ONE COUNTRY, ONE LANGUAGE?: MAPPING PERCEPTIONS OF DIALECTS IN SOUTH KOREA

Perceptual dialectology studies have shown that people have strong opinions about the number and placement of dialect regions. This study uses the 'draw-a-map' task to examine perceptions of language variation in South Korea, where relatively little perceptual dialectology research has been conducted. Respondents were asked to indicate on hand-drawn maps where people speak differently and provide names, examples, and comments. The map data were aggregated and analyzed with ArcGIS 10.0 software and the qualitative data were categorized using the 'keywords' method. An analysis of these data suggests that South Koreans' perceptions of dialect regions are not necessarily limited by administrative boundaries; in fact, the data reveal not only perceptions of dialect variation unassociated with geographic borders, but they also tap into the way people connect ideas about language and place. Results from this study have implications for language attitudes research, perceptual dialectology methodology, and the relationship between language and place in South Korea.