Honorifics and Hierarchy: Gender Inequality in Korean and English Speech Patterns

Abstract

This paper compares how the Korean honorific system and English vocabulary each encode gender inequality through different mechanisms. English lost grammatical formality distinctions after "thou" and "thee" declined in the 17th century, so bias now surfaces through vocabulary: asymmetric use of professional titles, gendered marital titles ("Miss"/"Mrs." versus a uniform "Mr."), and higher rates of hedging language among women. Korean retains an obligatory grammatical honorific system, and evidence from spousal address, K-drama dialogue, and workplace interactions shows it applied asymmetrically, with women expected to show more deference than they receive. Because English bias operates through optional word choice, it is in principle avoidable; Korean's grammatically mandatory honorific endings make gendered deference a structural feature speakers cannot opt out of. The comparison suggests linguistic sexism is embedded more rigidly in languages with grammaticalized formality than in those relying on vocabulary alone.