Style shifts into an informal speech style in L1-L2 Korean interactions

This study investigates how speech styles in Korean are negotiated in real time in interactions between first (L1) and second language (L2) speakers. Responding to calls for work in L2 pragmatics to go beyond the use of DCTs and role plays, we report on data taken from elicited conversations in Korean and metapragmatic interviews with two L2 Korean speakers and three L1 Korean speakers. Drawing on interactional sociolinguistics (IS) (Gumperz, 1982), quantitative analysis of speech style distribution as well as line-by-line analysis of speech style shifts were utilized to examine how speakers orient to this potential conversational ‘trouble.’ Quantitative analysis of the interactions revealed marked quantitative differences between each pair and, particularly, each speaker's orientation to the interaction as either conversational facilitator or passive interactional participant. Line-by-line analysis of moments in which the L2 speakers shift into an informal speech style were analyzed and revealed three strategies employed by both L1 and L2 speakers: (1) self-initiated self-repair, (2) metapragmatic commentary, and (3) style mirroring. As the number of Korean language learners continues to increase (Lusin et al., 2023), this study provides a timely perspective on not only what L2 Korean speakers know about Korean speech styles, but what actually happens in L1-L2 interactions. • Elicited conversations are useful for studying L1-L2 pragmatic interaction. • Speech style distribution in L1-L2 interactions is largely L1-like. • L2 speakers, at times, style shift into informal speech styles that are non-L1 like. • Speakers have various interactional strategies for dealing with speech style shift.