Mahan language

This article is about a ancient language in Korea. For other uses of Mahan, see Mahan (disambiguation).
Mahan
Han-Paekche, Old Paekche, Japanese Paekche, Aristocratic Paekche, Mahan Paekche
Native toMahan confederacy
RegionKorea
Era1st century BC to 7th century AD[1][2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
GlottologNone
Map of the Han languages, including Mahan.
  Mahan
  Gaya
  Sillan
  Tamna
  Usan

Mahan is the presumed ancient language of the Mahan confederacy in southern Korea. It is virtually unattested.

Denomination

This language can be referred to as Mahan,[3] Han-Paekche,[4] Old Paekche,[5] Japanese Paekche[6] or Aristocratic Paekche.[7]

Some believe that the Mahan can be subdivided into two periods:[2]

  • Mahan (literal): From the 1st to 4th centuries AD;
  • Mahan Paekche: From the 4th to 7th centuries AD

Ki-Moon Lee assumes that this is just Baekje with a substrate of Buyeo language.[8][1] This is different to Martine Robbeets, who believes that Mahan Paekche is separate from the Baekje and Buyeo language.[2]

Classification

From Chinese texts, Lee and Ramsey separate the languages of the Dong Yi into three groups:[9]

They consider the Puyŏ languages and Han languages as a part of the same family.[11]

However, this language connection is not accepted by everyone. Furthermore, some consider it a Koreanic languages,[12] while others believe it is a Peninsular Japonic language.[13]

Alexander Vovin notes that the Japonic-origin toponyms of Samguk Sagi are mainly concentrated in the Han River basin's region, formerly part of Baekje and later annexed by Goguryeo. Furthermore, he finds that Mahan is very similar to pseudo-Goguryeo, so he concludes that such a differentiation may be artificial.[14]

Soo-Hee Toh, while taking toponyms into account, hypothesizes that Mahan, Ye-Maek and Gaya were the same language.[15]

Lexical comparison

Vovin, who supports a Japonic origin for Mahan, compares words from this language to words from islander Japonic.[16]

Comparaison of Insular Japonic with Mahan
English French Old Japanese Proto-Ryūkyū Insular Proto-Japonic Mahan
fortress forteresse kömë- 'to lock up' *kume- *kɘmay- 'lock up' *kuma
establishment établissement *ya-marö 'subdivision' -- *ya-maro *yamru

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lee and Ramsey (2011), p. 44.
  2. ^ a b c Robbeets (2020), p. 6
  3. ^ a b Lee and Ramsey (2011), p. 35
  4. ^ Robbeets (2007), p. 19
  5. ^ Toh (2005), p. 12
  6. ^ Vovin (2017), p. 6; 12
  7. ^ Vovin (2014), p. 10
  8. ^ Soo-Hee Toh (1986). Chungham National University (ed.). "The Paekche Language: Its Formation and Features". Korean Linguistics. 4 (1): 33–46. doi:10.1075/kl.4.04sht. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  9. ^ Lee and Ramsey (2011), p. 34-35
  10. ^ Logie (2012)
  11. ^ Lee and Ramsey (2011), p. 49-50
  12. ^ Robbets (2007), p. 19-20; Robbeets (2020), p.3-5
  13. ^ Vovin (2013), p. 224; Vovin (2017), p. 5-6
  14. ^ Vovin (2017), p. 32
  15. ^ Toh (2005), p. 19
  16. ^ Vovin (2017), p. 12

Bibliography