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Dravido-Korean languages

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Dravido-Korean
(controversial)
Geographic
distribution		South India, Japan and Korea
Linguistic classificationProposed language family
Subdivisions
Language codes
GlottologNone

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]

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]

The Samguk yusa describes Heo Hwang-ok, who was the first queen of Geumgwan Gaya—a statelet of the Gaya confederacy—as coming from India's Ayuta or Ay (Kanyakumari) in Tamil Nadu. Since the Samguk yusa was compiled in the 12th century, and contains mythical narratives, it is not strong evidence. However, contact with Tamil merchants and a limited inflow of immigrants may have influenced the formation of the Gaya confederacy.[8][9]

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.[citation needed]

Arguments

Susumu Ōno,[10] and Homer B. Hulbert[11] propose that early Dravidian people, especially Tamils, migrated to the Korean peninsula and Japan. Hulbert based his theories of language relationships and associated migration patterns on the Turanian language hypothesis, which has been obsolete since the early 20th century.[12] Morgan E. Clippinger presents 408 cognates and about 60 phonological correspondences. Clippinger proposed that some cognates were closer than others leading him to speculate a genetic link which was reinforced by a later migration.[4][13] The Japanese professor Tsutomu Kambe proposed more than 500 similar cognates between Tamil and Japanese.[14] 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.[15] There are two basic common features:[16]

  • all three languages are agglutinative,
  • all three follow SOV word order, with modifiers preceding modified words, and 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.[17]

Moreover, because no regular sound correspondences have been identified between Korean and Dravidian, the hypothesis that they are genetically related is not considered by most historical linguists.

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) [dubious – discuss] Father Appā (அப்பா)/ Appuchchi (அப்புச்சி, grand-pa) Father
Eomma (엄마) / Eomeoni (어머니) [dubious – discuss] 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 The modern Korean is from earlier Middle Korean 묏도〮기〮 (Yale: mwòys.twókí), where the medial -s- is likely a genitive particle. Phonologically and semantically, this makes the Tamil connection less likely.
Pul (풀) grass Pul (புல்) grass
Ippal (이빨) tooth Pal (பல்) tooth The modern Korean is from earlier Middle Korean 닛발 (Yale: nispal), in turn reconstructed as from 니 (Yale: ni, “tooth”, whence modern 이 (i)) + ㅅ (Yale: -s, genitive particle) + 발 (Yale: pal, meaning unknown).
-boda (-보다) than Vida (விட) than The Korean term -boda is not attested until the mid-1700s, and arose as a lexicalization of a compound from bo- "to see" + -daga "while, after". Meanwhile, Tamil vida is the infinitive of verb vitu "to leave, to let go".
gada (가다) to go Kada (கட) to pass or to cross The final -da in Korean is the plain declarative mood inflection suffix, and the verb stem (the portion that does not change) is ga-. Meanwhile, the verb stem in Tamil appears to be kad-.
Wa (와) [dubious – discuss] an inflected form of the verb o-(오-) "to come" Vā (வா) come The verb stem in Korean is just o-. Meanwhile, the verb stem in Tamil appears to be va.
olla (올라) [dubious – discuss] an inflected form of verb stem oreu- (오르-) "to climb" Yeḷḷa (எழ)/Yeḷḷa(எழு) Rise Yellu/yella
Aigu (아이구) - Aiyō (ஐயோ) - Expression of surprise, disgust or disregard
I (이) this Itu (இது) this
Nal (날) day Nāḷ (நாள்) day
jogeum-jogeum (조금 조금) little by little konjam-konjam (கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சம்) - Literally 'little-bit little-bit'. There is a large unexplained phonological gap between the Korean and the Tamil.
eoneu (어느) one/what/which (as in "one day" / "what day" / "the one which") onnu (ஒண்ணு) one

References

  1. ^ a b c Lee & Ramsey (2011), p. 15.
  2. ^ a b Hulbert (1905).
  3. ^ Hulbert (1906), p. 28.
  4. ^ a b Clippinger (1984).
  5. ^ Hulbert (1906), p. 29.
  6. ^ Barnes, Gina Lee (2001). State formation in Korea: historical and archaeological perspectives. Routledge. p. 185.
  7. ^ Kim, Choong-Soon (2011). Voices of Foreign Brides: The Roots and Development of Multiculturalism in Contemporary Korea. Rowman & Littlefield.
  8. ^ Kanyakumari in ancient time called Ayuta or Ay
  9. ^ 이거룡. 2017, "가락국(駕洛國)과 고대 남인도(南印度)의 문화적 접촉에 관한 고찰: 물고기숭배를 중심으로" [A Study on the Cultural Contacts between Garak Kingdom and Ancient South India: With Special Reference to 'Fish Worship'], 인도연구, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 85–121. doi:10.21758/jis.2017.22.1.85
  10. ^ Ohno, Susumu (1970). The Origin of the Japanese Language. Journal of Japanese studies.
  11. ^ Paek, Nak-chun (1987). The history of Protestant missions in Korea, 1832-1910. Yonsei University Press.
  12. ^ Hulbert (1906), pp. 28, 300–302.
  13. ^ Sohn (1999), pp. 28–29.
  14. ^ "Researchers find Tamil connection in Japanese - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  15. ^ Kang, Gil-un (1990). 고대사의 비교언어학적 연구. 새문사.
  16. ^ Sohn (1999), p. 29.
  17. ^ "Origin Theories of the Korean Language". Retrieved 15 December 2013.

Works cited

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