The Korean Language in Kazakhstan
Problems and Perspectives
Nelly Pak
Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages
translated by Simon Barnes-Sadler
SOAS, University of London
This book examines the synchronic characteristics of an endangered, transplanted variety of Korean spoken in Central Asia – Yukchin Dialect (YD) – as well as the (socio)linguistic factors conditioning the development of both this variety and Kore Mar (KM) – a koine variety of Korean which formed in Central Asia with YD as one of its input varieties. It consists of three sections.
The first introduces the phenomena of language endangerment and contact to provide context for the extensive description of YD which appears in the second. This draws upon a rich collection of primary linguistic data elicited from native-speaker consultants, covering phonetics, phonology, morphology, and vocabulary. Throughout, YD’s features are contrasted with those of Contemporary Standard South Korean. The third section examines the historical-linguistic and sociolinguistic processes which have led YD to its current disposition. It encompasses an examination of the role of YD in the formation of the KM and concludes by suggesting practical methods for revitalising Korean in Central Asia.
This translation presents not only the unique perspective of a native-speaker researcher to Koreanists, but also introduces concepts from the broader Russophone tradition of sociolinguistics to an English-speaking audience.
ISBN 9783969390658 (Hardbound). LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 94. 240pp. 2021.