Young-mee Yu Cho is Professor of Korean Language and Culture. Her main research interests comprise Korean language, linguistics, and Korean studies. In Korean phonology, she has worked on syllable structure, laryngeal contrasts in consonants, and lexical stratification while in pragmatics her research focuses on a spectrum of social meanings of honorifics in the context of Asian linguistics. As a specialist in Korean as a Foreign Language (KFL) education, she co-authored the most popular Korean textbook series, Integrated Korean (2000-2020) and a textbook for Korean heritage learners, Integrated Korean-Accelerated 1 & 2 (2021). As President of the American Association of Teachers of Korean, she led the task force to produce the National Standards for Korean Language Learning (2012) and its curricula application (2015). In addition, she has been working on the Korean materials in the William Elliot Griffis Collection at Rutgers Libraries, producing Korean Photographs in the William Griffis Collection (2019) and Annotated Korea Letters in the Griffis Collection (forthcoming).
Education
- Ph.D. in Linguistics, Stanford University
- B.A. in English, Seoul National University
Areas of Specialization
- Korean Language
- Linguistics
- Foreign Language Education
- Translation
Books
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Selected Articles and Book Chapters
- “Laryngeal Contrast in Korean.” (2011) Companion to Phonology. Eds. Marc van Oostendorp, et. al. (Wiley-Blackwell).
- “A Historical Perspective on Nonderived Environment Blocking: the Case of the Korean Palatalization.” (2008) Eds. S. Inkelas and K. Hanson. The Nature of Word: Essays in Honor of Paul Kiparsky.
- “Melody, Rhythm, and Prosodic Structure in Linguistic Chants” (with M. Saiki) (2007) Eds. J. Grimshaw, et. al. Architectures, Rules and Preferences. (Stanford University), 431-445.
- “Semi-syllables and Exhaustive Syllabifications.'' (2003) (with T. King) Eds. C. Fery and R. van de Vivyer. The Syllable in Optimality Theory (Cambridge University Press) 183-222.
- “Diglossia in Korean Language and Literature: A Historical Perspective.” (Spring 2002) East Asia: An International Quarterly. 3-23.
- “Variation and Language Change in Optimality theory.” (1998) (with A. Anttila) Lingua. 104. 3 1-56.
- “A Lexical Account of Inflectional Suffixes in Korean.” (1995) (with P. Sells) Journal of East Asian Linguistics.
- “Inalterability as Prespecification,'' (1993) (with S. lnkelas) Language 69. 3.
Courses Taught or Developed
- Writing and Literacy in East Asia (01:214:310)
- Elementary Korean I (01:574:101)
- Elementary Korean II (01:574:102)
- Intermediate Korean I (01:574:201)
- Intermediate Korean II (01:574:202)
- Introduction to Korean Culture (01:574:210)
- Korean Literature in Translation I (01:574:220)
- Korean Literature in Translation II (01:574:220)
- Introduction to Korean Cinema and Cinematic Language (01:574:230)
- Korean Language in Culture and Society (01:574:250)
- Advanced Korean I (01:574:301)
- Advanced Korean II (01:574:302)
- Advanced Korean for Business I (01:574:303)
- Advanced Korean for Business II (01:574:304)
- Advanced Readings in Korean I (01:574:401)
- Advanced Readings in Korean II (01:574:402)
- Readings in Korean Literature (01:574:410)
- Independent Study in Korean I (01:574:495)
- Independent Study in Korean II (01:574:496)
- Honors in Korean (01:574:497)
- Honors in Korean (01:574:498)
- Graduate Seminar in Phonology [Linguistics Dept.] (01:615:525)
- Writing Systems of the World [Undergraduate Honors Seminar] (06:090:199)
Selected Awards and Distinctions
- Korea Foundation Grant for “Korean Studies Curricula in the Age of Multimedia Education.” (with A. Choi, K-H Choi and H-Y. Kim), 2003-2005
- Tuttle Language Grant for “Multi-faceted Approach to the Teaching of Korean Literature/Culture” (with K. Choi, K. Chun, and H. Kim), 2002-2003
- Research/Travel Grant, The Northeast Council, The Association of Asian Studies, 1999-2000
- Research Council Grant, Rutgers University, 1997-1998
- Mellon Fellowship, National Foreign Language Center, John's Hopkins University, 1994
- Fellowship, Summer Workshop on Curriculum Development, National Foreign Language Resource Center, University of Hawaii, 1993
- Awarded a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant for “The Battle between Language and Music that Determines the Form of a Melody Pattern in Vocative Chant” (with M. Saiki, 2005-2007)
Professional Affiliations
- Member of the Graduate Faculty in the Linguistics Program, Rutgers University
- Senior Advisor and Chief Examiner for Korean, Representative Chief Examiner for Asia/Pacific Languages. International Baccalaureate, Cardiff, England
- Executive Secretary, The American Association of Teachers of Korean
- Board Member, The International Association for Korean Language Education
- Linguistic Society of America
- The International Circle of Korean Linguistics
- Association for Asian Studies
- Linguistic Society of Korea
- The Modern Language Association
Organizational Work
- Worked as the Conference Manager for the Mid Atlantic Region/Association of Asian Studies Conference (Oct. 2008) and organized MAR/AAS Teaching Asia Workshop at Rutgers University
- Organized “Workshop on the Korean Materials of William Elliot Griffis Collection at Rutgers University” (March 4, 2008) and coordinated the project of producing a detailed information document on the Korean Materials of the William Elliot Griffis Collection and its translation into English with Hui-gi Sim and Ann Choi (July 1, 2009)