高句麗語

Goguryeo

Koreanic (debated; possible Japonic affinity) · historical / hidden variety

FamilyKoreanic (debated; possible Japonic affinity) SpeakersExtinct (1c. BCE - 668 CE) ScriptChinese characters (used phonetically and semantically in toponyms) CountriesAncient Goguryeo (northern Korean Peninsula + Manchuria) Official inGoguryeo court Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3okg

Goguryeo is the extinct language of the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea (1c. BCE - 668 CE). Its genetic affiliation is hotly contested — Beckwith (2004), Vovin (2013), and Whitman (2011) propose a Japonic relationship based on the famous numeral cognates 三=密 (mil) ↔ Old Japanese mi, 五=于次 (uci) ↔ itu, 七=難隱 (nanǝn) ↔ nana, 十=徳 (tǝk) ↔ töwo; other scholars place it as a sister of Korean or a Buyeo-family language. The corpus is ~80 toponyms in Samguk Sagi vol. 37, giving very thin basic-vocabulary attestation — hence most cells here are intentionally "—".

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Goguryeo

Water

/*mai/

Fire

/—/

Sun

/—/

Moon

/—/

Mother

/—/

Father

/—/

Eat

/—/

Drink

/—/

Love

/—/

Heart

/—/

Tree

/—/

House

/—/

Dog

/—/

Cat

/—/

Hand

/—/

Eye

/—/

Hello

/—/

Thank you

/—/

One

/—/

Good

/—/

Words compared

Compared with related Koreanic (debated; possible Japonic affinity) languages

Meaning GoguryeoNicaraguan Sign LanguageTartessianLiburnianVeneticDamin (Lardil ceremonial register)Messapic
Water /*mai/ /—/ /—/ /—/ ouriom /ˈou.ri.om/ /—/ /—/
Fire /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ l!ii /lǃiː/ /—/
Sun /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/
Moon /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/
Mother /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ matur /ˈma.tur/ /—/ /—/
Father /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ ana /ˈana/
Eat /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/
Drink /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/ /—/
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