Jeju dialect
| Jeju | |
|---|---|
| Cheju | |
| 제주말 Jejumal |
|
| Native to | South Korea |
| Region | Jeju Province |
|
Native speakers
|
5,000–10,000 (2012) |
| Hangeul | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | jeju1234 |
Jeju (Cheju) is a Koreanic language spoken in the Jeju Province of South Korea. It differs greatly from the Korean dialects of the mainland. Standard Korean is the most common form of communication in Korea, whereas the Jeju dialect is considered a very local language. The Jeju language is mainly understood and spoken by the older generation. As of October 2014, the Jeju National University Foreign Language Institute has made efforts to save the fading language. Currently, only a relatively small group, consisting of around, or even fewer, than ten thousand individuals actively speak the language today.
The name is transcribed Jeju in Revised Romanization and Cheju in McCune–Reischauer. In Korean, it is known as 제주 방언 (濟州方言) Jeju bang-eon or 제주 사투리 Jeju saturi "Jeju dialect", as 제주어 (濟州語) Jejueo "Jeju language", or as 제주말 Jejumal "Jeju speech". The last term, mal means both "language" and "dialect".
Although many South Koreans, including those who speak Jeju, consider it a dialect of the Korean language, it can be considered a separate language because it is mutually unintelligible with the Korean dialects on the mainland.Japanese and Mongolian are also incorporated into Jeju, indicating further separation from Standard Korean. Jeju is characterized by a heavy accent containing many informal words and phrases, considered to be Korean slang. It has been recognized as a distinct language locally and by UNESCO.Glottolog also classifies it as a distinct language. Government support of this language is provided through the Jeju Ministry of Education, and institutional support is provided by the Jeju Preservation Society.
There are around 5,000–10,000 fluent speakers today. Jeju was once spoken across Jeju Island, apart from the Chuja islands in the former Bukjeju County (currently Jeju City), where the Chuja dialect, a variety of the Jeolla dialect, is spoken. It also survives in diasporic enclaves in Japan.
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