Syllable Structure and Morphophonemics of the Jeju Language
Jejueo, the language of Jeju Island native people, has different syllable structures and morphophonemics from Standard Korean. These features play their part in the linguistic development of Jejueo, which is a record of its history and culture.
Syllable Structure
The syllable structure of Jejueo is more flexible and complex than Standard Korean. Jejueo also permits wider consonantal combinations, such as the onset and coda of syllables, than Korean. This flexibility leads to the fact that there are more phonetic variants in the language.
Syllables in Standard Korean are usually ©V(C) type, where C represents a consonant and V a vowel. However, Jejueo allows a greater number of syllables in terms of the pattern of syllables. For instance, the word “읊” (eulp, meaning “to recite”) is an example of the final consonantal cluster that is not typical for modern Standard Korean. Hence, the syllable structure of Jejueo is more flexible than those of the Austronesian languages, which results in more varied word forms and phonetic realizations.
Also, Jejueo maintains the phoneme /ɒ/ (are-a), a low-back vowel that is no longer found in modern Standard Korean. This vowel contributes to the complexity of the syllable structure of Jejueo and relates to the historical stages of the Korean language (Kim, 2016).
Morphophonemics
Morphophonemics in Jejueo is the relation between morphological and phonological processes and the alteration of the word form in inflection and derivation. Such processes cause substantial phonological changes that are relevant to the analysis of the language’s grammar and usage.
Another process illustrated in Jejueo morphophonemics is the consonant change in suffixation. For example, if a suffix starting with a consonant is used in conjunction with a root ending in a consonant, then Jejueo may assimilate or delete the last consonant in order to make the pronunciation easier. For instance, the verb root “먹-“ (meok-, meaning “to eat”) is an example of the group of verbs ending in -기 for the present tense. The suffix “고” (go, and) added to the last syllable changes the syllable into “먹고” (meokgo), which the root consonant /k/ is maintained. However, to another extent, the root consonant may be assimilated based on the following consonant or vowel.
Jejueo also shows the phenomenon of vowel harmony and vowel reduction. Vowel harmony is a process in which the vowels of a word are altered to fit the other vowels of the word while keeping the phonetic value of the word consistent. The first is when the stressed vowels in the first syllable of the words are reduced to schwa, that is, the mid-central vowel, and the second is when the unstressed vowels may be pronounced with lesser distinct or even omitted (Kang, 1983).
Cultural Examples
For the Jejueo language, this paper has shown that the syllable types and the morphophonemic processes are important components of Jejueo phonetics and morphology. It also shows the cultural and historical aspect of Jeju Island that in their attempt to save their language, Jeju people focus on these phonological features.
For example, Jeju songs and oral stories with a strong Jeju identity are characterized by rich syllabic patterns and morphophonemic changes, which become the basis for further linguistic analysis. These features not only explain the linguistic background of Jeju but are also useful for the constant process of the Jejueo revival.
References
Kang, Chung-Hee. A Study of the Noun Class Suffix in the Cheju Dialect. Ewha Woman’s University, 1983.
Kim, Jee-hong. On Prefinal and Final Ending Systems in Jeju Korean. Gyeongjin Chulpan, 2016.
“Jejueo: The Language of Korea’s Jeju Island.” University of Hawaii Press, 2019.
