Dravido-Korean languages
Dravido-Koreanic, sometimes Dravido-Koreo-Japonic, is an abandoned proposal linking the Dravidian languages to Korean and (in some versions) to Japanese.[1] A genetic link between the Dravidian languages and Korean was first hypothesized by Homer B. Hulbert in 1905.[2] In his book The Origin of the Japanese Language (1970), Susumu Ōno proposed a layer of Dravidian (specifically Tamil) vocabulary in both Korean and Japanese. Morgan E. Clippinger gave a detailed comparison of Korean and Dravidian vocabulary in his article "Korean and Dravidian: Lexical Evidence for an Old Theory" (1984), but there has been little interest in the idea since the 1980s.[1]
| Dravido-Korean | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | South Asia, Japan and Korea |
| Linguistic classification | Proposed language family |
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | None |
Recognition of language similarities
Similarities between the Dravidian languages and Korean were first noted by French missionaries in Korea.[3] In 1905, Homer B. Hulbert wrote a comparative grammar of Korean and Dravidian in which he hypothesized a genetic connection between the two.[2] Later, Susumu Ōno caused a stir in Japan with his theory that Tamil constituted a lexical stratum of both Korean and Japanese, which was widely publicized in the following years but was quickly abandoned. However, Clippinger applied the comparative method systematically to Middle Korean forms and reconstructed Dravidian forms.[4] Lee Ki-Moon, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University, argued in 2011 that Clippinger's conclusion should be revisited.[1] According to Homer B. Hulbert, many of the names of ancient cities of southern Korea were the exact counterpart of Dravidian words.[5] For example, the Karak Kingdom of King Suro was named after the proto-Dravidian meaning fish.[6][7] Samguk yusa describes Heo Hwang-ok, who was the first queen of the Geumgwan Gaya—a statelet of the Gaya confederacy—as coming from from India's Ayuta kingdom. However, given its mythical narratives, historical reliability of Samguk yusa is questionable.
In 2011, Jung Nam Kim, president of the Korean Society of Tamil Studies, mentioned that the similarities between Korean and Dravidian are strong, but he also said that this does not prove a genetic link between Dravidian and Korean, and that more research needs to be done.
Arguments
Susumu Ōno,[8] and Homer B. Hulbert[9] propose that early Dravidian people, especially Tamils, migrated to the Korean peninsula and Japan. Morgan E. Clippinger presents 408 cognates and about 60 phonological correspondences. Clippinger found that some cognates were closer than others leading him to speculate a genetic link which was reinforced by a later migration.[4][10] The Japanese professor Tsutomu Kambe found more than 500 similar cognates between Tamil and Japanese.[11] There are two basic common features:[12]
- all three languages are agglutinative,
- all three follow SOV word order, and consequently modifiers always precede modified words and particles are post-positional.
However, typological similarities such as these could easily be due to chance; agglutinative languages are quite common, and half of the languages in the world follow SOV word order. The lack of a statistically significant number of cognates and the lack of anthropological and genetic links can be adduced to dismiss this proposal.[13]
Comparative linguist Kang Gil-un identifies 1300 Dravidian Tamil cognates in Korean. He suggests that Korean is probably related to the Nivkh language and influenced by Tamil.[14]
List of potential Korean-Tamil cognates
Personal pronouns
| Korean | Meaning | Tamil | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| na (나) (naneun 나는, naega 내가) | I | nāṉ (நான்)/ nāṉu (நானு)
nāṅgaḷ (நாங்கள்) |
I | Nā நா is informal in both languages. In Korean naneun 나는, na 나 is the first person singular pronoun, whereas -neun 는 is a marker of the topic. In colloquial Korean speech, naneun 나는 may be shortened to nan 난. |
| neo (너) (neoneun 너는, nega 네가) | you | nī (நீ)/ nīnga (நீங்க) | you | Nī நீ is informal in both languages. Nīnga நீங்க is formal in Tamil. Korean nega 네가 is an irregular form of neo 너 (second person singular pronoun) + -ga 가 (marker of the nominative case). In colloquial Korean speech, neoneun 너는 may be shortened to neon 넌, and nega 네가 may be pronounced as niga 니가. |
Kinship
| Korean | Meaning | Tamil | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appa (아빠, informal) / Abeoji (아버지, formal) | Father | Appā (அப்பா)/ Appuchchi (அப்புச்சி, grand-pa) | Father |
| Eomma (엄마) / Eomeoni (어머니) | Mother; middle-aged lady; aunt | Ammā (அம்மா) / Ammaṇi (அம்மணி, a term of respect while addressing a woman) | Mother; milady (honorific for young women) |
| Eonni (언니) | Elder sister (females for their elder sisters); but note that the term historically meant elder sibling of either sex. | Aṇṇi (அண்ணி) | Elder sister-in-law |
| Nuna (누나) | Elder sister (males for their elder sisters) | ||
| Agassi (아가씨) | Young lady; however this term is most likely a compound of "aga" (baby) + "-ssi" (suffix for politely calling someone) | Thankachi/Thangai (தங்கச்சி/தங்கை) | Younger Sister |
Others
| Korean | Meaning | Tamil | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mettugi (메뚜기) | grasshopper | Vettukkili (வெட்டுக்கிளி) | grasshopper | |
| Pul (풀) | grass | Pul (புல்) | grass | |
| Ippal (이빨) | tooth | Pal (பல்) | tooth | |
| -boda (-보다) | than | Vida (விட) | than | |
| gada (가다) | to go | Kada (கட) | to pass or to cross | |
| Wa (와) | an inflected form of the verb o-(오-) "to come" | Vā (வா) | come | |
| olla (올라) | an inflected form of the verb oreu-(오르-) "to climb" | Yeḷḷa (எழ)/Yeḷḷa(எழு) | Rise | Yellu/yella |
| Aigu (아이구) | - | Aiyō (ஐயோ) | - | Expression of surprise, disgust or disregard |
| Igeot (이것) | this: a compound made of i ("this") + geot ("(some)thing") | Itu (இது) | this | |
| Nal (날) | day | Nāḷ (நாள்) | day | |
| jogeum-jogeum (조금 조금) | - | konjam-konjam (கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சம்) | - | Literally 'little-bit little-bit' |
| eoneu (어느) | one/what (as in "one day" or "what day") | onnu (ஒண்ணு) | one | |
References
- Lee & Ramsey (2011), p. 15.
- Hulbert (1905).
- Hulbert (1906), p. 28.
- Clippinger (1984).
- Hulbert (1906), p. 29.
- Barnes, Gina Lee (2001). State formation in Korea: historical and archaeological perspectives. Routledge. p. 185.
- Kim, Choong-Soon (2011). Voices of Foreign Brides: The Roots and Development of Multiculturalism in Contemporary Korea. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Ohno, Susumu (1970). The Origin of the Japanese Language. Journal of Japanese studies.
- Paek, Nak-chun (1987). The history of Protestant missions in Korea, 1832-1910. Yonsei University Press.
- Sohn (1999), pp. 28–29.
- "Researchers find Tamil connection in Japanese - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- Sohn (1999), p. 29.
- "Origin Theories of the Korean Language". Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- Kang, Gil-un (1990). 고대사의 비교언어학적 연구. 새문사.
Works cited
- Clippinger, Morgan E. (1984), "Korean and Dravidian: Lexical Evidence for an Old Theory", Korean Studies, 8: 1–57, doi:10.1353/ks.1984.0011, JSTOR 23717695, S2CID 162384193.
- Hulbert, Homer B. (1905), A Comparative Grammar Of The Korean Language and the Dravidian Languages of India, Seoul: Methodist Publishing House.
- ——— (1906), The passing of Korea, New York: Doubleday.
- Lee, Ki-Moon; Ramsey, S. Robert (2011), A History of the Korean Language, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-139-49448-9.
- Sohn, Ho-Min (1999), The Korean Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-36123-1.