Learning Journal #10

[Hyeon Jun Jo]

I would conduct a research on the relationship between different dialects in Korean. First, I would have to define the different dialects that exists in the Korean language by traveling to different areas in Korea. Then, I would study the similarities between the dialects and see how they became to exist. I would have to dig deeper into whether there were any other dialects that existed before that have changed to what exists today or if it has become extinct. The research will consist of talking to natives of different dialects and studying the history of those dialects. Each dialect may have different morphemes that are specific to that dialect or even new vocabulary that would mean the same as another word in another dialect. In addition, different dialects would have different momentums and rhythm which is why one dialect speaker may have trouble understanding the other dialect. Phonetic articulation is the most important difference between dialects and will definitely appear throughout my research. 

[Kate Park]

That’s a very interesting research topic! I’ve always wanted to learn a bit more about the various dialects in Korea. The differences in intonation, vocabulary, grammar, and pitch vary so much from region to region. I wonder how that came to be. I have a friend whose family is from Busan, and when I had to talk with her parents, it was so difficult to understand. Even though we were speaking the same language, it felt as if we weren’t. I also heard a few examples of the Jejudo dialect a long time ago, and I remember it sounding extremely different from the standard Korean accent. I think even some aspects of it sounded more like Japanese than the standard Seoul accent.