심마니말

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Korean

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Etymology

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From 심마니 (simmani, ginseng digger) +‎ (mal, speech).

Pronunciation

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Examples

Using 흘림 (heullim, literally spilling) to mean (bi, rain)

Using 모새 (mosae, literally sand) to mean (ssal, rice)

Using 먹킹이 (meok'king'i, literally eaters) to mean 사람 (saram, people)

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?simmanimal
Revised Romanization (translit.)?simmanimal
McCune–Reischauer?simmanimal
Yale Romanization?simmanimal

Noun

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심마니말 (simmanimal)

  1. (historical, linguistics) A coded cant historically used by Korean ginseng gatherers, both to hide the best ginseng spots from outsiders (since ginseng was an extremely valuable product) and because it was believed that using normal language would make it harder to find ginseng. Typically, common words are replaced by figurative or ideophonic expressions; loanwords from Manchu may also be used.