Some linguists have speculated that the divergence of dialects between South Korea and North Korea has become substantial. The vast infusion of foreign vocabulary to the "standard Korean" of the South over the last 7 decades has been largely bypassed by the North. Some South Koreans have told me they have a hard time understanding the snippets of North Korean broadcasts they sometimes see.
Last night my student James gave me new evidence.
I have a rule in my classes: "only English." I'm a speaking skills teacher, after all. I want them trying to speak English if at all possible. But sometimes, I get in trouble, because I often phrase the rule during enforcement as "no Korean" as opposed to "only English." I've had students either pretend, or, if talented, actually using snippets of Japanese or Chinese they know, for example.
So I overheard Jae-yeon speaking Korean.
"James. Were you speaking Korean? What about our 'no Korean' rule?"
There was a long pause. "Oh no, teacher. I was speaking North Korean." He grinned at his own cleverness.
"Is that a different language?" I asked, laughing.
"Oh yes. Very different!" He asserted. His friend agreed, nodding vigorously.
In fact, this was so funny, I didn't take away a point as I normally do when I catch kids speaking Korean while that rule is in effect.
For the future, I have to remember to keep the focus on "only English."
[daily log: walking, 7km]