Pronunciation [ko.ɾjo.maɾ] | Ethnicity Korean | |
Native speakers (220,000 cited 1989)176,411 in Russia (2010 census), 174,000 in Uzbekistan (no date), 107,000 in Kazakhstan (no date), 8,500 in Kyrgyzstan (no date) Early forms Northeastern KoreanKoryo-mar | ||
Koryo-mar, Goryeomal, or Koryŏmal (Korean: 고려말; Russian: Корё мар) is the dialect of Korean language spoken by Koryo-saram, ethnic Koreans in the former USSR. It is descended from Yukjin dialect and multiple other varieties of Northeastern Korean. 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 first language.
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Names
In Koryo-saram's speech, the language is referred to as Koryo-mar (고려말/корё мар), with several alternative pronunciations including Kore-mar (коре мар) and Kore-mari(коре мари).
In South Korea, the dialect is referred to as Goryeomal (고려말) or Central Asian Korean (중앙아시아 한국어).
In Russia and other former Soviet states, the language is referred to as Koryo-mar (корё мар) or Koryo-mal (корё маль), of which the former reflects the spoken form while the latter reflects the literary form of Korean.
Orthography
Speakers do not generally use Koryeomar as a literary language. Written Korean during Soviet period tended to follow the North Korean standard language, while both Northern and Southern forms have occurred after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, some modern writers, most notably Lavrenti Son, have created plays and short stories in Koryeomar using hangul.
A movement for the romanization of Koryeomar took place in the late 1930s, promoted by various government officials and linguists, but it did not have much success.
Phonology
Characteristics of Koryeomar distinct from that of Standard Korean include the following phonological differences.
Pedagogy
Koryeomar 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 post-Soviet states 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 Koryeomar at Almaty State University, but he did not achieve much success.