Analysis of Foreign Learners' Use of Korean Complaint Speech Act Strategies

Journal of the International Network for Korean Language and Culture 20-1, 1-26. This study aims to examine the developmental process of foreign learners' use of complaint speech act strategies through comparative analysis with Korean native speakers. The subjects in this study were 15 foreign intermediate learners and 15 advanced learners from various countries learning Korean, all in their 20s. Fifteen Korean speakers in their 20s also participated. The discourse completion test (DCT) used by Trossborg (1995) was modified and supplemented for the questionnaire in this study. Nine discourse circumstances were composed by adjusting the relationship between social status and intimacy between the speaker and the listener. The analysis results are as follows. First, among the main speech strategies used by the three groups for each situation, the "reproach" and "blame" strategies showed statistically significant differences. The "irritation" and "suggest" strategies were not statistically significant. Second, among the auxiliary speech act strategies used by foreign learners and Koreans, a statistically significant difference was found in the "advisory" strategy in the internal modifier item. There was no significant difference in the external modifier item. Foreign learners had more difficulty using the main speech act strategy than the auxiliary dialogue act strategy. Moreover, foreign learners performed poorly using the complaint speech act, which depends on intimacy rather than power relations in Korean society. Foreign subjects in their 20s who participated in this study were limited to those living in Korea and learning Korean. In the future, speech acts research with domestic and foreign learners of various ages should be conducted.(Sookmyung Women's University)