The idea that languages mainly evolve as a result of
the modernization of world countries and societies is widely spread. Through
time, new words are created or loaned from other languages to describe new
realities, and those that have been in disuse for some years end up being
removed from the dictionary. However, it is not that simple; many other
aspects, such as geographical situation or policy, are involved in the
evolution of a language. The aim of this essay is to outline the main
differences that exist nowadays between the languages spoken in North and in
South Korea, as well as to analyse how the division of the country and its
political system has affected the North Korean language.
The division of Korea took place in 1948; until then,
the same language had been spoken in all the territory without almost any
geographical variation. Only a few years later, concretely between 1950 and
1953, occurred the Korean War, which evidenced that the North and the South of
the country differed in plenty of important aspects. It was not only the
beginning of the still remaining enmity between North and South Korea, but also
the starting point of the divergent evolution of each of them, which affected
the politic, economic and social realm and made the language evolve differently
in each half of Korea.
Despite the fact that Korean
language has been developing on separate trajectories for several decades, it
is still considered as the only official language of the whole Korean
territory. What is spoken in North and South Korea are called varieties or
dialects of Korean: in the North, the dialect is the Phyong’yang, while in the
South of Korea the official variety is the Seoul. The main dissimilarities
between these dialects have to do with disparity in pronunciation, verb
inflection, and differences in lexicon.
“The North Korean language is a relic.” [1] By this I want to point out that, during the
more than six decades that have passed since the country was divided, the North
Korean variety has not changed much whereas a wide range of new vocabulary has
been added the one spoken in South Korea. This shows once again the intention
of the North Korean government of keeping tradition and avoiding any
significant changes regardless of the cost. Korean leaders have the idea that
with any minor external influence or with a single trace of modernization their
political dictatorship or their policy of isolation would be in danger.
However, as far as I am concerned, this internal rigidity and the evident
manipulation of all the aspects of public life is causing the North Korean
government plenty of internal and external problems.
Once given an overview of the
present situation of the Korean language and of its historic background, I
would like to focus on the analysis of the factors that explain how a language
has been able to develop in two so different ways in only a few decades. It
must be admitted that the evolution of Korean language, more concretely the
changes that had affected the Phyong’yang dialect (North Korea), seems quite
artificial. Languages usually develop slowly, accumulating small changes for a
long time. However, Korea was divided in 1948; this means that the country has
been partitioned into North and South for only 66 years, which is very few time
for a dialect with so different from the original language to be formed.
The explanation is actually quite
simple: the evolution of the North Korean language has not been natural, but
politically induced. One of the main artificial changes that the North Korean
government forced was the elimination of Chinese characters and loan words. Due
to its geographical proximity to China, the Korean language is deeply
influenced by the Chinese language. But when the Juche thesis, which promoted
the self-sufficiency of the country, was developed by the North Korean leader
Kim Il-sung during the 1960’s, every shadow of external influence was erased. That
is why in the South Korea dialect plenty of borrowed words from Chinese, Hindi,
or even European languages such as English can be found whereas in the North variety
loan words are no more frequent.
But that policy of elimination of vocabulary
with a foreign origin and, of course, of prevention of adoption of any new loan
words, did not seem enough for the North Korean leaders. In addition, they decided
to deliberately alter the language in their own benefit. An accurate example of
this unnatural changes is mentioned in a book written by a lecturer at the Ewha
Institute for Unification Studies in Seoul, in which it is explained how an existing
word has had its meaning altered since the division of the country. "Sun-mul,
in Korean language, sun-mul, which means present to your friend. But now, North
Korean way of speaking this sun-mul, sun-mul is the reserved word by Kim Il-Sung
and Kim Jong-Il. So, only Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il are the only two
who can give sun-mul to another person." [2]
Personally, I have always supported cultural pluralism
and been for anything related to language and social diversity. Nevertheless,
in the concrete case of Korea’s situation, there are so many drawbacks that I
even reconsider my position. First of all, I would define a language as a
distinctive cultural sign which is deeply related to the feeling of belonging
to a country and to a social and cultural group. But the North Korean
government has been using language to brainwash people for decades, destroying
all the positive things that a language represents and charging the North
Korean language of negative connotations. There is nothing pure or natural
behind this dialect, but a political intention, and, as far as I am concerned,
using language in benefit of political ideology is a serious attempt against
culture and tradition. Last but not least, inhabitants of North and South Korea
are losing the sense of unity that they have shared for so many time before the
division; there will even might be a day when North and South Koreans will no
more be able to understand each other if the language difference between the
North and the South keeps on increasing. As I see it, this is an invaluable
cultural lost that, at least for the moment and specially if things keep on
going the same way as they do now, will not be easily replaced.
Bibliography:
- http://books.google.es/books?id=Sx6gdJIOcoQC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=evolution+language+korea&source=bl&ots=qoLZlf5XnH&sig=4JwCxj8LPWI4kFRJ_fgVbevku2g&hl=es&sa=X&ei=wA96VMqlOZHoaMTmAQ&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=evolution%20language%20korea&f=false
- http://books.google.es/books?id=H4CsWDEi52IC&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=evolution+language+north+korea&source=bl&ots=tEPbhjR6vd&sig=zG186qXo2LJ99JBD4OWoZcXVtkE&hl=es&sa=X&ei=jg96VOGCG9XcapKrgsgK&ved=0CC0Q6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=evolution%20language%20north%20korea&f=false
