In this paper I have looked into the phenomenon of dialectal division depending on how the confirmative question is put. What have been discussed in this paper is as follows:
(1) Depending on the way the confirmative question is put, Korean dialects can be distinguished between areas where long-form negative construction is used and areas where short-form negative construction is used. Gyeongnam dialect and Southern Jeonnam dialect, in particular, can be distinguished from other dialects by the fact that they use only the short-form negative construction. Such regional division in confirmative question forms is closely related to the frequency of use of the two negative constructions in the region. This is because in a region where the long-form negative construction is used frequently, there shows a tendency that the long-form negative construction will be used in the confirmative questions as well.
(2) The phenomenon where ‘-ji anh-’ contracts into ‘-janh-’ occurs mostly in the Middle dialect of Gyeongbuk dialect, whereas in the Jeonbuk dialect or Northern Jeonnam dialect incompletely contracted forms such as ‘jan heo-’ are used. However there is a tendency that ‘-janh-’ is used even in these latter dialects due to the infusion of Standard Korean. Such a tendency is manifested in ‘-janha’ form which combines with the ending ‘-a,’ and is often observed in women’s speech.
(3) Gyeongnam dialect and Jeonnam dialect, both of which typically use the short-form negative construction in confirmative questions, when compared to each other show significant differences. Confirmative questions in short-form negative construction, used in Southeastern dialects including Gyeongnam dialect, are formally identical to the general short-form confirmative construction except for the intonation. On the other hand, ‘an’ which is used in confirmative questions in short-form negative construction found in Jeonnam dialects comes after the word and can be used multiple times in one sentence. Also if falling intonation is maintained in the confirmative question, ‘an’ may even be omitted. ‘An’ in Jeonnam dialects has the function of urging the action of the hearer when used in suggestive or imperative sentences, and not in interrogative sentences. In this respect ‘an’ in Jeonnam dialects differs greatly from the negative word ‘an’ used in negative questions both in its function and distribution, and therefore can be said that it is restructured into grammatical morpheme of ‘confirmative questioning’ and ‘action urging.’