This request-speech-act study is directed towards Korean learners with business purposes. Currently, due to shortcomings of vertical organizational culture, local companies are gradually shifting to a horizontal corporate culture with mutual equality ...
This request-speech-act study is directed towards Korean learners with business purposes. Currently, due to shortcomings of vertical organizational culture, local companies are gradually shifting to a horizontal corporate culture with mutual equality and respect for each other’s opinions. Therefore, this study aims to establish the basis on the request-speech-act education mainly utilized in the horizontal organizational culture, under the premise that foreign learners studying Korean for business purposes should also be educated to adapt to this corporate culture.
This study analyzed the request-speech-act strategy by constructing a corpus of dramas containing dialogues in the actual business environment. The study also identified the current status of the request-speech-act strategy experienced by the learners through the conversation analysis of business textbooks. All analysis focused on nine strategy frames of request-speech-act mentioned in the CCSARP (Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project) by Blum-Kulka and Houseand Kasper (1989); however, the analysis framework was reconstructed considering the Korean speech act's realization. Also, a comparative analysis process was conducted based on such analysis framework.
According to the results of research analyses, significant interpretations were derived from the major strategies. First, the explicit request strategy was demonstrated in the highest proportion in both dramas and textbooks. Second, the performative strategy had a very low distribution compared to the explicit request strategy although being a part of direct request behavior. Third, the strategy of reducing the burden on the listener and of ironic negative question were both used at a high rate in dramas. Fourth, scope-stating strategy and strategy of reference to preparatory conditions were highly used in texbooks. Lastly, the hinting strategy had a relatively low ratio in textbooks compared to dramas. In conclusion, the analysis results demonstrated that the request-speech-act strategy between real situations and business textbooks are clearly different.
Thus, this study offers a fundamental data for the improvement of Korean business textbooks, which helps them be even more practical; however, considering the nature of textbooks, which limits real-life dialogues to be included, additional studies are needed regarding business textbooks to incorporate speech-act strategies that are used in the real business world.