An interactional sociolinguistic analysis of argument strategies in Korean conversational discourse: Negotiating disagreement and conflict.

摘要

This study is an interactional sociolinguistic analysis of argument strategies in Korean. Based on tape-recorded, naturally occurring conversations and group discussions, this study examines how disagreement and conflict are expressed and managed among Koreans, and it identifies argument strategies and verbal argument expressions.;The present study demonstrates that Koreans express their disagreement in a direct manner as well as in an indirect manner; opposition is expressed along a wide range on the argument continuum. The mode of display of opposition and the management of conflict is heavily dependent on contextual factors, interactional goals, and the dynamics of interpersonal relations.;In this study, argument strategies are categorized into two types: (1) multifunctional argument strategies, which speakers employ when displaying aggravated disagreement to convey their positions, and also when demonstrating mitigated disagreement to save face and achieve politeness; and (2) nonconfrontational argument strategies, which speakers employ when expressing primarily mitigated opposition.;Three multifunctional strategies are the use of repetition, questions, and code-switching. Four non-confrontational strategies are: (1) disagreeing playfully, (2) constructing dialogues and reporting opinions, (3) telling personal experiences, and (4) using silence.;Four types of verbal argument expressions are: (1) formulaic bald-on-record oppositional expressions, (2) oppositional expressive adverbials, (3) oppositional discourse markers, and (4) hedges. The most direct and explicit display of aggravated disagreement is carried out by the use of formulaic bald-on-record oppositional expressions, whereas the most indirect and mitigated disagreement is conveyed through silence.;As the first intensive analysis of Korean conversational discourse, the present study contributes to the research in the areas of conflict talk, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, cross-cultural communication, and Korean linguistics. It further discusses implications for teaching and learning Korean as a foreign language.