HISTORY OF KOREAN LANGUAGE

History of Korean Language (LM) is one of the core courses within the Korea curriculum of the Corso di Laurea Magistrale in "Lingue e Culture dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea".
Its formative objectives are to be identified within the learning of linguistic and philological competencies related to the evolution of modern and contemporary Korean Language, and to the ability to work directly with primary sources in the Korean language.
History of Korean Language (LM) concludes the path of philological and historical analysis of the evolution of Korean Language and writing systems started during the BA degree, with History of Korean Language 1 and History of Korean Language 2.

In the second part we will deal with themes such as the dissemination of the new alphabet, after its invention in the XV century, the concficting relationship between alphabetic and other writings (Literary Sinitic included), until the end of XIX and beginning of the XX centiry, when the alphabet is proclaimed element of national unity and of recognition of the 'Koreanness' of the Choson people, ahead of the Japanese annexation and of the loss of territorial and national sovereignty.

Knowledge and comprehension:
- knowing and understanding the main elements of the history of the Korean language and writing systems from the 19th century to the contemporary period.
- connect them with historical and cultural developments studied in other courses of the same curriculum, relevant to the same historical period
- know and analyze primary sources introduced both in the original version and in translation, make critical comments on them, and connect them to other historical and cultural events of the relevant period.

Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension:
- ability to analyze and explain texts written in different writing systems, by utilizing given interpretation methods

Judgment abilities:
- ability to produce critiques on textual, historical and literary themes included in the study programme, by recurring to critically and historically solid arguments
- ability to evaluate all kinds of literary primary sources

Communicative abilities:
- ability ot express and elaborate in writing the contents of the course programme, using critical approach and not mnemonical strategies.

Learning abilities:
- learn how to take notes effectively and thoroughly
- how to integrate the study on different materials (notes, slides, manuals, creative texts and academic articles)
- learning to study autonomously with materials and on subjects not covered in class
- Learning how to deal with materials in English and Korean

No prerequisites are set for the attendance of this course.

Lesson 1 – Introduction to the course: aims and methodology
Lesson 2 – A brief summary: Old Korean and Early Middle Korean
Lesson 3 – A brief summary: Late Middle Korean and Modern Korean
Lesson 4 – The Contribution of Western Missionaries to the Modernization of Korean Linguistics
Lesson 5 – The ‘questione della lingua’ I: 1894~1919; Introduction – The birth of Modern Korean Linguistics and the contribution by Chu Sigyŏng and other scholars
Lesson 6 – The quest for the perfect writing – Choe Hyŏnbae
Lesson 7 – The ‘questione della lingua’ II (1919- 1945) – Language policy in Korea during the Japanese Colonial Period
Lesson 8 – The role of Korean Language Associations: Chosŏnŏ Hakhoe and the compilation of the first Korean Language Dictionary.
Lesson 9 – Language standardization and Orthography - Standard Korean and Regional Dialects. The Unified Orthographic Reform of 1933 (Han’gŭl Matchumbŏp T’ongil an 한글맞춤법통일안)
Lesson 10 – The ‘questione della lingua’ III (post-1945) - The orthography of Korean II: P’yojunŏ kyujŏng(표준어 규정), Woeraeŏ p’yogibŏp(외래어 표기법). Transcription and transliteration methods Romaja p’yogibŏp (로마자 표기법)
Lesson 11 – Orthographic divergence in South and North Korea
Lesson 12 – Lexical Matters in Contemporary Korean – The presence of lexical borrowings from other languages and the Movement for ‘language purism’/'language purification'. Korean Language and 'Gender'.
Lesson 13 – Korean Language in the World – Dissemination of Korean through diaspora
Lesson 14 – Education policy for Korean language as a second language: in Korea
Lesson 15 – Education policy for Korean language as a second language: outside Korea

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hangeul, Voices of Diversity, ed. Jangseogak Archives of the Academy of Korean Studies, AKS Press, Seoul: Dec. 2018, pp. 224, ISBN: 979-11-5866-438-1.
Lee Iksop and Ramsey S. Robert - The Korean Language, State University of New York Press, Albany, 2000.
Lee Ki-Moon and Ramsey S. Robert - A History of the Korean Language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007.
Martin Samuel E. - A Reference Grammar of Korean, Tuttle Language Library, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan, 1992.
King, Ross. “Western Protestant Missionaries and the Origins of Korean Language Modernization.” Journal of International and Area Studies 11, no. 3 (2004): 7–38.
Kwang-rin, Lee. “The Rise of Nationalism in Korea.” Korean Studies 10 (1986): 1–12.
Silva, David J. “Western Attitudes toward the Korean Language: An Overview of Late Nineteenth-and Early Twentieth-Century Mission Literature.” Korean Studies 26, no. 2 (2002): 270–86.
Robinson, Michael E. “Ch’oe Hyŏn-Bae and Korean Nationalism: Language, Culture, and National Development.” Occasional Papers on Korea, no. 3 (1975): 19–33.
Robinson, Michael F., and Michael E. Robinson. “Nationalism and the Korean Tradition, 1896—1920: Iconoclasm, Reform, and National Identity.” Korean Studies 10 (1986): 35–53.
ROBINSON, MICHAEL. “Ideological Schism in the Korean Nationalist Movement, 1920-1930: Cultural Nationalism and the Radical Critique.” The Journal of Korean Studies 4 (1982): 241–68.
YIM, YONG SOON. “Language Reform as a Political Symbol in North Korea.” World Affairs 142, no. 3 (1980): 216–35.
You Clare, and Yangwon Ha (Eds.) -- The Spread of the Korean Language Through the Korean Diaspora and Beyond, Series: Transnational Korea; 2, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, (2018) (Particularly: YANGWON HA - Language Spread Policy in Korea, pp 258-292
Wells, Kenneth M. “Background to the March First Movement: Koreans in Japan, 1905—1919.” Korean Studies 13 (1989): 5–21.

Additional materials will be distributed during classes and uploaded on the dedicated moodle platform.

The final test for this course will be a written exam consisting of a test containing at least ten open questions and in addition, a short research paper which can become the starting point for a more in-depth analysis of the final MA thesis.

The course consists of teacher-led classes held by the class instructor and it will be complemented by other online activities, such as visits to national libraries, museums, and other Korean institutions, as well as videoconferences with Korean experts, in English and in Korean (translation will be provided each time by the course instructor). Students will also be provided with additional study materials.

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development