Zainichi Korean language

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Zainichi Korean
재일조선어
History Museum of J-Koreans.JPG
History Museum of J-Koreans in Tokyo
Pronunciation [/t͡ɕeiɾt͡ɕosono/]
Native toJapan
Ethnicity Zainichi Koreans
Koreanic
Early forms
Hangul
Language codes
ISO 639-3
IETF ko-JP

Zainichi Korean is a variety of Korean as spoken by Zainichi Koreans (ethnic Korean citizens or residents of Japan). The speech is based on the southern dialects of Korean, as the majority of first-generation immigrants came from the southern part of the peninsula, including Gyeonggi-do, Jeolla-do and Jeju-do.

Contents

Due to isolation from other Korean speech-communities and the influence of Japanese, Zainichi Korean language exhibits strong differences from the standard Korean of either North or South Korea.

Languages among Zainichi Koreans

The majority of Zainichi Koreans use Japanese in their everyday speech, even among themselves. The Korean language is used only in a limited number of social contexts: towards first-generation immigrants, as well as in Chosŏn Hakkyo , (Korean : 조선학교; Hanja : 朝鮮學校, or Chōsen Gakkō; 朝鮮学校, "Korean School"), pro-Pyongyang ethnic schools supported by Chongryon.

Since most Zainichi Koreans learn Korean as their second language, they tend to speak it with a heavy Japanese accent. This variety of speech is called Zainichi Korean language, a name which, even when used by Zainichi Koreans themselves, often carries a critical connotation. [1]

Phonology

Vowels

While Standard Korean distinguishes eight vowels, Zainichi Korean distinguishes only five, as in Japanese.

Vowel jamo
Standard Korean/a//ʌ//o//u//ɯ//i//ɛ//e/
Zainichi Korean/a//o//ɯ//i//e/

Initial consonants

In syllable-initial position, standard Korean distinguishes among plain, aspirated, and tense consonants, such as /k/, /kʰ/, and /k͈/. Zainichi Korean, on the other hand, distinguishes only between unvoiced and voiced consonants (/k/ and /ɡ/), as in Japanese.

Standard KoreanZainichi Korean
Beginning of a wordElsewhere
Plain /k/Unvoiced /k/ or voiced /ɡ/, depending on speakers
Aspirate /kʰ/Unvoiced /k/ Geminated unvoiced /kː/
Tense /k͈/

There are no geminates after nasal consonants. Thus 앉자, /ant͡ɕ͈a/ in Standard, becomes /ant͡ɕa/, not /ant͡ɕːa/.

As in the North Korean standard, initial /ɾ/ or /n/ never change their values. 역사/jəks͈a/ in South Korea is 력사/ɾjəks͈a/ in North Korea, or /ɾjosːa/ among Zainichi Koreans.

Final consonants

Seven consonants occur in the final position of Standard Korean syllables, namely /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, and /ɾ/. In Zainichi Korean those sounds are treated differently.

Standard KoreanZainichi Korean
Plosives (/p/, /t/, and /k/)Followed by geminated consonants (i.e. /ɾjok/ followed by /sa/ becomes /ɾjosːa/)
Nasals (/m/, /n/, and /ŋ/)/ɴ/ (as in Japanese)
Flap (/ɾ/)/ɾ/

Grammar

Zainichi Korean grammar also shows influence from Japanese.

Some particles are used differently from the Standard Korean. For instance, "to ride a car" is expressed as chareul tanda (차를 탄다) in standard Korean, which can be interpreted as "car-(direct object) ride". In Zainichi Korean, the same idea is expressed as cha-e tanda (차에 탄다; "car-into ride"), just like Japanese kuruma ni noru (車に乗る).

Standard Korean distinguishes hae itda (해 있다, referring to a continuous state) and hago itda (하고 있다, referring to a continuous action). For instance, "to be sitting" is anja itda (앉아 있다), not ango itda' (앉고 있다), as the latter would mean "being in the middle of the action of sitting, but has not completed the action yet". Zainichi Korean, however, does not distinguish these two, as Japanese does not either; it uses hago itda form for both continuous state and continuous action.

Writing system

Zainichi Korean is not typically written; standard Korean is used as the literary language. For example, a speaker who pronounces the word geureona (그러나; "however") as gurona (구로나), will still spell the word in the former form. In much the same way, Standard Korean speakers retain the grapheme difference between ae and e, even though they may pronounce the two identically.

See also

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References

  1. Io, a magazine published by Choson Sinbo , had a report titled ここがヘンだよ「在日朝鮮語」(Zainichi Korean language is strange in these ways), criticizing this variety of Korean, which can't be called urimal (literally "our language") anymore".

Further reading