Code-Switching in Korean Hip-Hop: A Corpus-Based Study of English Usage in Korean Rap Lyrics

초록

This study examines code-switching between Korean and English in the lyrics of prominent Korean hip-hop artists. By analyzing a corpus of 40 songs from Jay Park, BewhY, Zion.T, G-Dragon, ZICO, Vinxen, and Okasian, it explores how these artists use English to express identity, modernity, and engage with global audiences. Code-switching is categorized into intra-sentential, inter-sentential, and tag-switching based on Poplack's (1980) classification while the cultural contexts in the frameworks of Kim (2015), Lawrence (2010), Lee (2006), and Yang (2012) provided bases for enriched analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal that English in Korean hip-hop serves various roles: asserting identity, enhancing international appeal, and reinforcing themes of love, power, and ambition. The statistical analyses showed high positive correlations between code-switching types among the investigated artists, highlighting English as a strategic tool for artists navigating local and global music markets. Ultimately, the findings illuminate the interplay between language, culture, and globalization in Korean hip-hop, contributing to our understanding of English's role in Korean popular culture.

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