Korean Language

Korean Language

1. Hangul

   • Korean Alphabet
     • Basic Vowels are ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, and ㅣ. Their names are 아, 어, 오, 우, 으, and 이, respectively
     • The letter ㅇ, or ieung, remains silent, acting as a placeholder for vowels. For consonants, it's pronounced as "ng". It's kind of like "ing" without the "i" and a (kind of) silent "n".
     • Basic Consonants are ㅁ, ㄴ, ㅇ, ㄱ, ㅂ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅈ, and ㅅ
       • ㄱ, ㅂ, and ㄷ represent both voiced and unvoiced sounds (g/k, b/p, and d/t), depending on the surrounding sounds.
       • ㄹ is like Spanish r, where the tip of the tongue strikes the palate very briefly. When it is a final consonant introduced below, it is pronounced like an l.
       • ㅅ in most situations sounds like an s, but before ㅣ or ‘iotized’ vowels it sounds more like ‘sh’.
       • Aspirants- Consonants followed by a puff of air
       • Tense Consonants- Consonants pronounced with extra emphasis
       • Final Consonants- when two consonants appear in the final position, only one consonant pronounced. When followed by a vowel, final consonants (except ㅇ and ㅎ) move to the start of the next syllable. Consonants revert back to their original pronunciations and pairs are split, allowing both to be pronounced. ㅇ does not move, and ㅎ disappears before a vowel. Tense consonants (ㄲ, ㅆ) are not pairs.
       • Assimilation- consonants change their pronunciations when a consonant at the end of one syllable influences or is influenced by the consonant at the start of the next.
   • Iotized Vowels are created by adding dashes, which creates a y-sound.
   • They are ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ. Respectively, they're 야, 여, 요, 유.
   • A diphthong is a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves toward another.
   • There are 2 ways to form diphthongs.
     • Add an ㅣ to the base vowel.
       • ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ, ㅖ, and ㅢ are all diphthongs.
     • Add an ㅗ or an ㅜ.
       • ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅞ, and ㅟ are diphthongs with ㅗ/ㅜ.
   • There is no letter for y. Instead, this sound is indicated by doubling the stroke attached to the base line of the vowel letter.
   • Anglicization V.S. Korean
     • Some companies and given names don't fit the romanization we're using. Korean has had several standard systems of romanization over the years, with Revised Romanization currently the official system in use by South Korea and in this course.
     • Examples: Samsung => 삼성 (Romanization: Sam-seong)

2. Sources: www.duolingo.com, www.branah.com/korean