Self-introduction in Spoken Form: What Makes KSE and ANSE different?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what characteristics make American Native Speakers of English (ANSE) different from Korean Speakers of English (KSE) when they are asked to introduce themselves in English. In particular, components and topics of self-introduction, the use of word number and class, and the use of discourse markers (DM) are discussed. The most salient features of ASE and KSE are also discussed on the basis of an oral interview of 14 respondents. DM in this study are defined as word(s) or phrases to create and maintain the atmosphere of more smooth, lively and personal relationship between the speaker and the hearer. Therefore, what have been treated as "fillers" in traditional grammar are included in DM in this study. For example, "haha," "and(ah)," "yah," "uhm (ahm, uh)" and the like are treated as DM because they are used to make the conversation flow more smooth and personal. Both particles and connectives can also be included in the category of DM. Interview results show that there are, indeed, different characteristics between ANSE and KSE in their use of components and topics of self-introduction, and of DM. However, these different characteristics do not lead to reduce mutual intelligibility or comprehensibility. No significant differences can be found from their use of word number and class in both groups. Due to the small number of respondents and the structure of the study, it is hard to generalize the results of this study. It is suggested that further studies are needed. Since both ANSE and KSE can understand each other, these different characteristics do neither cause any intelligibility problems nor comprehensibility problems. Therefore, these characteristics should be valued and respected since both ANSE and KSE are indeed speakers of English living in this global world where both diversity and uniformity coexist and valued.