Koryo-mar

Koryo-mar, Goryeomal, or Koryŏmal (Korean: 고려말; Russian: Корё мар) is the dialect of Korean language spoken by Koryo-saram, ethnic Koreans in the former USSR. It is descended from Yukjin dialect and multiple other varieties of Northeastern Korean.^[5] Koryo-saram often report difficulty understanding speakers of standard Korean; this may be compounded by the fact that the majority of Koryo-saram today use Russian and not Korean as their first language.^[6]

Names

In Koryo-saram's speech, the language is referred to as Koryo-mar (고려말/корё мар), with several alternative pronunciations including Kore-mar (коре мар) and Kore-mari(коре мари).

In South Korea, the dialect is referred to as Goryeomal (고려말) or Central Asian Korean (중앙아시아 한국어).

In Russia and other former Soviet states, the language is referred to as Koryo-mar (корё мар) or Koryo-mal (корё маль), of which the former reflects the spoken form while the latter reflects the literary form of Korean.

Orthography

Speakers do not generally use Koryeomar as a literary language. Written Korean during Soviet period tended to follow the North Korean standard language, while both Northern and Southern forms have occurred after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, some modern writers, most notably Lavrenti Son, have created plays and short stories in Koryeomar using hangul.^[7]

A movement for the romanization of Koryeomar took place in the late 1930s, promoted by various government officials and linguists, but it did not have much success.^[8]

Phonology

Characteristics of Koryeomar distinct from that of Standard Korean include the following phonological differences.^[9]

• Hangul: ㄹ is [ɾ] or [r] in all positions except when geminate, where it is pronounced the same as standard Korean
• frequent loss of Hangul: ㄹ before coronal consonants
• A pitch accent system that distinguishes minimal pairs; it has two tones, high and low
• the retention of MK initial n before [i] and [j]

Pedagogy

Koryeomar is not taught as a subject or used as the medium of instruction in any schools. The Korean language as taught in universities of the post-Soviet states is that of North or South Korea, with instructors being native to or trained in one of those countries. In one instance, a South Korean professor tried to teach Koryeomar at Almaty State University, but he did not achieve much success.^[10]

See also

• Cyrillization of Korean
• Dungan language, the Mandarin Chinese-descended language spoken by the Hui people in Central Asia
• Korean dialects

References

1. ↑ Korean at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. ↑ Uzbekistan at Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, & Charles D. Fennig, eds. (2013). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (17th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)
3. ↑ Kazakhstan at Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, & Charles D. Fennig, eds. (2013). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (17th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)
4. ↑ Kyrgyzstan at Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, & Charles D. Fennig, eds. (2015). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (18th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)
5. ↑ (in Korean) Kwak, Chung-gu (2007). "Data and Ressarches for Korean dialect in Central Asia" (PDF). Journal of Humanities. 85: 231–272 – via Institute of Humanities. 
6. ↑ Khan, Valeriy Sergeevich. "Koreans and the Poly-ethnic Environment in Central Asia: The Experience of Eurasianism". Seoul: Academy of Korean Studies. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-20. 
7. ↑ Kim, Phil. "Forced Deportation and Literary Imagination". Seoul: Academy of Korean Studies. Archived from the original on 2005-07-29. Retrieved 2006-11-20. 
8. ↑ Kim, German. "The History, Culture, and Language of Koryo Saram" (PDF). Seoul: Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies. Retrieved 2012-08-08. 
9. ↑ Tranter, Nicolas (2012). The Languages of Japan and Korea. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-44658-0. 
10. ↑ Kim, German. "Korean Diaspora in Kazakhstan: Question of Topical Problems for Minorities in Post-Soviet Space" (PDF). Almaty: Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences.