Differences Between Jejueo and Jeolla Dialect in South Korea
Jejueo and the Jeolla dialect are two different ways of speaking in South Korea. They have phonological, grammatical, and lexical differences, which are typical of both regional and historical variations. While Jejueo is used in Jeju Island, Jeolla dialect is used in the southwestern part of the Korean peninsula.
Phonological and Lexical Differences
Jejueo is often considered a separate language rather than a dialect of Korean due to its significant differences from Standard Korean. It still contains many features inherited from Middle Korean and is thus mostly incomprehensible to speakers of the mainland Korean dialects. For example, Jejueo has retained the vowel /ɒ/ in the word are-a, which has been lost in modern varieties of Korean. Also, Jejueo has its own distinctive words that are attributed to the contact with Mongolian and Japanese languages, as Jeju Island was isolated historically (Koreanbooster. com; Cambridge University Press).
On the other hand, the Jeolla dialect involves some phonological features like vowel changes and different tones. The Jeolla dialect tends to have different ways of pronouncing the standard Korean vowels. For example, the verb ending -neundae (는대) in SK changes to -neundi (는디) in Jeolla dialect. This dialect also has its own accentual patterns, such as musical rhythm, that set it apart from other dialects of the Korean language.
Grammatical and Syntactical Features
Jejueo also has some syntactic differences from SK, such as different verb forms and syntactic patterns. It employs different particles and suffixes that are not used in the mainland and thus can be rather difficult for the learners to comprehend. For instance, the question “Did you eat?” in Jejueo is “밥 먹언?” (bap meo-geon?) while in Standard Korean, it is “밥 먹었어요?” (bap meogeosseoyo?) (Cambridge University Press).
The Jeolla dialect, however, is famous for the sentence-ending particles and the manner of adding an extra ‘e’ (잉) at the end of a word when requesting something like ‘eh’ of the Canadians, thus making the Jeolla dialect softer and more musical. Also, the Jeolla dialect speakers might use “진짜로야?” instead of “진짜?” to mean surprise or disbelief.
Cultural Context and Preservation Efforts
Jejueo and the Jeolla dialect are cultural assets of the regions; they represent regional cultures and people’s identities. Measures to protect Jejueo have been taken up because it is now considered a language in danger. Measures include educational campaigns, radio and television programs, and documentation activities to reintroduce its use in the modern world among the young population.
Likewise, the Jeolla dialect is associated with a high cultural value and contribution to the Korean arts and letters, especially in literature and music. However, regional pride prevents the extinction of the Jeolla dialect in education and media as it is dominant in the Korean language, and regional communities and cultural events keep the dialect alive (Koreanbooster. com; FluentU).
References
“7 Korean Dialects and What Sets Them Apart.” FluentU, www.fluentu.com.
“Jejueo: Korea’s Other Language.” The Cambridge Handbook of Korean Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, www.cambridge.org.
