Korean Dialects
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Wolran Kim
September 2013
Korea has regional variations of dialects across the peninsula. The peninsula is very mountainous, and these natural boundaries match each dialect’s territory. There are seven Provinces, and the dialects are named for them as well. Standard Korean in South Korea is the modern speech of the capital city, Seoul, widely used by the well educated. In North Korea, the standard is the ‘Munhwao’ dialect, based on the capital city, Pyongyang. The language of Korean is basically the same between the South and the North; however, there are many general differences in intonation, pronunciation, criterion, grammar, orthography, and even basic characters due to a long period of division.
Around 76 million people are native Korean speakers. The seven major dialects are Hamgyoeng, Northwestern, Central, Yoengdong, Gyoengsang, Jeolla, and Jeju. Hamgyong dialects are spoken in the Hamgyong region in North Korea and the Koreans in Yanbian in northeast China. They use nine vowels, including eight of the standard vowels plus ö. Northwestern dialects include Pyongyang, Hwanghae, and Yukchin dialects; these dialects are spoken by people in the same geographical name as the name of the dialects. Central dialects include Seoul, Yeongseo, and Chungcheong dialects; Seoul dialect is the basis of the standard language, and is also called Gyeonggi dialect. Yeongdong dialects are spoken in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon Province in South Korea and its neighbor of North Korea.
Gyeongsan dialects are also called Southeastern dialects, and spoken in the Gyeongsang region of South Korea including the cities of Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan. This dialect is easily distinguished from the Standard because of its more varied pitch with only six vowels (i, e, a, eo, o, u). Jeolla dialects are spoken in the Honam region of South Korea, and use ten vowels (i, e, ae, a, ü, ö, u, o, eu, eo). The Jeju dialect is spoken on the Jeju Island, and uses nine vowels and additional consonants.
There are additional dialects called Koryo-mal and Zainichi in the Korean language from outside of the Korean peninsula. Koryo-mal is spoken by the Koryo people who are ethnic Koreans in the former USSR. It contains the basic vocabulary of Korean and also many loanwords and calques from the Russian and Turkic languages. The Zainichi dialect is spoken among the Zainichi Koreans in Japan, and is strongly influenced by Japanese.
For example, there are 18 various dialects for “dragonfly” (Standard Korean, 잠자리); 소곰쟁이, 잼재리, 잼자리, 안질뱅이, 잰자리, 잔자리, 짬자리, 쨈자리, 남자리, 나마리, 오다리, 철베이, 자마리, 철개이, 철기, 자:마리, 밥주리, 팽잘.
The difference between the North Korean and the South Korean dialects is caused by historic reasons, because they have been divided since WWII in 1945. They have had entirely different systems socially, culturally, and religiously for a long time. South Korea is under democratic principles influenced by the West and the United States, and North Korea is under communism influenced by the USSR.
Koryo-mal and Zainichi Korean also have historic reasons, because Korean people had migrated to Russia, China, and Japan due to war, colonization, and political struggles a long time ago. The Korean Peninsula has complicated geographical circumstances with China, Japan, and the former USSR. Korea is known as a very homogeneous country with a single ethnicity for thousands of years until the end of the 20th century. However, various dialects in the peninsula are caused from geographic and cultural elements, because of the variation in food, temperament, manners, politics, and language. 70% of the land consists of mountains and hills, thus, the geographical barriers developed the regional dialects and cultures.
Korea is a small country by the size of the land, but there are strong local and regional stereotypes. This negative attitude divides the capital city and the provinces, and a preference for Seoul is almost among all the citizens. As a result, the population density in Seoul averages 10 to 20 times the local areas (17200 per ㎢), and is 2 to 10 times higher than the capital cities of other OPEC countries. Relatively, there is severe prejudice about localities and dialects, and it is recognized that it is impossible for those of local origin to get a job in Seoul. Movies and television always begin the cultural and political bias from the regional dialects. The strong prestige about the city of Seoul and the standard language comes from a burning desire for a better life and pursuing to increase quality of life. These aspirations often create troubles and conflicts, socially and culturally. The negative trend about the antagonism between Jeolla-Do and Keongsang-Do is notorious in Korea. This biased view is still an issue in political action and campaigns. In reality, the capitalist economy and the material value raise a privileged awareness about capital and the stereotypes about regions throughout society.
Dialect variation is very interesting in terms of the variety of linguistic study, because dialects are another creation of language. Linguistic diversity is a tool that helps us see a glimpse of the rich culture and history. The distinctive local dialect shows the local food, fashion, custom and social consciousness clearly. However, Korean dialects are also intriguing and frustrating to me, because using dialects increases ignorant preference about the metropolitan area and creates hostility between provinces. Division and enmity due to the characteristics of the language decay away all of the benefits of linguistic diversity. Social structures of personality, family, education, or social status of people are judged by using dialects and different intonations have more disadvantages than advantages.
================
Wolran Kim
September 2013
Korea has regional variations of dialects across the peninsula. The peninsula is very mountainous, and these natural boundaries match each dialect’s territory. There are seven Provinces, and the dialects are named for them as well. Standard Korean in South Korea is the modern speech of the capital city, Seoul, widely used by the well educated. In North Korea, the standard is the ‘Munhwao’ dialect, based on the capital city, Pyongyang. The language of Korean is basically the same between the South and the North; however, there are many general differences in intonation, pronunciation, criterion, grammar, orthography, and even basic characters due to a long period of division.
Around 76 million people are native Korean speakers. The seven major dialects are Hamgyoeng, Northwestern, Central, Yoengdong, Gyoengsang, Jeolla, and Jeju. Hamgyong dialects are spoken in the Hamgyong region in North Korea and the Koreans in Yanbian in northeast China. They use nine vowels, including eight of the standard vowels plus ö. Northwestern dialects include Pyongyang, Hwanghae, and Yukchin dialects; these dialects are spoken by people in the same geographical name as the name of the dialects. Central dialects include Seoul, Yeongseo, and Chungcheong dialects; Seoul dialect is the basis of the standard language, and is also called Gyeonggi dialect. Yeongdong dialects are spoken in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon Province in South Korea and its neighbor of North Korea.
Gyeongsan dialects are also called Southeastern dialects, and spoken in the Gyeongsang region of South Korea including the cities of Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan. This dialect is easily distinguished from the Standard because of its more varied pitch with only six vowels (i, e, a, eo, o, u). Jeolla dialects are spoken in the Honam region of South Korea, and use ten vowels (i, e, ae, a, ü, ö, u, o, eu, eo). The Jeju dialect is spoken on the Jeju Island, and uses nine vowels and additional consonants.
There are additional dialects called Koryo-mal and Zainichi in the Korean language from outside of the Korean peninsula. Koryo-mal is spoken by the Koryo people who are ethnic Koreans in the former USSR. It contains the basic vocabulary of Korean and also many loanwords and calques from the Russian and Turkic languages. The Zainichi dialect is spoken among the Zainichi Koreans in Japan, and is strongly influenced by Japanese.
For example, there are 18 various dialects for “dragonfly” (Standard Korean, 잠자리); 소곰쟁이, 잼재리, 잼자리, 안질뱅이, 잰자리, 잔자리, 짬자리, 쨈자리, 남자리, 나마리, 오다리, 철베이, 자마리, 철개이, 철기, 자:마리, 밥주리, 팽잘.
The difference between the North Korean and the South Korean dialects is caused by historic reasons, because they have been divided since WWII in 1945. They have had entirely different systems socially, culturally, and religiously for a long time. South Korea is under democratic principles influenced by the West and the United States, and North Korea is under communism influenced by the USSR.
Koryo-mal and Zainichi Korean also have historic reasons, because Korean people had migrated to Russia, China, and Japan due to war, colonization, and political struggles a long time ago. The Korean Peninsula has complicated geographical circumstances with China, Japan, and the former USSR. Korea is known as a very homogeneous country with a single ethnicity for thousands of years until the end of the 20th century. However, various dialects in the peninsula are caused from geographic and cultural elements, because of the variation in food, temperament, manners, politics, and language. 70% of the land consists of mountains and hills, thus, the geographical barriers developed the regional dialects and cultures.
Korea is a small country by the size of the land, but there are strong local and regional stereotypes. This negative attitude divides the capital city and the provinces, and a preference for Seoul is almost among all the citizens. As a result, the population density in Seoul averages 10 to 20 times the local areas (17200 per ㎢), and is 2 to 10 times higher than the capital cities of other OPEC countries. Relatively, there is severe prejudice about localities and dialects, and it is recognized that it is impossible for those of local origin to get a job in Seoul. Movies and television always begin the cultural and political bias from the regional dialects. The strong prestige about the city of Seoul and the standard language comes from a burning desire for a better life and pursuing to increase quality of life. These aspirations often create troubles and conflicts, socially and culturally. The negative trend about the antagonism between Jeolla-Do and Keongsang-Do is notorious in Korea. This biased view is still an issue in political action and campaigns. In reality, the capitalist economy and the material value raise a privileged awareness about capital and the stereotypes about regions throughout society.
Dialect variation is very interesting in terms of the variety of linguistic study, because dialects are another creation of language. Linguistic diversity is a tool that helps us see a glimpse of the rich culture and history. The distinctive local dialect shows the local food, fashion, custom and social consciousness clearly. However, Korean dialects are also intriguing and frustrating to me, because using dialects increases ignorant preference about the metropolitan area and creates hostility between provinces. Division and enmity due to the characteristics of the language decay away all of the benefits of linguistic diversity. Social structures of personality, family, education, or social status of people are judged by using dialects and different intonations have more disadvantages than advantages.