82% of Elementary Schoolchildren Unable to Converse without Using Neologism

To a question, “Can you make conversation with your friends without using any neologism?” as many as 345 respondents (82%) said, “No, I can’t.” Most of the children (78%) thought there is nothing wrong with using strange-sounding new words and phrases. (image: OnBizNet)

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct 08 (Korea Bizwire) – The value of the Korean language is highlighted again as the October 9 Hangul Day is observed as a holiday from this year in 23 years. These days, older people are increasingly concerned about children’s language habits. For example, the way elementary school kids talk is almost unintelligible to their parents and adult people, largely because of their extreme use of neologism. 

Recently, educational portal WeekOn conducted a survey on 423 elementary school students about their everyday language practice. To a question, “Can you make conversation with your friends without using any neologism?” as many as 345 respondents (82%) said, “No, I can’t.” Most of the children (78%) thought there is nothing wrong with using strange-sounding new words and phrases. 

To a question, “What do you think affects your language habit most?” more than 50 percent of children answered that it was the smartphone. It was then followed by the computer, the TV, and video games. The reason the smartphone is the biggest factor in determining the elementary schoolchildren is they learn new words and phrases by exchanging text messages with their friends. 

The Era of Neologism Might Be Driven by Texting Habits Online

The way elementary school kids talk is almost unintelligible to their parents and adult people, largely because of their extreme use of neologism. (image: OnBizNEt)

Under these circumstances, language educators said that teaching them proper Hangul usage at school is not enough for them and there must be something else, such as rules on correct language usage on the mobile Internet, to make them learn the correct language. 

Hwang Seong-guk, senior manager with WeekOn, said, “From the survey on occasion of the Hangul Day, we could learn the misguided language habits of our children. We recommend to schoolteachers that they administer hands-on history education learning about King Sejong and how he had Hangul invented, as well as fun-filled activities to instill the children the correct language habits.”

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