Assessing language knowledge in Jeju: Vocabulary and verbal patterns in Jejueo and English. (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Sejung
• Is Part Of: Language acquisition. Volume 27:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 71
• Page End: 73
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Language acquisition -- Periodicals; 401.9305
• DOI: 10.1080/10489223.2019.1624760
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1048-9223

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Tests of vocabulary and verbal patterns in Jejueo and English reveal that the acquisition of the former language is in sharp decline, while progress in the latter language reaches a developmental plateau after high school. This dissertation investigates the acquisition of Jejueo and English on Jeju Island, a province of Korea located approximately 45 miles off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula. Jejueo, which was recognized as an endangered language by UNESCO in 2010, is primarily spoken between family members and close friends, while Korean is used in other contexts, including school. This is the first study of the acquisition of Jejueo and also the first attempt to compare fluency in that language with fluency in Korean and with proficiency in English, which is taught as a compulsory foreign language in schools from Grade 3 to college for two to five hours per week but is rarely heard outside that setting.