A study on vowel harmony for conjugated form in Wanju dialect: focus on geographical differentiation aspects between southern and northern in Wanju

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine that the vowel harmony for conjugated form in Wanju dialect appears differently in southern and northern regions. Until now, Wanju has been regarded as the same dialect area as Jeonju. However, some studies have mentioned that the Wanju dialect differs geographically. To examine this, this article divides the boundaries between the southern and northern Wanju, and analyzes the data of the elderly at each point. In particular, the vowel harmony pattern that appears in the conjugated forme was analyzed. This is because vowel harmony is the main criterion for dividing the Jeollabuk-do dialect into the southeast and northwest. Therefore, it was considered useful to check the difference between the dialects of the southern and northern Wanju. The vowel harmony patterns of type 1 (when the vowel of the stem is 'a, æ') were different in the southern and northern regions of Wanju. This was generally consistent with the characteristics of the southeastern and northwest regions of Jeollabuk-do, respectively. And, type 2(when the vowel of the stem is 'o, ø') maintained the characteristics of the Jeollabuk-do dialect in both the southern and northern Wanju. In addition, it was interpreted that the vowel harmony of p-irregular verb shows the process of assimilating the vowel harmony pattern of the southern part of Wanju to the northern characteristics.