earticle

영어

Meta-communicative expressions are words and phrases used to help express clearly what one is speaking or to avoid causing a discomfort feeling in one’s listener. This study aims to show the difference in communication style in Japanese and Korean languages, by analyzing closely how ‘focus-guiding’ and ‘attention-seeking’ meta-communicative expressions are used in Japanese and Korean film and drama scenarios to help listeners’ understanding. The finding was that meta-communicative expressions to guide listener’s focus to the conversation appeared more frequently in Japanese than in Korean, while those to seek attention of listener are more popular in Korean than in Japanese. This is because, compared to Japanese, Korean speakers are more concerned with, and try to check, if listeners are focusing on the conversation and understanding it properly.