difference of prononciation between both Koreas because of absence of 사이시옷 in North Korea?

Question

In the question "Chronology of orthography before and after the separation of North and South Korea", MujjinGun has said that 사이시옷 is abolished by the last writing reform in North Korea. However, I think, there are compound words of old usage in South Korea with 사이시옷. Therefore, I think, the same compound words are used in North Korea but logically without 사이시옷. In South Korea there are : -옛날 pronunciated [옌날] -전깃줄 pronunciated [전긷줄]<=>[전기쭐] -가삿말 pronunciated [가삼말] So are those compound words written respectively in North Korea as : -예날 -전기줄 -가사말 ? Are they pronunciated respectively as : -[예날] -[전기줄] -[가사말] ? Can we say that this is the same for all the other words with 사이시옷 in the South Korea ?

Answer 1

Fantastic Question! Honestly it all depends on the word. In context of two torn nations there are going to be some hard-set differences in pronunciation and grammar rules but there will of course be similarities that remain as exceptions to that rules just because of cultural habit. For example you talk about the word, 옛날 but in North Korea it is pronounced and spelt exactly the same as in South Korea by saying 옌알 with the 사이시옷. However a differing example may be 햇빛(sunlight). In South Korea it is spelt as 햇빛 but may be pronounced as either [해삗 or 핻삗]. In contrast, the North excludes the 사이시옷 and writes the word as 해빛 while also only pronouncing it as [해삗]. Because there is really no set style, it is hard to track which words are written a certain way in the north versus the south. I would recommend a dictionary that highlights the differents in pronunciation of North and South Korean words. It is called the 겨레말큰사전 and is really a great resource along with several other resources and dictionaries available on the Official North Korean Government's website, uriminzokkiri.com [우리민족끼리].