mixing in Korean Television  Commercials, Language in Society, 35, 59-91, 2006.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404506060039
  11. H. S. Park, 'Newsroom, briefing, hotline... News stories are full of English loanwords,' Women  News, Aug. 25, 2023. 
  12. S. Li, H. J. Jung, M. Yang, 'Does a Lingua Franca Matter in Bilateral International Trade?' International Studies of Economics, 18(1), 80-96, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/ise3.23