Politeness and formality
How do we speak to suit the person and the situation?
의미
The way we speak can show respect, closeness, or how formal a situation is. Polite and formal are not the same: friendly everyday words can be polite too. Some languages have special forms for addressing people, while others rely mainly on wording and tone. Requests and commands concerns the action we ask for; Politeness and formality concerns how we address the other person.
알아보는 방법
Compare how the wording or tone changes when the speaker addresses a different person or speaks in a different situation.
모국어에서는
Korean sentence endings show the relationship to the listener, including casual speech (반말), informal polite speech (해요체), and formal polite speech (하십시오체). Separately, honorific forms show respect for the person being discussed, using -시-, markers such as 께서, and special words such as 드시다. A polite ending addresses the listener, while an honorific form can respect someone else in the sentence.
지금 뭐 해? (Jigeum mwo hae?)
This casual form suits someone with whom casual speech is appropriate.
지금 뭐 해요? (Jigeum mwo haeyo?)
요 makes the same question polite toward the listener.
선생님께서 지금 오십니다. (Seonsaengnimkkeseo jigeum osimnida.)
께서 and -시- respect the teacher; -ㅂ니다 makes the statement formal and polite toward the listener.