Jeju language

Jeju
Cheju
제주말 Jejumal
Native to	South Korea
Region	Jeju Province
Native speakers	5,000–10,000 (2012)^[1]^[2] (all born before ca. 1940)
Language family	Koreanic Sillan Jeju
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`jje`
Glottolog	`jeju1234`^[3]

Jeju Province highlighted in South Korea

Jeju (Cheju) is a Koreanic language spoken in Jeju Province in South Korea. It differs greatly from the Korean dialects of the mainland.

Name

The name is transcribed Jeju in Revised Romanization and Cheju in McCune-Reischauer. In Korean, it is known as 제주 방언 (濟州方言) Jeju bang-eon or 제주 사투리 Jeju saturi "Jeju dialect", as 제주어 (濟州語) Jejueo "Jeju language",^[4] or as 제주말 Jejumal "Jeju speech". The last covers both language and dialect.

Classification

Although many South Koreans, including those who speak Jeju, consider it a dialect of the Korean language, it can be considered a separate language because it is nearly mutually unintelligible with Korean dialects of the mainland.^[5] It has been recognized as a distinct language locally and by UNESCO.^[6]

Demographics

There are 5,000–10,000 fluent speakers,^[6] all born before 1950. Jeju was once spoken across Jeju Island, apart from the Chuja islands in the former Bukjeju County (currently Jeju City), where the Chuja dialect, a variety of the Jeolla dialect, is spoken. It also survives in diasporic enclaves in Japan.^[7]

In January 2011, UNESCO added Jeju to its Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger as a "critically endangered language".^[6]

Phonology

There are 9 vowels:

i ㅣ	ɨ ㅡ	u ㅜ
e ㅔ	ə ㅓ	o ㅗ
ɛ ㅐ	a ㅏ	ɒ ㆍ

Jeju maintains the arae-a vowel ㆍ [ɒ], which has been lost from standard Korean.

Historical changes

Middle Korean *kj > Jeju [t͡ɕ] (e.g. *kjər > [t͡ɕər] 'wave')
Middle Korean *əːj > Jeju [i] (e.g. *kəːj > [ki] of [kiŋi] 'crab')

Pragmatics

A notable difference between Jeju and the dialects of mainland Korea is a lack of formality and honorific deference to elders. For example, while a speaker of the Seoul dialect might say 안녕하세요 annyeonghaseyo ("Hello") or 반갑습니다 pangap-seumnida ("Pleasure to meet you") to an older person, a speaker of the Jeju dialect would say 반갑수다 bangap-suda, which is roughly equivalent to "Howdy" or "Nice meetin' ya". In mainland Korea, it would be inappropriate for a child to say this to an adult, but this usage is acceptable in Jeju.

Vocabulary

Jeju preserves many archaic words which have been lost elsewhere, and has borrowed foreign words that are not found in standard Korean. There are also many words which have not been traced to external sources, and which possibly derive from the language of the ancient kingdom of Tamna.

Examples

Jeju		Gloss	Notes
Hangul	RR	Gloss	Notes
ᄒᆞᆫ저옵서예	hɒnjeo opseoye	"Welcome!"
아방	abang	"father"	Cognate with Standard Korean abeoji "father" and South Gyeongsang dialect aba "father." Coincidentally similar to Malayo-Polynesian (Taiwan) 'abang' (uncle).
어멍	eomeong	"mother"
하르방	hareubang	"grandfather; old man"
할망	halmang	"grandmother; old woman"	Added after many shamanistic deities, such as Samseung Halmang, Jeoseung Halmang, and Seolmundae Halmang.
아즈방	ajeubang	"uncle"
아즈망	ajeumang	"aunt"
삼춘	Samchun	(middle-aged men and women)	In Standard Korean, samchon refers to 'uncle'. However, in Jeju Island, 'Samchun' refers to all middle-aged men and women. For example, the title of a novel about the Jeju massacre, Suni Samchun means 'a woman named Suni', not 'Suni's uncle' or 'Uncle Suni.'
오라방	orabang	"elder brother" (of a woman)
ᄄᆞᆯ	ttɒl	"daughter"
가시아방	gasiabang	"father-in-law" (of a man)	From Middle Korean gas "wife" + genitive suffix -ɒy + Jeju dialect abang "father," i.e. "wife's father."
ᄉᆞ나이	sɒnai	"man"
지집빠이	jijib-bbai	"woman"	Cognate with Standard Korean gyējibai ~ gyējibae "girl," from Korean gyējib "woman, female" + Korean ai ~ ǣ "child." Coincidentally similar to Malayo-Polynesian (Taiwan) 'babay' (girl).
비바리	bibari	"maiden"
가물어	gamureo	"not likely"
야개기	yagaegi	"neck"
낭	nang	"tree, shrub, wood"	Stem of the word for "tree, shrub, wood" was namg- in Middle Korean
굴묵낭	gulmungnang	"zelkova tree"
태역	taeyeok	"grass"
송키	songki	"vegetable"	Jeju songki is similar to Manchu sogi "vegetable"
지실	jisil	"potato"
강생이	gangsaeng-i	"puppy"
고냉이	gonaeng-i	"cat"
노리	nori	"Siberian roe deer"
도치	dochi	"ax"	The word for "ax" appeared variously as dosguy, dosgeuy, or dochɒy in Middle Korean
오름	oreum	"mountain, hill, (esp.) parasitic cone"	Jeju dialect oreum or orɒm is similar to Mongolian ūla ("mountain") and Manchu alin ("mountain"). Although it rather sounds closer to the literal meaning of oreum itself, oreum literally means "an elevation" or its implied meaning: "an elevated space."
고고리	gogori	"ear of grain"
그디	geudi	"there"	Jeju language uses -di instead of -(eo)gi to form locational deictic pronouns
이디	idi	"here"
깅이	ging-i	"crab"
생이	saeng-i	"bird"
놈삐 or 무수	nomppi or musu	"radish"	Jeju dialect musu is cognate with Standard Korean muu but derived from a different Middle Korean variant. Note similarity with Manchu mursa ("large, white, globular Chinese radish"). The etymology of Jeju dialect nombbi is obscure.
대비	daebi	"sock"	Jeju language daebi < Japanese tabi ("traditional Japanese socks")
도새기	dosaegi	"pig"
돗괴기	dotgoegi	"pork"
독새기	doksaegi	"chicken egg"
부루	buru	"lettuce"
주리	juri	"change (at the end of a monetary transaction)"	Jeju language juri < Japanese tsuri (id.)
절	jeol	"wave"	Jeju language jeol < Middle Korean gyeol (id.); cognate with the second syllable of Standard Korean mulggyeol
어욱	eouk	"purple eulalia"
인칙	inchik	"early"
개역	gaeyeok	"powder of roast grain"
모물, 모몰, 모믈	momul, momol, momeul	"buckwheat"
몬독	mondok	"dust"
빙애기	bing-aegi	"chick"
가사	gasa	"umbrella"	Compare with Japanese kasa ("wide-brimmed hat; umbrella, parasol") and Korean gat (old-fashoned hat).
몽댕이	mongdaeng-i	"walking stick, staff"	Jeju language mongdaeng-i is cognate with Korean 몽둥이 mongdung-i ("club, cudgel, baton, stick").
몬딱	monttak	"all, everything"
정지	jeongji	"kitchen"	The word jeongji is not unique to Jeju language, as it is also used in Gyeongsang and Jeolla dialect speaking regions.
하영	hayeong	"much, lots"
호꼼, 호끔	hokkom, hogkkeum	"a small quantity; a little"
테우리	teuri	"rancher"	'Teuri' can refer to Jeongsunam, the shamanistic deity of ranching.

Grammar

Verb

Present tense

Jeju honorifics differ from Standard Korean. Where the standard has declarative ㅂ니다 -mnida, Jeju has 암/엄수다 -amsuda or -eomsuda. Where Korean has interrogative ㅂ니까? -mnikka?, Jeju has 암/엄수과? -a/eomsugwa?

Root	Jeju	Korean	gloss
적다 jeokda	적엄수다	적습니다, 적고 있습니다	writing.
적다 jeokda	적엄수과?	적습니까, 적고 있습니까?	writing?

Stative verbs ("adjectives") are similar. Where standard has ㅂ니다/까 -mnida/mnikka or 습니다/까 -seumnida/seumnikka, Jeju has 우다/꽈 -uda/uggwa or 수다/꽈 -suda/suggwa.

Root	Jeju	Standard	gloss
적다 jeokda	적수다	적습니다	(they) are few.
적다 jeokda	적수꽈?	적습니까?	are (they) few?

Past tense

Jeju past declarative 앗/엇수다 -assuda/eossuda corresponds to standard 았/었습니다 -asseumnida/eusseumnida and interrogative 앗/엇수과? -assugwa/-eossugwa to standard 았/었습니까? -asseumnikka/eosseumnikka.

Root	Jeju	Korean	gloss
알다 alda	알앗수다.	알았습니다	understood.
알다 alda	알앗수과?	알았습니까?	understood?

References

↑ UNESCO: Concerted efforts for the revitalization of Jeju language
↑ "Jeju". In Moseley, Christopher (ed.) 2010. Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, 3rd ed. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Jejueo". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
↑ '제주어' 유네스코 소멸위기 언어 등록, Yonhap News, 2011-01-17
↑ Janhunen, Juha, 1996. Manchuria: an ethnic history
1 2 3 New interactive atlas adds two more endangered languages
↑ Korea, Republic of (South): Language Situation (2005). Keith Brown, ed. Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 0-08-044299-4.

National Institute for the Korean Language, JEJU National University, South Korea

External links

제주어 표기법 (Jeju dictionary orthography) at Wikisource
Computer input for hangul syllabic blocks containing arae-a
Galbijim

Dialects of the Korean language

Korea	Central Chungcheong Gyeonggi Hwanghae Gangwon Gyeongsang Hamgyŏng Jeju Jeolla P'yŏng'an

Diaspora	China Koryo-mar (Russia) Zainichi (Japan)

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