Two editions of the Tongmong sŏnsŭp ŏnhae (童蒙先習諺解, 1742, 1797)

Abstract: This study offers the first systematic orthographic comparison of the two extant ŏnhae (vernacular translation) editions of the Tongmong sŏnsŭp (童蒙先習, henceforth TMSS), produced in 1742 and 1797 respectively. Although the Tongmong sŏnsŭp is one of the most influential primers in the history of Korean Confucian education, modern scholarship has focused almost exclusively on its Literary Sinitic version and kugyŏl glossing tradition. The vernacular translations — key sources for understanding Early Modern Korean (EMK) phonology, morphology, and spelling — have received significantly less attention.

The study reveals the existence of two distinct but internally consistent orthographic systems. The earlier 1742 edition (Text A) demonstrates a conservative approach, systematically preserving older, phonemic spelling principles characteristic of Middle Korean. Conversely, the 1797 edition (Text B) consistently employs innovative, morphophonemic principles that anticipate the standards of Modern Korean. The analysis covers key diagnostic features such as palatalization, coda neutralization, the realization of sonorant initials, and vowel shifts.

Taken together, the findings demonstrate that EMK spelling variation was not arbitrary, but followed identifiable structural principles shaped by phonological change, editorial conventions, and state-sponsored standardization. While the conclusions cannot be generalized to the entire EMK corpus, the study complicates the prevailing narrative and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the structured, albeit varied, evolution of the Korean writing system during a critical period of transition and thus represents a first step toward a more nuanced understanding of orthographic practice in the Late Chosŏn period.