Family Reference Terms in the Gwangju Dialect Corpus

Jo Kyungsun 

This study examines family reference terms in Gwangju's local language and explores their usage characteristics. Family reference terms in the daily conversations of Gwangju locals go beyond mere kinship to reflect socio-cultural contexts and contain linguistic features unique to generations and regions. Family reference terms in Gwangju are manifested in a wide range of vocabulary, including spouses, parents, children, children's spouses, children's spouses, and relatives, with a particularly fine-grained distinction between male and female spouses. While family reference terms are usually used in the context of children, in Gwangju, these words are used in a variety of contexts, further emphasizing the emotional connection. The mix of relatively formal and informal expressions is also associated with a changing family culture. When referring to family members, Gwangju's regional language tends to combine expressions like “our(uri)” more frequently to show a sense of connection to family members. This reflects the communal values of Korean society and has the effect of further emphasizing the closeness of family members. This study can be used as a basis for analyzing how the language culture of the Gwangju region is changing by focusing on family reference terms in the local language.

Gwangju Dialect, Family Reference Terms, Local, Corpus, Linguistic Culture, Emotional Connection

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