Discussion Post #10

[Haley Zhao]

If I have received a research grant to conduct a linguistic study of Korean and its culture, I would like to study the difference in Korean usage between North and South Korea. North and South Korea has been divided since 1945 after World War II. During this period of separation, linguists and historians from both sides decided to create a dictionary of the Korean national language together. But the two regions still developed distinctive dialects and words usage overtime. For example, South Korean has more borrowed words from English compared to the North. South Korean call their language Hangul while in North Korean call it Joseon-gul. And there are many more differences in pronunciations. I would like to start from researching the existing differences and what would be the possible causes behind. It would also be useful to look into how linguists from both sides tried to keep the language and means consistent over the years. In class we discussed how geography and culture would shape a language, so North and South Korea offered perfect example on how a same language would develop differently under regional and cultural influences. 

[Lanqin Wang]

It's interesting to learn about the language difference between north and south Korea. I did not know previously that they have differences. It probably has a lot to do with the political difference between the two countries. Being separated more from other countries has left North Korea out of influence by other countries.

[Annie Lai]

Interesting post Haley! I haven't realized how different the language is between North and South Korea. It is interesting to learn that South Koreans borrow more words from English compared to North Korea because of how much it's evolved over the years. I wonder if they also write some things different.