SDLC 105: Discussion Post #10

[Justina Morris]

If I were to conduct a linguistic study of my target language and culture, I would start by investigating the historical events and history of Korea. Part of this research would center around finding possible connections (points of contact from other nations) with different cultures and languages that could have possibly impacted the Korean language. Although Korean is known to be part of its own language family called the Koreanic language family, there is some debate as to whether it may have ties to the Altaic Language Family. I would want to research in what way the Altaic Language Family is similar to Korean and if there is historical evidence to support it. Studying the Altaic Language Family or looking at existing research of the two language families being comparisons, would give insight into finding key similarities or differences that could aid in easing the transition of learning Korean. I would also investigate the aspects of Korean grammar, and see if it's similar in any way to the languages of its neighbors (countries). 

[Parisa Mershon]

It is fascinating that Korean is in its own language family. I wonder if a large part of your hypothetical research would discern why it is so distinct. Perhaps the Korean language (and consequently Korea) has developed relatively isolated (at least compared to other cultures). It is even more interesting that it is debated to be related to the Altaic language family -- is there a particular reason it is debated? As in, was there a potential period of contact, or is it more due to linguistic similarities?