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{{Redirect|Korean vs. Japanese|relations|Japan–South Korea relations|disputes|Japan–Korea disputes|history|History of Japan–Korea relations}}
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The geographically close languages of [[Japanese language|Japanese]] (part of the [[Japonic languages]]) and [[Korean language|Korean]] (part of the [[Koreanic languages]]) share considerable similarity in [[Syntax|syntactic]] and [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] [[Linguistic typology|typology]] while having a small number of lexical resemblances. Observing the said similarities and probable history of [[Korean influence on Japanese culture]], linguists have formulated different theories proposing a [[language family|genetic]] relationship between them,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Are Korean and Japanese related? The Altaic hypothesis continued.|url = https://koreanology.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/are-korean-and-japanese-related-the-altaic-hypothesis-continued/|website = Koreanology|access-date = 2016-02-17|last = Andrew Logie|date = November 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.eai.cam.ac.uk/Aston-and-Korea.pdf Kornicki, Peter. ''Aston, Cambridge and Korea''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529111209/http://www.eai.cam.ac.uk/Aston-and-Korea.pdf |date=May 29, 2008 }}</ref><ref>Poppe 1965:137</ref><ref name="Samuel Martin">[[Samuel Martin (linguist)|Martin, Samuel]] (1990).</ref><ref>Whitman, John (1985).</ref><ref>E. Riley, Barbara (2004).</ref><ref>[[Sergei Starostin|Starostin, Sergei]] (Moscow, 1991). ''The Altaic Problem and the Origins of the Japanese Language''.</ref><ref>Georg et al. 1999:72, 74</ref> though these studies either lack conclusive evidence or were subsets of theories that have largely been discredited (like versions of the well-known [[Altaic hypothesis]] that mainly attempted to group the Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic languages together).<ref>"While 'Altaic' is repeated in encyclopedias and handbooks most specialists in these languages no longer believe that the three traditional supposed Altaic groups, Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic, are related." Lyle Campbell & Mauricio J. Mixco, A Glossary of Historical Linguistics (2007, University of Utah Press), pg. 7.</ref><ref>"When cognates proved not to be valid, Altaic was abandoned, and the received view now is that Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic are unrelated." Johanna Nichols, Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time (1992, Chicago), pg. 4.</ref><ref>"Careful examination indicates that the established families, Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic, form a linguistic area (called Altaic)...Sufficient criteria have not been given that would justify talking of a genetic relationship here." R.M.W. Dixon, The Rise and Fall of Languages (1997, Cambridge), pg. 32.</ref><ref>"...[T]his selection of features does not provide good evidence for common descent" and "we can observe convergence rather than divergence between Turkic and [[Mongolic languages]]--a pattern than is easily explainable by borrowing and diffusion rather than common descent", [[Asya Pereltsvaig]], Languages of the World, An Introduction (2012, Cambridge) has a good discussion of the Altaic hypothesis (pp. 211-216).</ref> There has been new research which has revived the possibility of a genealogical link, such as the Transeurasian hypothesis (a neo-Altaic proposal) by [[Martine Robbeets|Robbeets]] et al., supported by computational linguistics and archaeological evidence, but this view has received significant criticism as well.<ref>[https://academic.oup.com/jole/article/3/2/145/5067185 Robbeets, Martine and Bouckaert, Remco. ''Bayesian phylolinguistics reveals the internal structure of the Transeurasian family''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727010534/https://academic.oup.com/jole/article/3/2/145/5067185 |date=July 27, 2020 }}, Robbeets, Martine et al. 2021 Triangulation supports agricultural spread of the Transeurasian languages, Nature 599, 616–621</ref><ref name="Tian 2022">{{citation |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.09.495471v1 |last1=Tian |first1=Zheng |last2=Tao |first2=Yuxin |last3=Zhu |first3=Kongyang |last4=Jacques |first4=Guillaume |author4-link=Guillaume Jacques|last5=Ryder |first5=Robin J. |last6=de la Fuente |first6=José Andrés Alonso |last7=Antonov |first7=Anton |last8=Xia |first8=Ziyang |last9=Zhang |first9=Yuxuan |last10=Ji |first10=Xiaoyan |last11=Ren |first11=Xiaoying |last12=He |first12=Guanglin |last13=Guo |first13=Jianxin |last14=Wang |first14=Rui |last15=Yang |first15=Xiaomin |last16=Zhao |first16=Jing |last17=Xu |first17=Dan |last18=Gray |first18=Russell D. |author18-link=Russell Gray|last19=Zhang |first19=Menghan |last20=Wen |first20=Shaoqing |last21=Wang |first21=Chuan-Chao |last22=Pellard |first22=Thomas |title=Triangulation fails when neither linguistic, genetic, nor archaeological data support the Transeurasian narrative |publisher=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |date=2022-06-12 |doi=10.1101/2022.06.09.495471|s2cid=249649524 }}</ref>
The geographically proximate languages of [[Japanese language|Japanese]] (part of the [[Japonic languages]]) and [[Korean language|Korean]] (part of the [[Koreanic languages]]) share considerable similarity in [[Syntax|syntactic]] and [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] [[Linguistic typology|typology]] while having a small number of lexical resemblances. Observing the said similarities and probable history of [[Korean influence on Japanese culture]], linguists have formulated different theories proposing a [[language family|genetic]] relationship between them.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Are Korean and Japanese related? The Altaic hypothesis continued.|url = https://koreanology.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/are-korean-and-japanese-related-the-altaic-hypothesis-continued/|website = Koreanology|access-date = 2016-02-17|last = Andrew Logie|date = November 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.eai.cam.ac.uk/Aston-and-Korea.pdf Kornicki, Peter. ''Aston, Cambridge and Korea''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529111209/http://www.eai.cam.ac.uk/Aston-and-Korea.pdf |date=May 29, 2008 }}</ref><ref>Poppe 1965:137</ref><ref name="Samuel Martin">[[Samuel Martin (linguist)|Martin, Samuel]] (1990).</ref><ref>Whitman, John (1985).</ref><ref>E. Riley, Barbara (2004).</ref><ref>[[Sergei Starostin|Starostin, Sergei]] (Moscow, 1991). ''The Altaic Problem and the Origins of the Japanese Language''.</ref><ref>Georg et al. 1999:72, 74</ref> These studies either lack conclusive evidence or were subsets of theories that have largely been discredited (like versions of the well-known [[Altaic hypothesis]] that mainly attempted to group the Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic languages together).<ref>"While 'Altaic' is repeated in encyclopedias and handbooks most specialists in these languages no longer believe that the three traditional supposed Altaic groups, Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic, are related." Lyle Campbell & Mauricio J. Mixco, A Glossary of Historical Linguistics (2007, University of Utah Press), pg. 7.</ref><ref>"When cognates proved not to be valid, Altaic was abandoned, and the received view now is that Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic are unrelated." Johanna Nichols, Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time (1992, Chicago), pg. 4.</ref><ref>"Careful examination indicates that the established families, Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic, form a linguistic area (called Altaic)...Sufficient criteria have not been given that would justify talking of a genetic relationship here." R.M.W. Dixon, The Rise and Fall of Languages (1997, Cambridge), pg. 32.</ref><ref>"...[T]his selection of features does not provide good evidence for common descent" and "we can observe convergence rather than divergence between Turkic and [[Mongolic languages]]--a pattern than is easily explainable by borrowing and diffusion rather than common descent", [[Asya Pereltsvaig]], Languages of the World, An Introduction (2012, Cambridge) has a good discussion of the Altaic hypothesis (pp. 211-216).</ref> There has been new research which has revived the possibility of a genealogical link, such as the Transeurasian hypothesis (a neo-Altaic proposal) by [[Martine Robbeets|Robbeets]] et al., supported by [[computational linguistics]] and archaeological evidence, but this view has received significant criticism as well.<ref>[https://academic.oup.com/jole/article/3/2/145/5067185 Robbeets, Martine and Bouckaert, Remco. ''Bayesian phylolinguistics reveals the internal structure of the Transeurasian family''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727010534/https://academic.oup.com/jole/article/3/2/145/5067185 |date=July 27, 2020 }}, Robbeets, Martine et al. 2021 Triangulation supports agricultural spread of the Transeurasian languages, Nature 599, 616–621</ref><ref name="Tian 2022">{{citation |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.09.495471v1 |last1=Tian |first1=Zheng |last2=Tao |first2=Yuxin |last3=Zhu |first3=Kongyang |last4=Jacques |first4=Guillaume |author4-link=Guillaume Jacques|last5=Ryder |first5=Robin J. |last6=de la Fuente |first6=José Andrés Alonso |last7=Antonov |first7=Anton |last8=Xia |first8=Ziyang |last9=Zhang |first9=Yuxuan |last10=Ji |first10=Xiaoyan |last11=Ren |first11=Xiaoying |last12=He |first12=Guanglin |last13=Guo |first13=Jianxin |last14=Wang |first14=Rui |last15=Yang |first15=Xiaomin |last16=Zhao |first16=Jing |last17=Xu |first17=Dan |last18=Gray |first18=Russell D. |author18-link=Russell Gray|last19=Zhang |first19=Menghan |last20=Wen |first20=Shaoqing |last21=Wang |first21=Chuan-Chao |last22=Pellard |first22=Thomas |title=Triangulation fails when neither linguistic, genetic, nor archaeological data support the Transeurasian narrative |publisher=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |date=2022-06-12 |doi=10.1101/2022.06.09.495471|s2cid=249649524 }}</ref>


Korean and Japanese have very different [[writing system|native scripts]] ([[Hangul]] and [[kana]], respectively), although they both make use of [[Chinese characters]] to some extent; [[Kanji]] still are a core part of modern [[Japanese orthography]], while [[Hanja]] were historically used to write Korean. Today, Hanja are only used in [[South Korea]] for limited academic, legal, media, stylistic and disambiguation purposes and are not used at all in [[North Korea]]. Although both Hangul and the two modern kana systems ([[katakana]] and [[hiragana]]) show [[syllable]]/[[mora]] boundaries, Hangul syllable blocks break down into a [[featural alphabet]], while the kana are essentially pure [[syllabaries]].
Korean and Japanese have very different [[writing system|native scripts]] ([[Hangul]] and [[kana]], respectively), although they both make use of [[Chinese characters]] to some extent; [[Kanji]] still are a core part of modern [[Japanese orthography]], while [[Hanja]] were historically used to write Korean. Today, Hanja are only used in [[South Korea]] for limited academic, legal, media, stylistic and disambiguation purposes and are not used at all in [[North Korea]]. Although both Hangul and the two modern kana systems ([[katakana]] and [[hiragana]]) show [[syllable]]/[[Mora (linguistics)|mora]] boundaries, Hangul syllable blocks break down into a [[featural alphabet]], while the kana are essentially pure [[syllabaries]].


==Overview==
==Overview==
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==Vocabulary==
==Vocabulary==
The two languages have been thought to not share any [[cognate]]s (other than [[loanword]]s),<ref name="Samuel Martin" /> for their vocabularies do not phonetically resemble each other.
The two languages have been thought to not share any [[cognate]]s (other than [[loanword]]s),<ref name="Samuel Martin" /> for their vocabularies do not phonetically resemble each other.

<!--
However, a 2016 paper proposing a common lineage between Korean and Japanese traces around 500 core words thought to share a common origin.<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Proto-Korean-Japanese: A New Reconstruction of the Common Origin of the Japanese and Korean Languages|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ETD_SUBID:113782|publisher=The Ohio State University|date=2016|language=en|first=Alexander Takenobu|last=Francis-Ratte}}</ref> Most resembling lexicon in the study has been observed between [[Middle Korean]] (15th century) and earlier [[Old Japanese]] (8th century), some of which is shown in the following table:
However, a 2016 paper proposing a common lineage between Korean and Japanese traces around 500 core words thought to share a common origin.<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Proto-Korean-Japanese: A New Reconstruction of the Common Origin of the Japanese and Korean Languages|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ETD_SUBID:113782|publisher=The Ohio State University|date=2016|language=en|first=Alexander Takenobu|last=Francis-Ratte}}</ref> Most resembling lexicon in the study has been observed between [[Middle Korean]] (15th century) and earlier [[Old Japanese]] (8th century), some of which is shown in the following table:
{| class="wikitable"
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|-
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In addition to the above, there may be a relation between the words for morning (朝, asa; 아침, achim). A historical variant in Korean may have been pronounced "asa" (see: [[Asadal]]).
-->

<!--In addition to the above, there may be a relation between the words for morning (朝, asa; 아침, achim). A historical variant in Korean may have been pronounced "asa" (see: [[Asadal]]).-->
There is a minority theory attributing the name of the city Nara to a loanword from Korean (see: [[Nara, Nara#Etymology]]).
There is a minority theory attributing the name of the city Nara to a loanword from Korean (see: [[Nara, Nara#Etymology]]).



Latest revision as of 21:47, 27 November 2024

Map of Koreanic (left) and Japonic languages and dialects

The geographically proximate languages of Japanese (part of the Japonic languages) and Korean (part of the Koreanic languages) share considerable similarity in syntactic and morphological typology while having a small number of lexical resemblances. Observing the said similarities and probable history of Korean influence on Japanese culture, linguists have formulated different theories proposing a genetic relationship between them.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] These studies either lack conclusive evidence or were subsets of theories that have largely been discredited (like versions of the well-known Altaic hypothesis that mainly attempted to group the Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic languages together).[9][10][11][12] There has been new research which has revived the possibility of a genealogical link, such as the Transeurasian hypothesis (a neo-Altaic proposal) by Robbeets et al., supported by computational linguistics and archaeological evidence, but this view has received significant criticism as well.[13][14]

Korean and Japanese have very different native scripts (Hangul and kana, respectively), although they both make use of Chinese characters to some extent; Kanji still are a core part of modern Japanese orthography, while Hanja were historically used to write Korean. Today, Hanja are only used in South Korea for limited academic, legal, media, stylistic and disambiguation purposes and are not used at all in North Korea. Although both Hangul and the two modern kana systems (katakana and hiragana) show syllable/mora boundaries, Hangul syllable blocks break down into a featural alphabet, while the kana are essentially pure syllabaries.

Overview

[edit]
Korean Japanese
Speakers 83 million 126.4 million
Countries  South Korea
 North Korea
 China
 Japan
 Palau
Family Koreanic Japonic
Writing Hangul,
Hanja (South Korea),
Idu, Gugyeol, Hyangchal (formerly)
Kana,
Kanji,
Man'yōgana (formerly)

Grammar

[edit]

Korean and Japanese both have an agglutinative morphology in which verbs may function as prefixes[15] and a subject–object–verb (SOV) typology.[16][17][18] They are both topic-prominent, null-subject languages. Both languages extensively utilize turning nouns into verbs via the "to do" helper verbs (Japanese suru する; Korean hada 하다).

Vocabulary

[edit]

The two languages have been thought to not share any cognates (other than loanwords),[4] for their vocabularies do not phonetically resemble each other.

However, a 2016 paper proposing a common lineage between Korean and Japanese traces around 500 core words thought to share a common origin.[19] Most resembling lexicon in the study has been observed between Middle Korean (15th century) and earlier Old Japanese (8th century), some of which is shown in the following table:

Keyword Middle Korean Old Japanese Proposed
Proto-Japanese-Korean
abandons stú
("scoops it out, removes a part from the whole")
sute
("abandons it, throws it away")
*sɨtu
("abandons it, throws it out")
adds kwop
("doubles, increases it two-fold")
kupape
("adds it")
*kop
("increases it in number by adding")
(adjectivizer) k
("adjectivizing suffix on nominals")
ka
("property suffix on nominals")
*k
("adjectivizing suffix on nominals")
+ *a
("deverbal")
avoids skúy
("shuns, avoids; is unwilling")
sake
("avoids, dodges")
*səka
("avoids")
bamboo táy
("bamboo")
?< *taGVy
takey
("bamboo")
*takəj
basket kwulek
("[mesh] basket")
kwo
("basket")
*kura / *kuwa
("basket")
bear kwom
("bear")
< Proto-Korean *komá
kuma
("bear")
*koma
("bear")
below aláy
("below")
aye
("falls to the ground")
*ar
("below")
bestows kwomá
("reverence"),
kwómáw
("honored, thankful")
kubar / kumar
("apportions and bestows")
*kuma
("bestows")
bird say
("bird")
sagi
("heron; suffix in bird names")
*saŋi
("bird")
bites kemelí
("leech"),
kam-spol
("licks it up, sucks up food")
kam
("bites")
*kamɨ
("bites")
body mwóm
("body")

< Old Korean *muma

mu- / mwi
("body")
*mom
("body")
boils it nóy
("smoke, vapor")
ni
("boils it")
*nəj
("boils it")
bottom stáh
("ground")
sita
("below, bottom")
*sita
("bottom")
box pakwoní
("basket")
pakwo
("box")
*pako
("box")
brings into life wum
("a sprout, a shoot, a growth")
um
("gives birth to, brings into life")
*um
("brings into life")
bundles mwusk
("binds it into a bundle")
musub
("binds it into a bundle")
*musu
("binds, bundles it")
buries it wumúl
("well"),
wúmh
("grain pit dug out of the ground"),
wumwuk-ho
("is hollow")
ume
("buries it in the ground")
*umu
("buries it in the ground")
cage wulí
("cage")
wori
("cage")
*orɨj
("cage")
carbon swusk
("charcoal")
susu
("soot")
*susu
("soot; carbon")
carries on back ep
("bears, carries on the back")
op
("bears on the back")
*əp
("carries on back")
carves a line kuzu
("draws a line, rules")
kizam
("carves"),
kisage
("shaves stone")
*kinsɨ
("carves, cuts a line")
cat kwoy
("cat")
nekwo
("cat")
*ko
("cat")
ceremony kwús
("exorcism, shamanistic ceremony")
kusi
("is strange, mysterious, otherwordly")
*kusuj
("shamanistic ceremony")
changes kaph
("returns it, pays it back")
kap
("buys it"),
kape
("exchanges, changes it"),
kapar
("it changes")
*kap
("it changes, changes hands")
cheek pwól
("cheek")
popo < *po-po
("cheek")
*por
("cheek")
chicken tolk
("chicken")
tori
("bird, chicken")
*tərəŋ
("chicken")
closes it tat
("closes it")
tat
("interrupts, cuts off, finishes it")
*tat
("closes it")
cloth swowom
("cotton")
swo
("clothing; cloth; hemp")
*so
("cloth")
cloudy skí
("gets dusty, cloudy")
sike
("sky gets cloudy")
*siki
("gets cloudy")
collects kat
("collects it, gathers it in")
kate
("joins it, mixes it, adds it in")
*kat
("collects")
comes
("goes")
ko
("comes")
*
("comes")
confines kalm
("hides it, puts it away, keeps it, treasures it")
karame
("arrests it, catches and confines it")
*karama
("confines it")
congeals kel
("thickens, congeals; is rich, thick")
kor
("it thickens, congeals")
*kərɨ
("it thickens, congeals")
correct mac
("is correct"),
maskaw
("is correct")
masa
("correct, upright")
*masa
("correct, upright")
countryside wúy ánh
("countryside")
wi naka
("countryside")
*uj
("countryside") + inside
daytime nác
("daytime; afternoon")

< Early Middle Korean *nacay

natu
("summer")
*nacu
("daytime")
deep inside swop / swok
("deep inside")
?< *swowók
oku
("deep inside, interior")
*owoku
("deep inside")
dissolves / lonely súl
("disappears, dissolves, rusts"),
sulgwú
("makes it dissolve, rusts"),
sulphu
("is sad"),
sulh
("is sad")
sabwi
("rusts"),
sabu, EMJ sabi
("is sad, lonely")
*sɨr
("dissolves; sad, lonely")
drags kuzu
("drags, draws, pulls")
kozi
("pulls out by the roots")
*kɨnsɨ
("drags out")
drawn in pemúli
("gets drawn in"),
pemúl
("surrounds, encircles"),
pemúl
("intrudes in")
pame
("throws it in, drops it in")
*pamɨ
("it gets drawn in")
drops twú
("keeps, leaves it as is, places it down")
otos
("drops it"),
oti
("it drops down"),
otor
("is low")
*ɨtɨ
("drops, puts down")
each mata
("each one, every")
mata
("again; every"),
mata-si
("all, complete")
*mata
("each, every")
edge pask
("outside")
pasi
("outside edge")
*pasi
("edge")
empties sku, pskú
("puts it out, turns off, extinguishes, quenches it")
suk
("empties, is empty")
*sukɨ
("empties")
end patáng, modern korean patak
("sole, bottom")
pate
("limit, end"),
patas
("makes it an end")
*pataŋ
("end")
enfolds mek
("eats, holds in the mouth; harbors, takes in, has inside")
mak
("enfolds, rolls up, encircles")
*mek or *mak
("enfolds")
et cetera (i)yá / (i)yé
("whether, or")
ya
("also, and the like")
*ja
("whether; et cetera")
evergreen swól
("pine")
sugwi
("cryptomeria [japanese cedar]")
*suŋor
("evergreen")
exchanges kaph
("repays")
kaps
("price")
< *kap
("exchanges")
kap
("buys")
*kap
("exchanges")
exhausts cwuk
("dies")
tukwi
("is exhausted, used up") tukus
("exhausts it, uses it up")
*cuk
("is exhausted")
+ Proto-Japanese *wo
("active marker")
expresses emotion noch
("face, expression")
natuk
("expresses emotion; is fond of")
*nəcuk
("expresses emotion")
extremity kiph
("is deep")
kipa
("extremity")
*kipa
("depth, extremity")
faces mwok
("neck")
muk
("turn one"s head, faces")
*mok
("faces")
faint kaskaw
("is close to"),
kezúy
("almost")
kasu-ka
("faint"),
kasu
("barely")
*kasu
("faint")
farm field path
("farm field")
pata, patake
("farm field")
*pata
("farm field")
fat pwutúlew
("soft"),
modern korean pwutwung
("chubby")
putwo
("fat")
*puto
("fat")
ferments sek
("rots, ferments")
saka / sakey
("alcohol, rice wine")
*sek
("ripens, grows [rotten]")
fills tam
("fills it up")
tamar
("it fills up"),
tame
("fills it")
*tama
("fills it")
fire púl
("fire")
pwi / po
("fire")
*pɨr
("fire")
flattens it tatóm
("smooths cloth, trims it, rubs it together"),
modern korean tatumicil
("beating cloth out to smooth it")
tatam
("folds it up, layers it"),
tatami
("mat, flattened thing")
*tatəm
("folds, flattens it"),
tatəm-i
("flattening")
fork motoy
("joint, knuckle")
mata
("fork, bend; crotch")
*mataj or *mətaj
("fork, bend")
full michu / micho
("reaches it")
mit
("gets full, reaches its limit")
*mica
("reaches, gets full")
gathers a crowd múli / mwuli / mwúl
("crowd")
mure
("gathers a crowd")
*mur(u)
("gathers a crowd")
gets et
("gets it")
atar
("gets it")
*atɨ
("gets it")
goes out
("goes out; is born")
nar
("becomes")
*na
("goes out")
grabs az
("grabs it")
asar
("scavenges it")
*asa
("grabs it")
harbors phwúm
("embraces, harbors")
pukum
("harbor, comprise, contain")
*pukum
("embraces, harbors")
hatchet nát
("sickle, scythe")
nata
("machete; small, thick bladed instrument")
*natə
("bladed instrument for chopping plants")
heart kwokoyyang
("heart or core of vegetable, pith"),
kwokáy
("head")
kokoro
("seat of feeling / thought; emotion")
*kəkərə
("the heart, core, essence")
heats with fire tahí
("makes a fire, heats with fire")
tak
("heats with fire")
*taka
("heats with fire")
high talak
("loft, attic")
take / taka
("height")
*takar
("height")
holds motó, moti
("is long-lasting, is durable; keeps things")
mot
("holds")
*mətə
("holds")
hot tew
("hot") tos / toso / tusu
("hot"),
tusi
("warmly")
atu-si
("hot")
*ətu
("hot")
husk kephí
("husk, bark")
kabi
("husk")
*kaŋpiri
("husk")
imposes sikhó
("orders, commands"),
sikpu
("wants [to do]")
sik
("imposes, lays out, takes a position, commands")
*sik
("makes, imposes")
indeed kús
("certainly, without fail")
koso
("indeed, verily, without fail")
*kɨsə
("indeed")
= *
("this")
+ *
("that, that thing")
inserts pak
("inserts it, fills it")
pak
("puts on, slips on [lower body clothing, footwear])"
*pak
("puts it through")
(interrogative)
(interrogative suffix for yes/no questions)
ka (interrogative suffix (kmp); distal demonstrative) *ka
("that [distal]"; interrogative suffix problematizing an identification)
island syem
("island")
sima
("island"),
sime
("closes it off")
*sima
("enclosed area; island")
jar twok
("jar, pot")
tuki
("cup, saucer [for alcohol]")
*toki
("jar")
just tamón / tamóyn
("only, just")
damwi
("just, about")
*tam
("just")
late nuc
("is late")
noti
("later, afterwards")
*nɨc
("is late")
loves kwoy
("is loved")
kwopwi
("loves")
*kopo
("loves it")
lurks swúm
("hides, lurks in (of animals)")
sum
("lives, resides in")
*sum
("lurks, resides")
magpie kachí
("magpie")
kasa-sagi
("magpie")
*kacɨ
("magpie"),
+ *saŋi
("bird")
meshes elk
("binds, ties up, meshes together"),
modern korean wolk
("weaves together")
or
("weaves")
*ər
("ties with string, rope, meshes")
mold kwomphwúy
("mildew, mold grows")
kabwi
("mildew, mold")
*kənpom
mother émí / émanim
("mother")
omo
("mother")
*əmə
("mother")
mows kal
("plows it, cultivates it")
kar
("mows, harvests it")
*kara
("mows it")
much manhó
("is many") man
("only, just")
mane-si, (s)amane-si
("many times, many")
*mana
("much")
+ *i
("be")
now imúy, imuysye
("already")
ima
("now")
*imaj / *ima
("being interval; now")
odor kwusu
("is pleasantly odorous")
kusa-si
("is smelly")
*kusa
("odor")
only spwun
("only, just")
sapey
("if only, just")
*sapɨn
("only, just")
opens akwoy
("hole, place where things come open or come apart")
ak
("it opens up")
*ak
("it opens")
picks up tul
("holds up, raises")
tor
("picks up")
*tɨr
("picks up")
pigeon pitwulí, pitwulki
("pigeon")
patwo
("pigeon")
*pato
("pigeon")
place tóy
("place")
te
("place [suffix]")
*təj
("place [suffix]")
prepares water kóm
("bathes (a bath)")
kum
("draws water")
*kɨmo
("draws, prepares water")
proceeds pek
("is next, is after")
poka
("other, besides")
*pək
("comes after"),
*pəka
("that which has come after")
rain *mah
("east-asian rainy season, rain")
ama / ame
("rain")
*əmaŋ
("rain")
raptor may
("eagle; suffix in bird names")
mey
("suffix in bird names")
*mari
("predatory bird; suffix in bird names")
rubs moncí, moní
("strokes, touches it")
mom
("kneads, rubs")
*məm
("touches, rubs")
same kóthó, kót, kotho
("is similar, same")
(no) goto si
("is similar, same")
*kətə
("same")
sea patáh
("sea")
wata
("sea")
*wat-a
("that which has been crossed; sea")
seaweed(1) mól
("seaweed")
mo, mey
("seaweed")
*mər
("seaweed")
section kic
("a divided share")
kida / kita
("counter for cuts, sections; measurement of fabric and plots of land")
*kinca
("a cut, section")
sent out pwonáy
("releases, sends it")
panas / panat
("releases it")
*pə-na
("see + go out")
sets it down swuy
("it rests")
suwe
("sets it, sets it down")
*suwu
("sets it down")
shape kací
("kind, sort, variety")
kata
("shape, form")
*kacaj / kaca
("shape")
shines pozóy
("is shiny, is dazzled")
posi
("star")
*pəsə
("shines")
shuts in kóm
("shuts [the eyes], closes [the eyes]")
komor
("is shut inside")
*kəmə
("shuts it in)
sidelines yehúy / yehoy
("be separated from (a loved one)")
yoke
("avoids it, averts it")
*jəkə-i
("sidelines; is aside")
(simple past tense) ke
("perfective verb marker")
ki
("simple past marker")
*
("past tense verb marker"),
< *
("comes")
situation pa
("place, situation, condition")
pa (conditional verb suffix; nominal topic/focus marker) *pa
("place; situation")
skewers kwoc
("skewers, stabs it") kwoc
("skewer")
kusi
("skewer")
*koc
("skewers it"),
*koc-i
("a skewer")
skin kaphól
("sheath"),
kepcil
("bark")
kapa
("skin")
*kapa
("skin")
small bamboo sasól
("bamboo branch, stick for drawing lots")
sasa
("bamboo grass, small bamboo")
*sasa
("small bamboo")
small piece cwokak
("piece, shard")
sukwo-si
("little bit")
*cok
("is a small piece")
snake póyyám / póyam
("snake")
peymi
("snake")
*pəjami
("snake")
soaks through súmúy
("permeates it, soaks through it")
some
("dyes it")
*sɨmɨ
("it soaks through")
sour soy, swuy
("turns sour")
suyur
("turns sour")
*sɨju
("turns sour")
speaks íp
("mouth")
ip
("says")
*ip
("speaks")
spider kemúy
("spider")
kumo
("spider")
*komo
("spider")
splits it kask
("trims, cuts it")
sak
("splits it")
*sak
("splits it by cutting")
stale kwut
("is hard")
kutar
("gets old, stale, rotten")
*kut
("gets stale, hard")
suits for use psú
("uses it")
pusap
("suits, is suitable")
*pusa
("uses it; suits it for use")
sun hóy
("sun; year")
ka / key
("day"),
koyomi
("calendar")
*xəj
("sun")
swamp nwup
("swamp, bog")
numa
("swamp, bog")
*nu
("swamp, wet")
swells pulu / pull
("gets full, (stomach) swells")
puye
("increases, swells", puyas
("makes it increase")
*purɨr
("swells")
takes in tothwó
("fights"),
thi
("strikes"),
tho
("takes in, receives")
tatak ("strikes"),
tatakap
("fights")
*takə
("takes in, receives"),
*ta(r)takə
("strikes")
that (mesial) so
("the fact, the thing"; complementizer)
so
("that [mesial]")
*
("that [mesial]"; complementizer))
this ku
("that (mesial)")
ko
("this (proximal)")
*
("this (proximal)")
time period woláy
("long time")
wori
("period of time, time")
*orɨj ("period of time")
time when cek, cey
("time when")
toki
("time when")
*ceki
("time when")
together tamós
("together")
tomo
("together; companion")
*təmə ("together")
+ pk *s
("substantive")
uproar sa(g)wónaw
("is rough, wild, fierce")
sawak
("is noisy, bustling"),
sawa'-sawa
("noisy")
*sawə
("uproarious")
vacant pwuy
("is empty")
pima
("open, spare time")
*pi
("vacant")
valued pum
("matters, bears a connection to")
pome
("praises it")
*pɨm
("is valued")
walks ke:t- ("walks") kati
("walking")
*katu
("walks")
wasp pátólí
("yellowjacket")
pati
("bee")
*pator
("wasp")
waterlogged mol
("soaks it in liquid")
mor
("leaks"),
mor
("fills up")
*mər
("gets filled with water, water-logged")
wears kís
("lapel, collar; outer layer of cloth")
ki
("wears on the body")
*ki
("wears on the body")
weaves pcó
("weaves together")
pata
("loom; woven cloth")
*pəca
("weaves")
wet highland swúp, swuphúl, swúh
("forest")
sapa ("swamp, mountain, marsh, glen") *sɨpa
("wet highland")
what musúk
("what") musu
("what, which [prenoun])")
< *musuk
mosi
("perchance"; adverb introducing polar interrogatives)
*mɨsɨŋ
("which")
whether na
("whether, or, although")
na
("whether or, both, and")
*na
("whether")
wild field nwón
("wet field")
nwo
("wild field, plain")
*non or *no
("wild field")
wishes pólá-
("wishes it")
por-
("wishes it")
*pə-ara-
("wishes it")
woman myenól, myenólí, myenúlí
("daughterinlaw")
mye
("woman, wife")
< Proto-Japanese *me
*me
("woman")
wood kuluh
("tree stump")
kwi
("tree, wood") < *kəj
*kɨr
("wood")
word kolochí
("instructs, teaches"),
kol
("words, speaking"),
ilkhot/l
("calls out")
koto
("word; thing"),
katar
("tells")
*kətə
("word; thing [non-concrete]")
wraps cwúm, cwumekwúy
("fist")
tum
("grasps, wraps")
*cum
("wraps, grasps in hand")

Although fewer in number, there have been also comparisons between stages other than Old Japanese and Middle Korean:

Keyword Koreanic Japonic Proposed
Proto-Japanese-Korean
(negative) aní
(verbal negative; negative copula)
PJ *an
(verbal negative)
*an
(negative)
deep NK phwuk
("deeply, fully")
OJ puka si
("is deep")
*puka
("deep")
numb ENK kwop
("is numb, stiff from cold")
OJ kopor
("freezes")
*kəpə
("is numb")
slope ENK swok
("droops, becomes slanted down")
OJ saka
("down slope")
*səka
("slope")
soaks ENK chwuk
("gets wet")
OJ tuke
("soaks it")
*cuku
("soaks")
traps ENK kali
("fish trap")
OJ kar
("traps, hunts, catches an animal")
*kara
("traps, hunts")
ground MK mith
("base, bottom")
PJ *mita
("ground, dry earth")
*mita
("ground")
(kin prefix) PK *a
("kinship prefix")
OJ a
("my; kinship prefix")
*a
("my; kinship prefix")
land PK *na
("land, ground")
pre-OJ *na
("earth, land")
*na
("land, ground")
deceived MK swok
("is deceived"),
swokí
("deceives it")
MJ sukas
("deceives it")
*sok
("is deceived")
dreams MJ skwú
("dreams")
MJ suk
("is infatuated, has passion"),
suki
("refinement; lust, passion")
*sɨku
("fantasizes, idealizes")

In addition to the above, there may be a relation between the words for morning (朝, asa; 아침, achim). A historical variant in Korean may have been pronounced "asa" (see: Asadal).

There is a minority theory attributing the name of the city Nara to a loanword from Korean (see: Nara, Nara#Etymology).

Numerals

[edit]

Similarities have been drawn between the four attested numerals of Goguryeo, an ancient Korean relative, and its equivalents in Old Japanese.[20][21]

Numeral Goguryeo Old Japanese
3 mil mi1
5 uc itu
7 na-nin nana
10 dok to2 / to2wo

Note: See Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai for information on Old Japanese subscript notation.

Writing

[edit]

Both languages use, to some extent, a combination of native scripts and Chinese characters.

Korean is mostly written in the Korean featural alphabet (known as Hangul in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea). The traditional hanja (Chinese characters adapted for Korean) are sometimes used in South Korea, but only for specific purposes such as to clarify homophones (especially in TV show subtitles), linguistic or historic study, artistic expression, legal documents, and newspapers. Native Korean words do not use hanja anymore. In North Korea, the hanja have been largely suppressed in an attempt to remove Chinese influence, although they are still used in some cases and the number of hanja taught in North Korean schools is greater than that of South Korean schools.[22]

Japanese is written with a combination of kanji (Chinese characters adapted for Japanese) and kana (two writing systems representing the same sounds, composed primarily of syllables, each used for different purposes).[23][24] Unlike Korean hanja, however, kanji can be used to write both Sino-Japanese words and native Japanese words.

Historically, both Korean and Japanese were written solely with Chinese characters, with the writing experiencing a gradual mutation through centuries into its modern form.[25]

Honorifics

[edit]

Both languages have similar elaborate, multilevel systems of honorifics, and furthermore both Korean and Japanese also separate the concept of honorifics from formality in speech and writing in their own ways (See Korean speech levels and Honorific speech in Japanese § Grammatical overview). They are cited as the two most elaborate honorific systems, perhaps unrivaled by any other languages.[26] It has been argued that certain honorific words may share a common origin.[27] Uniquely, the honorifics rely heavily on changing verb conjugations rather than only using t-v distinction or other common methods of signifying honorifics. See Korean honorifics and Japanese honorifics.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Andrew Logie (November 22, 2013). "Are Korean and Japanese related? The Altaic hypothesis continued". Koreanology. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  2. ^ Kornicki, Peter. Aston, Cambridge and Korea Archived May 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Poppe 1965:137
  4. ^ a b Martin, Samuel (1990).
  5. ^ Whitman, John (1985).
  6. ^ E. Riley, Barbara (2004).
  7. ^ Starostin, Sergei (Moscow, 1991). The Altaic Problem and the Origins of the Japanese Language.
  8. ^ Georg et al. 1999:72, 74
  9. ^ "While 'Altaic' is repeated in encyclopedias and handbooks most specialists in these languages no longer believe that the three traditional supposed Altaic groups, Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic, are related." Lyle Campbell & Mauricio J. Mixco, A Glossary of Historical Linguistics (2007, University of Utah Press), pg. 7.
  10. ^ "When cognates proved not to be valid, Altaic was abandoned, and the received view now is that Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic are unrelated." Johanna Nichols, Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time (1992, Chicago), pg. 4.
  11. ^ "Careful examination indicates that the established families, Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic, form a linguistic area (called Altaic)...Sufficient criteria have not been given that would justify talking of a genetic relationship here." R.M.W. Dixon, The Rise and Fall of Languages (1997, Cambridge), pg. 32.
  12. ^ "...[T]his selection of features does not provide good evidence for common descent" and "we can observe convergence rather than divergence between Turkic and Mongolic languages--a pattern than is easily explainable by borrowing and diffusion rather than common descent", Asya Pereltsvaig, Languages of the World, An Introduction (2012, Cambridge) has a good discussion of the Altaic hypothesis (pp. 211-216).
  13. ^ Robbeets, Martine and Bouckaert, Remco. Bayesian phylolinguistics reveals the internal structure of the Transeurasian family Archived July 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Robbeets, Martine et al. 2021 Triangulation supports agricultural spread of the Transeurasian languages, Nature 599, 616–621
  14. ^ Tian, Zheng; Tao, Yuxin; Zhu, Kongyang; Jacques, Guillaume; Ryder, Robin J.; de la Fuente, José Andrés Alonso; Antonov, Anton; Xia, Ziyang; Zhang, Yuxuan; Ji, Xiaoyan; Ren, Xiaoying; He, Guanglin; Guo, Jianxin; Wang, Rui; Yang, Xiaomin; Zhao, Jing; Xu, Dan; Gray, Russell D.; Zhang, Menghan; Wen, Shaoqing; Wang, Chuan-Chao; Pellard, Thomas (June 12, 2022), Triangulation fails when neither linguistic, genetic, nor archaeological data support the Transeurasian narrative, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, doi:10.1101/2022.06.09.495471, S2CID 249649524
  15. ^ Bernard Comrie: "Introduction", p. 7 and 9 in Comrie (1990).
  16. ^ S. Tomlin, Russell. Surveyed in the 1980s.
  17. ^ Introducing English Linguistics International Student Edition by Charles F. Meyer
  18. ^ Russell Tomlin, "Basic Word Order: Functional Principles", Croom Helm, London, 1986, page 22
  19. ^ Francis-Ratte, Alexander Takenobu (2016). Proto-Korean-Japanese: A New Reconstruction of the Common Origin of the Japanese and Korean Languages (Thesis). The Ohio State University.
  20. ^ Shinmura, Izuru (1916). "國語及び朝 鮮語の數詞について [Regarding numerals in Japanese and Korean]". Geibun. 7.2–7.4.
  21. ^ Yi, Ki-Mun (1972). "Kugosa Kaesol [Introduction to the history of Korean]". Seoul: Minjung Sogwan. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ Hannas 1997: 68. "Although North Korea has removed Chinese characters from its written materials, it has, paradoxically, ended up with an educational program that teaches more characters than either South Korea or Japan, as Table 2 shows."
  23. ^ Advances in Psychology Research. Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-24.
  24. ^ Learning Japanese in the Network Society. Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-24.
  25. ^ The Handbook of Korean Linguistics By Jaehoon Yeon
  26. ^ Brown, Lucien (2008). "Contrasts Between Korean and Japanese Honorifics". Rivista Degli Studi Orientali. 81 (1/4): 369–385. JSTOR 41913346.
  27. ^ "Grammaticalization in Sentence-Final Politeness Marking in Korean and Japanese".