"If you change the Jeolla dialect term 'pokpokheoda' to the standard 'dapdap-hada,' the meaning changes. If dialects disappear, we suffer because subtle nuances cannot be expressed."

Lee Tae-young, Professor, Department of Korean Language & Literature, Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), says, "Dialects are a linguistic treasure trove," and adds, "They should not be denigrated in contrast to the standard language but should be accepted as a common language to enrich linguistic life." His book reflecting this view, "Research on Jeollabuk-do Dialects," which he published last year, was recently selected as an Outstanding Academic Book by the National Academy of Sciences.

The book examines the everyday language and dialects appearing in the novels of Chae Man-sik, Yun Heung-gil, and Choi Myung-hee, who hail from Jeonbuk, and shows how these vocabularies have richly expanded the depth and scope of their works. In his 2010 book, "Jeolla Dialects in Literature," he also thoroughly explains why dialects inevitably appear frequently in poetry and fiction.

"Dialects are easy and comfortable because you hear and grow up with them in your grandmother's arms. The standard, written language often feels unfamiliar, so in any language the standard language and dialects inevitably mix," he says.

Standard-language dictionaries describe words such as 'kkomaengi,' 'sogaji,' and 'allang-bang-gwi' as slang or Jeolla dialect. However, he said, "These words are natural spoken language and serve as indicators of a culture's health and diversity." He added, "The standard language is merely the central dialect, yet the single-standard-language policy has belittled other dialects," and "Korean is constituted by a variety of vocabularies—regional words, indigenous terms, folk words, fashionable terms, and slang."

Professor Lee, who was born in Jeonju and serves as Vice President of the Korean Society of Dialectology, began serious dialect research while writing his master's thesis. Since then he has visited markets and nursing homes across Jeonbuk to record dialects embedded in everyday speech, and he and his students still conduct dialect field surveys several times each year. He also participated for ten years in building the National Institute of the Korean Language's "Hanminjok Language Information" database, compiling dialects from South Korea, North Korea, and abroad. In this database, the word 'frog' alone has over fifty dialectal variants.

Recently the government has shifted language policy to seek a balance between the standard language and dialects. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to include 80,000 dialectal entries in a Korean knowledge dictionary that will contain one million entries. The current Standard Korean Language Dictionary holds 500,000 entries. Professor Lee said, "If many living colloquialisms and dialects are established as a common language or as multiple standard languages, the cultural era of the 21st century will become even richer."

He said the dialects of central Jeonbuk are closer to the softer Chungnam dialects than to the Jeonnam dialects, which have many tense and aspirated consonants. He explained that, influenced by the region's native pansori tradition, Jeonbuk dialects are characterized by rhythm and melody.

"Knowing dialects allows you to deeply understand the history of villages and cities, and communal cultural traditions." With "Research on Jeollabuk-do Dialects" selected as an Outstanding Academic Book, the academy will purchase copies and distribute them to universities and libraries nationwide. Professor Lee said, "From now on I will focus on research that organizes the origins and changes of locally favored dialects such as 'podoshi,' 'solchani,' and 'geobnage,' and the cultural backgrounds of those processes."

*Source: Chosun Ilbo http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/13/2012051301625.html