Japanese language planning in Korea, 1905-1945

要旨

Japanese language planning in Korea after the conclusion of the Korea-Japan Treaty of 1905 was subordinate to the political aims of Japanese empire.As the specific goals of Japanese empire changed -from an initial concern with general interchange between Korea and Japan to an eventual focus on the needs of a beleaguered Japanese war machineso too did the aims of language planning change.Japanese language planning per se moved from a concern with bilingualism, with Japanese as the second language being taught to a small percentage of the Korean populace, to one of monolingual universal education in the "national language" (Japanese) once an all-out assimilationist policy was adopted at the political level.At the implementation level, Japan's language planning effort was very comprehensive.It concentrated on the children and involved the introduction of Korea's first universal schooling system.Utilitarian technical and academic subjects were taught through the Japanese language.Detailed curricula were worked out, teachers trained and textbooks compiled.Meanwhile, Japanese-language newspapers, periodicals, books, radio broadcasts, music and movies were introduced and their Korean counterparts stepby-step suppressed.Reward and punishment systems were used to reinforce the effort.Japan's language planning, judged solely in terms of language acquisition, was successful.Large numbers of Koreans learned to speak, read and write Japanese with native or near-native fluency.Indeed, even Korean academics have commented that had the effort continued for another few decades, the entire populace would have been speaking Japanese and the Korean language would have been in danger of dying out.However, the effort collapsed together with the Japanese Empire.In the backlash of Korean ethnicity and nationalism which occurred in the aftermath of this collapse, the weakness of this kind of externally imposed language planning quickly surfacedthe Japanese language was rejected together with every other vestige of Japanese control.Just as the Japanese language planners had earlier insisted that the "spirit of Japaneseness" resided in the "national language," so too did the now free Koreans insist that their national spirit resided in the Korean language.Language planning which does not take ethnicity into full account carries a fatal flaw.during the colonial period.It was through Dr. Fishman's excellent tutoring and guidance that I became aware of the importance of the interplay between language and ethnicity as it relates to language acquisition by young children in their stage of co,@tive development, Later, Dr. Tai Whan Kim, now deceased, who had himself personally expeiienced the effects of denied ethnicity under Japanese language planning in his country, while served as an encouraging teacher and senior friend, helped me to deepen my understanding of these issues.Upon Dr. Kim's unfortunate early death, D r .Ross Saunders consented to take up thc task cf thesis adviser, 2nd it is his p2tience and scholastic advice h a t has been most instrumental in getting me through the laborious process of thesis writing and revision.Dr. Jan Walls, whom I first came to know in China, has also proved an understanding and inspirational mentor over the years.A rekognized

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