Language attitudes and identity in second dialect acquisition: the case of North Korean refugees

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates to what extent various factors affect the stop production of North Korean refugee speakers living in Seoul, South Korea, from the perspective of second dialect acquisition (SDA). The VOT and F0 values of 6,495 stops were measured from twenty-two North Korean speakers (F: 16, M: 6). The factors examined were age of arrival, length of residence (LoR), and three different aspects of social adaptation (identification, assimilation, and language attitudes). Our findings showed that the North Korean speakers with stronger South Korean identity and longer LoR produced more Seoul standard South Korean-like VOT patterns. Moreover, the speakers with positive language attitudes toward South Korea and longer LoR produced more South Korean-like F0 patterns. The results suggest that understanding various dimensions of adaptation is important to explain North Korean refugees’ SDA.