open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/106652

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/89071

Study of the Name of the Goguryeo King Jumong

日本語

アルタイ諸言語

2023-03-20

Japan Association of Northern Language Studies

Northern Language Studies

13

101-118

This paper summarises the different Chinese characters used in all the relevant historical sources for King Jumong’s name, and analyses the characteristics of their phonology and meaning. There are many variations in the Chinese characters used in King Jumong’s name, with the first syllable of his name being 鄒、都、騶、仲、中、須, and the second and third syllables being 牟、蒙、慕、牟祁. Most of the initial consonants are voiceless(仲 is voiced) and unaspirated, and the use of the main vowel /-u/ in the second syllable are same. The characters 騶 in the Book of the Han and 鄒牟 in the “Inscription of King Gwanggaeto” were pronounced close to /ʧĭu mɪəu/ or /ʧĭu mu/ in the contemporary Koguryo language. Although 象解 is not related to the 朱蒙 series in terms of phonological features, it can be interpreted as a lexeme with ideographic meaning because of the use of 解 in the names of the early kings of the Buyeo and Koguryo kingdoms and its close pronunciation to the Korean word /hai/ ‘sun’. This paper focuses on the similarity of the homonym Jumong with the Mongolian word sumu 速木 ‘arrow’, and reconstructs the origin of the word accordingly.

紀要論文

Version of Record

2185-7121

AA12516968