The Use of the Honorific Suffix -si- for Non-human Subjects: An Analysis of Talk-shows

Abstract

The Korean language has a complex honorific system that reflects the social dynamics between speakers, listeners, and referents. Korean honorifics include address terms, sentence endings, honorific words, and the subject honorific suffix -‍si‍-. In principle, the suffix -‍si‍- should be used only with human subjects; however, in actual communication, it is often used with non-human subjects. This so-called ‘misuse’ is especially common in service sectors, where businesses aim to show extreme politeness to customers. Public media criticizes this trend, arguing that it improperly elevates inanimate objects rather than people. Research on this phenomenon is limited, particularly in the context of everyday conversation. This study aims to investigate the use of -‍si‍- with non-human subjects in TV talk show conversations, exploring the factors contributing to this seemingly ungrammatical usage.

Keywords

• Korean honorifics
• subject honorific suffix -si-
• honorific agreement
• referent honorifics
• addressee honorifics