Segments ß( ㅸ ) , z (ㅿ) and Their Relation with the Southeastern Dialect

Until now it has been a common belief that such segments as ß and z did not exist in the old Korean language. However, a rather different assertion that such a view should undergo modification in some way has been proposed recently (Ki-moon Lee: 1972 a, b). The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to prove that in the past the abovementioned segments existed in the southeastern dialect, (2) to maintain, furthermore, that even old Korean had these segments. Such an assertion can be supported by examining available evidence. Evidence can be found among the words which had ß and z in the past. These words can be divided into three categories: words that have lost these segments, words that have either lost or maintained such segments as p and s categorized by regions or the environments in which such segments occur, and words that have z (<,0,) sound appearing in and around Kyeongju(慶州)area. The writer has come to hold the opinion that it is because they have merged into segments p and s respectively that the old segments ß and z correspond almost completly to the present segments p and s in this dialect