유튜브 영상의 댓글에 나타난 언어학적 특성: 한국어와 태국어를 중심으로

Abstract

This study examines the linguistic features and language strategies in Korean and Thai YouTube comments within the evolving digital communication landscape. YouTube comments reflect colloquial language, social identities, and cultural values. Comments from the Korean channel ‘Wonji’s Day’ demonstrate phonological changes such as vowel and consonant substitutions and deletions. In terms of grammar usage, polite endings, forms of address, and nonstandard verb endings suggest informal interaction among users. Expressive devices like non-standard orthography, neologisms, emoticons, and repetition enrich emotional communication. Comments from the Thai channel ‘Cullen Hateberry’ exhibit phonological variations, including vowel lengthening and shortening, and consonant changes that convey warmth and a sense of closeness. In Thai, gender-based polite endings, informal forms, various forms of address, and kinship terms reflect social relationships as well as affectionate feelings toward the channel host. Other strategies include character repetition, slang, imitation of the host’s speech style, and the use of Korean loanwords. Similar to Korean comments, Thai comments employ linguistic variation to convey emotion and intimacy rather than merely exchanging information. Overall, YouTube comments promote emotional bonds and social solidarity among viewers. Thus, this study highlights the role of language change in digital discourse communities in building social bonds and expressing communal identities.