Understanding self and other : exploring how relational processes contribute to the Korean-American cultural experience depicted in Chang-Rae Lee's native speaker

Abstract EN

The link between culture and language has been the focus of many recent studies.

The study of culture and language offers an understanding of how 'reality' is constituted on the one hand and maintained on the other.

As different cultures dictate certain patterns of thoughts and certain language structures, the integration of different cultures may cause a conflict of identity.

In this study, the struggle between eastern and western identities is under investigation.

The discourse chosen for analysis is Native Speaker, a novel written by the Korean-American novelist Chang-Rae Lee.

The study is conducted through an analysis of the relational processes present in the novel.

Relational processes depict an external and internal perspectives of participants' reality, as they offer attributes that describe and identify the relationship between participants.

The analysis of such relationships presents a clearer understanding of the Korean-American cultural experience and of Lee's governing ideologies toward this representation.

Results: The study of the relational processes in Lee's Native Speaker with their variant participants allows the reader a chance to draw relations between the protagonist's view of himself and of the participants around him.

These relations contribute to his journey of discovering his identity as a Korean-American, a product of two cultures.