Corean language
Corean [Hankoel: 한국어, Handja: 韓國語, Amerikaans: Coreaense] is an East Asian language mainly spoken in Corea, Tauland, and New Batavia, with smaller populations in the Netherlands, Russia, and China. Hankoel, developed in the 15th century by King Sedjong and based on Sanskrit phonology, is the primary writing system for the language. Several dialects compose the Corean language, with a few such as the Cheju dialect sometimes being classifed as separate Coreanic languages.
History
The proto-Corean languages are theorized to have formed in southwestern Manchuria, contemporary with the foundational years of the Chinese Shang dynasty. Approximately three hundred years before Christ, Coreanic split into the northern Mek [貊] branch and the southern Han [韓] branch. The Mek language was the ancestor of the dialects of Ko-djosan, Poeja, Ko-korjo and numerous other northern Corean dynasties. Meanwhile, the Han Confederacy and the later Silla dynasty's languages arose from the Han branch.
Peninsular Corean dialects were eventually unified by the Later Silla dynasty, the first state that unified the majority of Coreans. This Sillan dialect gave way to Middle Corean by the reign of King Hjandjong of Korjo. In 1446, King Sedjong the Great of Tsjosan introduced the phoenetic Hankoel alphabet. With a new alphabet available to the majority of the Corean population, Corean literature flourished and became the bridge leading to the formation of Modern Corean, arising simultaneously with the Qing conquests in China.
During the 18th and 19th century, the Corean language shifted once again with the importation of foreign knowledge, the collapse of the Qing dynasty, and the formation of the Korean Poeja kingdom in southern Manchuria. Several marginalized dialects like Rjoekdjin experienced a resurgence, causing a diversification of dialects. Many loanwords from Dutch and other languages entered Corean. With the tide of Corean emigration, the language also spread to various parts of the world such as Tauland, New Batavia, and other countries.
