SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This paper identifies and examines numerous points of morpho-syntactic contrast in two transplanted varieties of Korean—Central Asian Koryo Mar (KM) and Chinese Vernacular Yanbian Korean (VYK). This allows us to evaluate implicit claims made about the synchronic forms of these dialects, for example those concerning their relationship to peninsula varieties of Korean, and also provides insights into the factors underlying the development of languages in transplanted contexts. The main findings of this paper confirm that KM and VYK's shared features, such as particle forms and verb endings, are strongly associated with the North Hamgyeong and Yukchin varieties of Korean and their common dialectological origins in the North East of the Korean peninsula. The longevity of these features suggests a ‘founder effect’ in the development of these transplanted varieties.