Koryo-mar (Korean: 고려말; Russian: Корё мар; see also § Names) is a dialect of Korean spoken by Koryo-saram, ethnic Koreans who live in the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is descended from the Hamgyŏng dialect and multiple other varieties of Northeastern Korean.^[1] Koryo-mar is often reported as difficult to understand by 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.^[2]

According to German Kim, Koryo-mar is not widely used in the media and is not taught in schools. Thus it can be classified as endangered.^[3]

Names

In the speech of Koryo-saram, 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 (중앙아시아한국어).

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 Koryo-mar as a literary language. Written Korean during the Soviet period tended to follow the North Korean standard language, while both Northern and Southern forms have occurred^{[clarification needed]} after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, some modern writers, most notably Lavrenti Son, have created plays and short stories in Koryo-mar using Hangul.^[4]

A movement for the romanization of Koryo-mar took place in the late 1930s, promoted by various government officials and linguists, but it did not have much success.^[5]

Phonology

Characteristics of Koryo-mar distinct from that of Standard Korean include the following phonological differences:^[6]

• ㄹ is [ɾ] or [r] in all positions except when geminate, where it is pronounced the same as standard Korean
• frequent loss of ㄹ before coronal consonants
• A pitch accent system that distinguishes minimal pairs; it has two tones, high and low
• the retention of MK initial n before [i] and [j]
• ㄱ is [t͡ɕ] before ㅣ
• ㄴ and ㅇ at the end of a word are simplified to 이
• ㅏ, ㅔ are pronounced as ㅑ; and ㅗ is pronounced as ㅔ
• ㅗ, ㅡ are simplified to ㅜ; and ㅣ is interchangeable with ㅡ
• [w] is pronounced as [v] due to Russian influence
• ㅈ is pronounced as ㄷ
• ㄱ is pronounced as ㅂ in the middle of a word

Pedagogy

Koryo-mar is not taught as a subject or used as the medium of instruction in any schools. Furthermore, due to the encouragement of younger generations to learn Russian the decline of Koryo-mar usage in families has also accelerated, with most Koryo-Saram (with the exception of the elderly) using Koryo-Mar words only when talking about food (especially Koryo-Saram cuisine) or possibly certain household items. The Korean language as taught in universities of the post-Soviet states is Standard Korean, with instructors being native to or trained. In one instance, a South Korean professor tried to teach Koryo-mar at Almaty State University, but he did not achieve much success.^[7]

However, despite the stark decline in the use of Koryo-mar, certain words, especially regarding food and household items, as well as familial titles to a certain extent have continued to be passed down to varying degrees to younger generations of Koryo-saram through exposure by older generations.