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Nationalism and Globalism in Transliteration Systems: Romanization Debates in Korea

1999; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 35; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

1477-0326

Robert J. Fouser,

Translation Studies and Practices

The debate over romanization of Korean flared anew in 1997 as the National Academy for the Korean Language presented a proposal for a new romanization system to replace the current system, which closely resembles the 1939 McCune-Reischauer system. The debate between advocates of the new system and defenders of the current system came from differing views on the role of han'gul in the maintenance of Korean cultural nationalism. Supporters of the new system argued that the current system is flawed because it deviates greatly from han'gul orthography by representing allophonic changes with different Roman letters, which makes it difficult for Koreans to use the current system. They further argue that the current system offends Korean national pride because it distorts the purity and scientific intent of han'gul. Defenders of the current system, however, argue that it helps non-native speakers come up with a reasonably accurate Korean pronunciation. They also stress the aesthetic appeal of the current system to non-Koreans over all other systems of romanization. In this paper, I first present background information on the politics of romanization since the division of Korea into two states in 1948. Through a detailed analysis of media reports and official documents, I then show how the recent debate in South Korea has unfolded since 1996. Finally, I discuss how the current debate reflects the continuing conflict between nationalism and globalism in Korean orthographic and romanization policies. The current debate over romanization of Korean is important because it shows how the pressures of globalization cause a nationalistic reaction in transliteration systems as well as native-language orthographies around the world. As globalization continues, transliteration systems will play an increasingly important role in debates about how nations and peoples, particularly those with non-Roman alphabets, represent themselves orthographically in the emerging global cu