Critical discourse analysis of language ideologies among learners of critical foreign languages: Focusing on Hungarian language learners in South Korea

Seongeun Jeong

Lecturer, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Abstract

This study examines the language ideologies of Korean university students learning Hungarian in the context of South Korea’s “Critical Foreign Language” policy. Adopting Critical Discourse Analysis, this study analyzes how learners discursively construct and justify their language choices beyond personal interest or aptitude. The findings show that Hungarian is recurrently categorized as an “uncommon language,” most often through the everyday labels such as “special language” and “minor language,” which are not used in their institutional or linguistic senses but are re-semantized in learners’ talk. Within the special language discourse, scarcity is capitalized as an advantage and differentiation, whereas within the minor language discourse, it simultaneously indexes marginality and limited visibility. This ambivalent meaning of scarcity is further extended into competitive positioning against “others” who choose mainstream languages. Importantly, such strategic framing shapes learners’ normative orientations in learning; Hungarian is treated as a language that must be mastered to a high level and put to use, leading learners to link proficiency with future career trajectories. This study highlights how policy categories are reinterpreted and internalized in learner discourse, showing that foreign language learning functions as a socially situated practice organized by value, competition, and future-oriented imaginaries.

초록

Vol. 40 No. 4 (2022.12)

Journal Abbreviation j. Korea Saf. Manag. Sci.
Frequency Published four times annually in March, June, September, and December
Doi Prefix 10.14353/sjk.
Year of Launching 1993
Publisher The Sociolinguistic Society of Korea

Indexed/Tracked/Covered By

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- E-mail: schang@hoseo.edu

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