Vocabulary education constitutes a fundamental component of language learning. In the modern Korean lexical system, loanwords form one of three core word categories alongside native Korean words and Sino-Korean words. With the rapid development of th...
Vocabulary education constitutes a fundamental component of language learning. In the modern Korean lexical system, loanwords form one of three core word categories alongside native Korean words and Sino-Korean words. With the rapid development of the internet and the tourism industry, the number of loanwords has continued to grow and their circulation has accelerated, making them an indispensable element of everyday communication. This study takes these observations as its starting point and proposes a loanword education program for intermediate Chinese learners of Korean, developed through a systematic analysis of loanwords in the TOPIK and HSK vocabulary lists alongside a survey of loanword awareness and usage among intermediate-to-advanced Chinese learners of Korean.
The study consists of four chapters. Chapter One establishes the purpose and necessity of loanword education research. Chapter Two examines the theoretical background, focusing on conceptual differences in how Korea and China define and incorporate loanwords. Korea established the concept of loanwords earlier than China and demonstrates a higher degree of acceptance toward them. This is largely attributable to the phonographic nature of the Korean writing system, which allows for more accurate reproduction of foreign pronunciations. In terms of incorporation strategies, Korean primarily employs direct phonetic transcription supplemented by hybrid methods, while Chinese utilizes phonetic transcription, semantic translation, and combined phonetic-semantic translation in parallel, resulting in a more diverse range of incorporation strategies. Chapter Three conducts a comprehensive comparative analysis of loanwords in the TOPIK and HSK vocabulary lists across four dimensions: proficiency level, etymology, part of speech, and semantic domain, revealing the differences between the two languages in each respect. Chapter Four presents a survey and analysis of loanword awareness and usage among intermediate-to-advanced Chinese learners of Korean. The findings indicate that learners frequently encounter loanwords in everyday conversation and online contexts, yet lack confidence in their ability to understand loanword meanings. Learners identified 'understanding meaning' and 'confusion with English' as the primary difficulties in loanword acquisition. Performance-based tests further revealed that error rates were comparatively high in productive tasks and spelling identification, while comprehension of loanword meaning in context proved relatively more accessible. Drawing on these findings, this study designs a loanword instruction program centered on vocabulary meaning education and tailored to the needs of intermediate Chinese learners of Korean, with the aim of providing practical guidance for teaching in this field.