Growing up, I always assumed the Korean that my parents spoke to me in was the Korean that everyone spoke. However, after many confused stares from family friends' kids and soft chuckles from their parents I soon learned that there are many different dialects of Korean in which there are many unique phrases and pronunciations of words- hence, the stares and laughter.
Due to Korea's mountainous terrain, Korean is split into small local dialects. There is the Seoul dialect which is spoken in Gyeonggi, Incheon, Seoul, and Kaesŏng (North Korea). This is the basis of the standard language. Others are Yeongseo and Chungcheong dialects. The Gyeongsang dialects also called Southeastern dialects are spoken in cities such as Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan and are easily distinguishable from the Seoul dialect due to their varied pitch. The Jeolla dialects or Southwestern dialects are spoken in Gwangju(where my parents are from). The Jeju dialect is spoken on Jeju Island which sometimes considered a separate Korean language.
Dialects are the different ways in which sound is produced within the same language. These dialects may stem from the different uses of primary and secondary manners such as complete obstruction to no obstruction of the production of sounds and voicing, length, stress and pitch.
Not only are dialects fun and interesting to listen to but they also create a smaller culture of that region within the culture of Korea just like in the United States. In researching, I would need to learn some unique common phrases of some of the dialects as well as the linguistic differences in how they pronounce different words whether that be lengthening vowels or emphasizing different parts of words. I plan on speaking with my parents and learning more words of Jeolla dialect as well as seeking out videos and movies that feature dialect in their dialogue. I would also like to find the history of how these dialects came to be depending on social, environmental or foreign influences.
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