Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zackback]

1. Is the Korean language of North Korea different from that of South Korea? Stronger dialect or different words for the same thing/idea?
2. In South Korea there are some English words they have incorporated into their vocabulary like "bus", "cake", "ice-cream", "taxi", etc. Are words such as these the same in North Korea or do they have different words since the English language is associated with the United States?

Thank you

[crisdean]

[Drew345]

I've been told that they have different dialects, but no more so than Seoul and Busan have different dialects. Certainly no more severe than the difference between Seoul and Jeju-Do (from what I understand).
Both Koreas were supposed to stop using Hanja (Chinese Characters). They actually did stop in the north, while the south still uses them in newspapers.
Funny that the north could stop using Chinese characters, while the south hangs on (Kind of like getting Americans to switch to the metric system I guess).
When I see the north on TV, the announcer always speaks with a heavy "throaty" kind of speech. Like they are forcing too much air out for every word (while not being louder). Kind of hard to explain. Not sure what that is about, but it seems to just be the way they make announcements, not a real dialect.

[NohopeSeriously]

[Neil]

They replace English loanwords with literal Korean translations.

For example (sorry no Hangual on this computer) South Koreans will call a Hamburger a ermm Hamburger whilst North Koreans will say bbang gogi (bread meat).

[Chokse]

Neil is right. North Koreans use literal translations for the borrowed word items that South Koreans use.

However, hamburger is not said as "bbang gogi" in North Korea (Sorry, also no hangeul on the computer). In North Korea they say "gogi yeob bbang" (meat next to bread).

Things like computer would be said as "calculating machine" and ice cream would be "frozen milk".

This is why I think if the two countries ever reunite, no one from either side is going to understand what the hell anyone is talking about.

Sit back for a minute and think about how many English or Konglish words you hear used every day here in South Korea. Now imagine that no one in North Korea knows what any of those words mean. Can you imagine the conversation that would follow?

[Panda]

The accents are different, The accent of North Korean is closer to that of Chosun-Chinese than of South Korean.

But since South Korean dramas are so popular these days in NK, I am sure North Koreans are learning many loanwords.

[joyorbison]

[T-J]

List of some differences in vocabulary here...

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Comparison_of_South_and_North_Korean_vocabulary

[Underwaterbob]

The North Korean woman who came to one of my schools recently had no trouble talking about all kinds of things with the kids. I'm sorry I missed it. I don't know how long she's been out of North Korea though.

[Chokse]

There may be bigger differences in dialect between different English speaking countries. However, even if there are, we (English speakers) are exposed to those so often and in so many ways, that they are not an enormous hinderance.

I understand that a very few NKs have access to South Korean shows, but the vast majority of the population does not. This means that the vast majority of the NK population has not been exposed to many of the borrowed or Konglish words used in everyday speech in SK.

Maybe in another 50-100 years when (if) they finally reunite, they will have no communication problems at all, but I doubt it. With each year that goes by, the gap in language becomes bigger and bigger.