KORYO-MAR

'Koryo-mar', 'Goryeomal' or 'Koryŏmal' (Hangul: 고려말; Russian: Корё мар; Standard Korean: 중앙아시아 한국어, literally ''Central Asian Korean language'') is the dialect of the Korean language spoken by the Koryo-saram, ethnic Koreans in the former USSR. It is descended from the Hamgyŏng dialect. Koryo-saram often report difficulty understanding speakers of standard Korean; this may be compounded by the fact that the majority of Koryo-saram today use Russian and not Korean as their mother tongue.^[1]

Contents

Orthography

Pedagogy

References

See also

Orthography

Koryo-mar is generally not a literary language; written Korean during Soviet days tended to follow the North Korean standard, while after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, both Northern and Southern forms could be seen. However, some modern writers, most notably Lavrenti Son, have created plays and short stories in Koryo-mar, written using the Hangul alphabet.^[2]
There was a movement for the Latinization of Koryo-mar in the late 1930s, promoted by various government officials and linguists, but it did not have much success.^[3]

Pedagogy

Koryo-mar is not taught as a subject or used as the medium of instruction in any schools. The Korean language as taught in universities of the former USSR is that of North or South Korea, with instructors being native to or trained in one of those countries. In one instance, a South Korean professor tried to teach Koryo-mar at Almaty State University, but he did not achieve much success.^[4]

References

1. Koreans and the Poly-ethnic Environment in Central Asia: The Experience of Eurasianism
2. Forced Deportation and Literary Imagination
3. The History, Culture, and Language of Koryo Saram
4. Korean Diaspora in Kazakhstan: Question of Topical Problems for Minorities in Post-Soviet Space

See also

★ Cyrillization of Korean

★ Dungan language, the Mandarin-descended language spoken by Hui Chinese in Central Asia

★ Korean dialects