Studying Jeju Island's endangered language

Haenyeo, or female sea divers of Jeju Island, go to work in Hado-ri, in this November 2017 file photo. / Korea Times file

By Steven L. Shields

Long relegated to the category of an "unintelligible Korean dialect" by the Korean government, UNESCO designated Jejuan, known in Korean as Jejueo, as an endangered language in 2010. Jejuan has fewer than 10,000 native speakers but is only fluently spoken by an ever-shrinking group of people aged 75 and older. The younger generations are not fluent and do not use the complete vocabulary in conversations in the home.

Linguist Moira Saltzman recently lectured at the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RASKB), detailing her years-long investigation of Jejuan. She noted there are about 7,000 spoken languages in the world, but within 50 years, half of those will become extinct. By 2100, 90 percent of those will be extinct. Most of the diverse language speakers represent small populations. Half of the world population speaks only 20 different languages.

Language, Saltzman says, empowers a community. History and culture are encapsulated in a language. For example, she cites the unique kinship vocabulary of Jejuan. There is no equivalent in Korean, which has a unique kinship vocabulary itself, unlike in English, for example. Thus, revitalizing an indigenous language can help connect people with their ancestors.

During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Jeju Islanders went to Japan to work in factories. After World War II, the Republic of Korea almost completely wiped out Jeju Island with the April 3 incident and resulting suppression by the Syngman Rhee government. Somewhere between 10 percent and 30 percent of the island's population was killed. Estimates of 25,000 to 40,000 people fled to Japan, settling in the Osaka area where relatives and friends were long-established. This adds to the unique nature of Jejuan and the Jeju culture.

For decades the Korean government did not allow reference to Jejuan as anything but a dialect. The difference between a dialect and a language, according to many linguists, is mutual understandability. In mainland Korea, for example, there are many regional dialects, but people can understand one another.

However, Korean and Jejuan are not mutually understandable. Thus, Saltzman and other linguists argue that it defines Jejuan as its own language. While it is true that modern spoken Jejuan has borrowed many Korean words, there is a pure Jejuan vocabulary and grammar that is unique. Although several textbooks have been written, there is no agreement on approaches to teaching and learning Jejuan. Efforts so far at revitalizing the language have failed. Also, since there is no Jejuan writing system, Hangeul is used by default, since most Jeju natives know how to read and write.

Jeju is decidedly matriarchal in nature, as opposed to the heavy Confucianism of the mainland. Indigenous folktales are typically centered on "grandmother gods." The Jeju mythology canon is large. Folktales and shamanistic rituals help pass on culture and history. Folktales differ from village to village. The architecture of Jeju is most like Austronesia (Pacific Islands). There is unique terminology for foods and natural medicines. Plants unique to the island have names in Jejuan.

Today on Jeju Island, and in the enclave of Jeju refugees living near Osaka, Japan, there are no monolingual Jejuan speakers. All are bilingual, at least. Most young people have some knowledge of the language, but they are more likely to speak English better than Jejuan. Almost all Jeju islanders today would be considered native speakers of Korean. This contact shift means that most Jeju islanders 40 and under speak Korean, with a few Jejuan words and endings mixed in. Their parents and grandparents, on the other hand, when they speak Jejuan, there are a few Korean words intermixed.

On Jeju Island modern Korean is used in the public sector, but Jejuan is still spoken in markets and at home ― intimate settings with shared relationships and emotional experiences. Unlike Korean, Jejuan has only four levels of politeness. There are fewer honorifics. Jejuan preserves much "middle Korean" vocabulary, some of which was borrowed from Mongolian and Manchurian.

Although the Korean government lifted the ban recently on referring to Jejuan as a language, few people on Jeju want to bother with passing on the language to their children. They worry it might be damaging to their children's performance in standardized testing. And, as all South Koreans know, successfully passing the standardized tests is the single most important key to advancement in society and economic possibilities. Scholars met on Jeju in 2019 for the first-ever conference on Jejuan. Perhaps there is hope that this unique part of the broader Korean cultural scenery will be preserved.

The RASKB offers unique perspectives on all things Korean. Lecturers come from diverse backgrounds. The next lecture on Jan. 7 will be from Hungarian Ambassador Mozes Csoma on North Korean students' participation in the 1956 Hungarian revolution.

Check out the RASKB website for news about lectures coming in January and February.

Steven L. Shields, a retired cleric, serves as a vice president of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (www.raskb.com) and is a columnist for The Korea Times.