The Dynamics of Questioning Practices and Speech-Style Shifting in Korean: In the Context of Entertainment Talk Shows

Questions are widely employed in various contexts, serving multiple functions such as seeking information, making requests, and the question-response sequence is a universal unit of conversational organizations, and a pervasive type of sequence in all communities (Enfield et al. 2010). This presentation explores the dynamics of questioning practices in Korean, specifically within the context of entertainment talk shows. The choice of entertainment talk shows is driven by their distinctive amalgamation of conversational and institutional characteristics within the discourse. This study aims to delve into the intricacies of speech style dynamics in Korean, focusing on the interplay between the polite (-yo) and deferential (-(su)pnita/-(su)pnikka) styles. Using an interactional linguistic approach and conversational analysis, this presentation will demonstrate that the selection of linguistic resources for questioning practices and speech-style shifting is closely intertwined with the management of entertainment and institutional dynamics among the participants in the entertainment talk show setting.

Bio: Kyung-Eun Yoon is an assistant professor and coordinator of Korean language and culture in the Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her B.A. from Seoul National University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Yoon’s research focuses on interactional linguistics, conversation analysis, discourse analysis, and Korean language pedagogy. She has authored the book Complaining as a Sociocultural Activity: Examining How and Why in Korean Interaction following her research interests in interactional linguistics and conversation analysis. Additionally, she has contributed numerous book chapters and journal articles, including “Questions and responses in Korean conversation” in Journal of Pragmatics and “Discourse functions of Korean ‘yes’ words” in Korean Linguistics.