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5: The Deferential Speech Level and The Polite Speech Level

》The Deferential Speech Level and The Polite Speech Level

   In English, there are times when you have to take alternative words or phrases, depending on various social factors involved in conversation, such as the formality of the situation, politeness, and familiarity with the addressee. For instance, in a certain situation, you can greet someone by saying "Hey, what's up!" but in another situation by saying "Good morning, Sir!"

     Korean has different speech level endings for serving these purposes. As already emphasized in the previous unit, the use of speech level endings is mandatory all the time, since verb or adjective stems cannot stand alone. However, choosing an appropriate speech level ending for every verb and/or adjective is challenging because its selection is determined by various contextual factors involved in interaction, such as:
* who you are talking to,
* whether you know the addressee or not,
* how formal the situation is, and so on.

The Deferential Speech Level
     > is used for public and/or formal communication settings, such as broadcasting, public speech, business-related meetings, conference presentations, and so forth.
     > has four different endings for each sentence type:
-습니다/-ㅂ니다 (declarative),
-습니까/-ㅂ니까 (interrogative),
-(으)십시오 (imperative), and
-(으)십시다 (propositive).

• Declarative
   For the declarative (statement), -습니다 is used when the stem ends in a consonant, as in 먹 + 습니다 = 먹습니다 "(someone) eats." However, when the stem ends in a vowel, -ㅂ니다 is used, as in 가 + ㅂ니다 = 갑니다 "(someone) goes."

* Because the deferential speech level indicates a sense of formality, many formulaic/fixed expressions are made of this speech level ending:

처음 뵙겠습니다         "Nice to meet you" (literally, "(I) meet you for the first time")
만나서 반갑습니다     "Nice to meet you" (literally, "(I) am glad because I meet you")
잘 먹겠습니다            "Thanks for the meal" (literally, "(I) will eat well")
감사합니다                 "Thank you" (literally, "(I) do gratitude")
실례합니다                 "Excuse me" (literally, "(I) do discourtesy")
축하합니다                 "Congratulations" (literally, "(I) congratulate")

• Interrogative
   For the interrogative (question), the ending is -습니까 for the stem ending
in a consonant, as in 먹습니까? "(do you) eat?". However, it is -ㅂ니까 for the stem ending in a vowel, as in 갑니까? "(do you) go?"

굽다           "roast"         언제 고기를 굽십니까? "When (do you) roast the meat?"
믿다           "believe"     그 친구를 믿습니싸? "(Do you) believe that friend?"
가르치다   "teach"          어디서 한국어를 가르칩니까? "Where (do you) teach Korean?"
배우다       "learn"         언제 태권도를 배웁니까? "When (do you) learn Taekwondo?"

• Imperative
   For the imperative (command), the ending is -으십시오 for the stem ending in a consonant, as in 먹으십시오 "eat." However, the ending is -십시오 for the stem ending in a vowel, as in 가십시오 "go." Here are more examples.

닫다       "close"    창문을 닫으십시오 "Close the window"
읽다       "read"     한국어 책을 읽으십시오  "Read the Korean book"
만나다   "meet"    선생님을 만나십시오!  "Meet the teacher!"
보다       "see"        코미디 영화를 보십시오!  "See the comedy movie!"

• Propositive
   For the propositive (suggestion), the ending is -으십시다 for the stem ending in a consonant, as in 먹으십시다 "(let us) eat." However, it is -십시다 for the stem ending in a vowel, as in 갑시다 "(let us) go." Here are more examples.

끊다      "quit"  담배를 끊읍시다.  "(Let us) quit smoking"
앉다      "sit"     앞줄에 앉읍시다.  "(Let us) sit in the front row"
보내다   "send out"          편지를 보냅시다.  "(Let us) send out the letter"
버리다   "throw away"   쓰레기를 버립시다. "(Let us) throw away the garbage"

The Polite Speech Level
     > is the informal counterpart of the deferential speech level. As the most commonly used speech level regardless of age or gender, the polite speech level is broadly used in any situation where
polite language is called for.
     > is used when addressing someone of senior status in a casual, non-formal, and everyday types of conversations;
     > is used with friends if their friendship began in adulthood;
     > is the most common speech level used toward strangers.
     > have two forms: -어요 and -아요.
          when the verb and/or adjective stem ends in either 아 or 오, -아요 is used. On the other hand, -어요 is used with the stem that ends in any other vowels.

For example, the following is a list of some verbs and adjectives (with dictionary endings) in the left column with the polite speech level ending -어/아요in the right column:

      Dictionary form                The polite speech level endings

      가다  "go"                                가요 (가 + 아요 but contracted to 가요)
      보다  "see"                               봐요 (보 + 아요 but contracted)
      오다  "come"                           와요 (오 + 아요 but contracted)
      받다  "receive"                       받아요 (받 + 아요)
      살다  "live"                              살아요 (살 + 아요)
      기다리다  "wait"                      기다려요 (기다리 + 어요 but contracted to 기다려요)
      배우다  "learn"                         배워요 (배우 + 어요 but contracted)
      넣다  "put (something) in"   넣어요 (넣 + 어요)
      묶다  "tie"                                  묶어요 (묶 + 어요)
      먹다  "eat"                                 먹어요 (먹 + 어요)

NOTE:
some verbs or adjectives such as 가다 is not
가아요, but 가요 which is attributed to the vowel contraction in Korean:
• when similar or the same two vowels appear together (e.g., 가아 = 가), the vowels tend to be contracted.

The copula 이다 "be" and 아니다 "be not" as well as the verb 하다 "do" do not follow the above rules. The conjugation of 이다, 아니다, and 하다 is irregular in that the polite speech level of 이다 is 이에요, 아니다 is 아니에요, and 하다 is 해요.
이다        이어요 (X)       이에요 (O)
아니다    아니어요 (X)   아니에요 (O)
하다        하아요 (X)       해요 (O)

The endings -어/아요 are used for all sentence types: declarative, imperative, interrogative, and propositive. Consider the following:

점심을 먹어요      "(I) eat lunch"
점심을 먹어요?    "(Do you) eat lunch?"
점심을 먹어요!     "Eat lunch!"
점심을 먹어요.     "(Let us) eat lunch"

   Koreans use contextual elements as well as intonation (e.g., rising intonation for a question) to figure out what sentence type the ending is used for.

Mixed use of The Deferential and Polite Speech Levels
     >Koreans frequently use the deferential speech level as well as the polite speech level together even in formal conversational settings. One possible scenario is when you meet a person for the first time. The speakers may introduce themselves using the deferential speech level (using the aforementioned fixed expressions). However, once identified, they may switch to the polite speech level. The use of the polite speech level ending  generates an effect of making a dialogue sound less formal, even in formal  conversational contexts.