Ethnologue 14 report for language code:KKN

KOREAN: a language of Korea, South

The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.

SIL code: KKN

ISO 639-1: ko

ISO 639-2: kor

Population

42,000,000 in South Korea (1986). Population total all countries 78,000,000 (1999 WA).

Region

Also spoken in 31 other countries including American Samoa, Australia, Bahrain, Belize, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, North, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Mongolia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands.

Alternate names

HANGUOHUA, HANGUK MAL

Dialects

SEOUL (KANGWONDO, KYONGGIDO), CH'UNGCH'ONGDO (NORTH CH'UNGCH'ONG, SOUTH CH'UNGCH'ONG), KYONGSANGDO (NORTH KYONGSANGDO, SOUTH KYONGSANGDO), CHOLLADO (NORTH CHOLLADO, SOUTH CHOLLADO), CHEJU ISLAND.

Classification

Language Isolate.

Comments

There is a difference of opinion among scholars as to whether or not Korean is related to Japanese. Some scholars suggest that both languages are possibly distantly related to Altaic. Dialect boundaries generally correspond to provincial boundaries. Some dialects are not easily intelligible with others (Voegelin and Voegelin 1977). The suffix -do on dialect names means 'province'. Comprehension of Standard Korean may be lower on Cheju Island. National language. Grammar. SOV. Higher adult illiteracy is reported on Cheju Island. Korean script (Hangul) used. The McCune-Reischauer system is the official Roman orthography in South Korea used for maps and signs. Buddhist, Christian. Bible 1911-1993.

Also spoken in:

China

Language name	KOREAN
Population	1,920,597 in China (1990 census).
Comments	Considered one of the main official nationalities. 'Chaoxian' is the name used in China. High level of education. Radio programs. Agriculturalists. Buddhist, Christian. Bible 1911-1993. See main entry under Korea, South.

Japan

Language name	KOREAN
Population	670,000 in Japan, .5% of the population (1988).
Comments	Bilingualism in Japanese. Buddhist, Christian. Bible 1911-1993. See main entry under Korea, South.

Korea, North

Language name	KOREAN
Population	20,000,000 in North Korea (1986).
Dialects	HAMGYONGDO (NORTH HAMGYONGDO, SOUTH HAMGYONGDO), P'YONG'ANDO (NORTH P'YONG'ANDO, SOUTH P'YONG'ANDO), HWANGHAEDO.
Comments	Dialect boundaries generally correspond to provincial boundaries. Some dialects are not easily intelligible with others (Voegelin and Voegelin 1977). National language. SOV. Korean script (Hangul). Buddhist-Confucianist, Christian. Bible 1911-1993. See main entry under Korea, South.

Thailand

Language name	KOREAN
Comments	Buddhist, Christian. Bible 1911-1993. See main entry under Korea, South.