As the name implies, Jeju Island is an island located far south off of the mainland of South Korea. Most of it’s residents speak in their native dialect that is Jeju Korean and are the only people of their kind to speak this dialect. This is because the island is an exclusive location all on it’s own away from the mainland of both North and South Korea. The only people who would happen to speak this dialect are the natives or, perhaps, foreigners who have moved there and became accustomed to the dialect. It goes without saying that this dialect is mainly and most commonly used on Jeju Island. However, If residents decide to relocate off of the island, this dialect can rarely and sparsely be used elsewhere in the most southern parts of South Korea and as a second manner of speech at best. This is because both North and South Korea already have their own standardized version of the Korean language that is recommended to be used, although it is not enforced.

Because of this, it can easily be assumed that this dialect is the most distinct and distinguishable dialect compared to the others of South Korea solely because of it’s location. Because it is isolated and located off of the mainland, furthest from Seoul, news of language change and “correction” can play a vital role along with no supervision of adhering to the South Korean standard. According to the article by Lisa Jeon, she states, “the Jeju dialect is often referred to as the most divergent dialect in Korea, and many people in the mainland claim it as unintelligible” (22). This is because of the lexical and grammatical variations that are considerably different from their mainland counterparts.

The social factor that is associated with this is the extreme isolation of Jeju Island in comparison to the rest of South Korea. In fact, in the article by Lisa Jeon, she states, “the mainland respondents often commented that Jeju was a nice vacation destination but not a place where educated Koreans would live and work” (40). This statement alone gives deep insight as to how mainland Koreans perceive the dialect and people of Jeju Island. Because of the views towards the dialect and the habitat of Jeju Island, mainland Koreans think that the inhabitants of Jeju Island are below them in terms of intellect and feel that they are too educated, or, “overqualified” to live there. From that perspective, it can be assumed that the people of Jeju Island are simple, old-fashioned, laid-back, or even “country” in a way that it provides an escape for the “busy, educated, tech-savvy, forward-thinking” working Koreans. Therefore, Jeju Islanders are perceived as the lowest of the socioeconomic class.

To conclude, it is easy for other people to judge and perceive you based off of how you present yourself. All the way down to what you wear, what you like, where you live, and how you talk. And because these things all happen to be different from the other person, it becomes easy to discriminate and assume what is right and what is wrong for whatever reason. However, the steps to preventing such prejudice and discrimination is rather simple. It’s called understanding. And one should at least try to get to know a specific background, culture, or way of life before blindly making accusations because you are not used to it or do not like it. Perhaps there is reason behind it, and once you understand that reason, you can accept it, respect it, or even contribute to it. If not, at least you can then understand enough as to make a conscious decision as to why instead of blindly hate and not participate.

Works Cited

Jeon, Lisa; Patricia Cukor-Avila. “”One country, one language”?: mapping perceptions of dialects in South Korea.” Dialectologia: revista electrònica [en línia], 2015,, Núm. 14 , p. 17-46. https://www.raco.cat/index.php/Dialectologia/article/view/293349/381871

Questions:

1. I only have one source. Is that okay, or do I need more? I honestly don’t know where I was during this part of class…
2. Should/Can I reorganize this in any way so that it flows better?

The landscape, judging from the lottery logo and delicacies, is an open invitation to others to not only take part in those activities, but that those activities are available within the establishment as well. And, perhaps, to get more customers by assuming their interests. This can also be directed to the stratification and demographics of the borderline low to middle class as the lottery and image of money can be used to entice customers for more, while the delicacies urge that they can also afford to spend more as well. Because the landscape is complementary, it informs that the majority of the community and neighborhood is bilingual mostly capable of speaking both Spanish and English. The landscape also seems to be tailored towards adults as there is no present advertising of childhood attractions such as toys, games, candy, and…balloons.

Even though the linguistic landscape is a combination of both Spanish and English, the community itself offers a bit more than that. Within the neighborhood there are also Asians, Arabs, and other races that reside in the area alongside Spanish and English speakers that speak and communicate in other languages. Although, with the exception of Chinese restaurants, there are not many other stores or locations that have a hybrid of English with Asian, Arab and other languages. In addition, the amount of Spanish and English landscape stores are actually scarce throughout the neighborhood. However, the chances of the personnel inside being able to communicate in those languages are and can be pretty high.

Q1: Does this essay seem fluid and connected? If not, how can I arrange it as so?

Q2: Is there anything that you feel lacks clarity or needs more emphasis/input?

a) This picture was taken in Jamaica, Queens on 90th Ave.

b) The languages that are being used are Spanish and English.

c) I have no idea what the words in Spanish say other than “the national” that is located above next to “pay bills”. However, I am completely guessing.

However, within this everyday norm, due to the overall rudeness that is associated with the New York language/dialect of American-English. Both the prestige and stigmatized forms of the language can both be described as rude as well. The only difference is an individuals choice use of words that comes to them unconsciously due to perhaps their financial status or upbringing being born and raised in New York, with the exception of being of a different nationality/ethnicity outside of American, such as Japanese, Indian, or Brazilian. The general public sees it this way because, as previously stated, New York City has a very fast paced lifestyle. And as a result, this leads to the majority of it’s residents in a highly stressed and irritated state of being when confronted by another individual, who may, by chance, also most likely be in a highly stressed and irritated state of being.

In another area, such as another state in America, American-English can be perceived differently. The words that are spoken can be completely understood. However, how the words are spoken and uttered would obviously be noticed to be different. This can also be associated with how an individual’s posture, attitude, and pronunciation are presented that would display this drastic difference. Words that are commonly used and spoken in one area could make any outsider or tourist be noticed upon the attempt of blending in if it is not performed with the proper pronunciation, posture, and attitude, let alone the understanding of the word(s) as well.

Overall, the social factors that contribute to the attitude that people have toward American-English in America can be a plethora of reasons ranging from Cultural to Socioeconomic to Racial. However, I mostly believe it to be more of a geographical factor. And that a person’s attitude towards American English will differ depending on where they are in America. The attitude towards American-English in states such as North Carolina would be seen as friendly, while in California it can be contributed to being laid-back. And chances are, you will always hear an outsider or tourist say, “New Yorkers are so rude”.

Questions

Do you think I clearly expressed my points and presented an adequate amount of reasoning to support them?

Is there anything else I could have spoken about that would have effectively helped express my point and essay?