| This study investigates communicative competence (Homes 1972, 1974) in apologizing in Korean by examining the use of linguistic forms appropriate to a given context. Analysis centers on two main dimensions: lexical and non-lexical aspects of apologies. For lexical aspects, six different lexical items expressing apology are used, each of which is socially constrained. Social factors such as age, gender, and social rank which indicate asymmetrical relationships between two parties play significant roles in the choice of apology words. Further, the social distance between two parties affects the use of language in Korean.;Non-lexical aspects of apology include descriptions of grammatical features, semantic categories, degree of indirectness and obligation to apology. In understanding the way of communicating in Korean, cultural values placed on speaking affect perception of sincerity. For instance, a preference for indirect forms of apology (apologizing without using lexical items) can be seen, in certain situations, as indirect forms of apology may be taken as more sincere than direct ones. Thus, apologizing as one type of speech behavior is characterized by Korean cultural values affecting the semantic and grammatical components of apologies.;By examining, then, both lexical and non-lexical aspects of apology use in Korean, this will allow us to revise and extend how apology is defined cross-culturally. Critical to this expansion is the method of data collection used in this study, namely observation data. Earlier work on Korean apology has looked only at data gathered by elicitation (Byon 2005, Kim 2000, Jung 1999, Lee 2000, Park and Nakano 1999, Yang 2002). By adding natural language data, even within the known limits of observation in data collection (Blum-Kulka, House, and Kasper 1989, Cohen 2000, Deutschmann 2003, Holmes 1990), it is possible to provide a more complete description of Korean apology use in its many forms. |
