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by Leon of Leon's EFL Planet
(I also do translation)
This is an
essay by Leon about...
"Origin of Korean Script:
Hangeul"
(Skip
this essay, please; I just want to learn Korean.)
The Korean script is called Hanguel.
The
word Hanguel is composed of two morphemes: Han (Korean) and
Geul
(script).
The Korea script was created
(or "invented" as it is commonly written) by a team of scholars
commissioned by King SeJong in 15th
century A.D.. All of the Koreans I've ever met (and I've met quite
a lot in ten years of living in Korea) believe that their script is
unique in that it was not modeled after any existing script. This
belief is perpetuated through school textbooks, teachers, and websites.
An example of Korean collective thought can be found on various
websites, one of which is wright-house.com,
and which reads:
| Unlike almost every other
alphabet in the world, the Korean alphabet did not evolve. It
was invented in 1443 (promulgated in 1446) by a team of
linguists and intellectuals commissioned by King Sejong the
Great. |
However, anyone who does
his/her research can clearly see that there are some remarkable
similarities between the Korean consonants and Tibetan consonants.
Omniglot.com,
in an article about the Korean writing system, has this written on its
website:
| King Sejong and his scholars
probably based some of the letter shapes of the Korean alphabet
on other scripts such as Mongolian
and 'Phags
Pa. |
With all due respect to
Omniglot.com, I disagree. I can see very little similarity between
the said scripts. HOWEVER, I like the fact that somebody has used
logic by suggesting that the script was based partly (at least) on some
other script that existed at the time. Both the Tibetan and
Mongolian scripts were modeled after Sanskrit, so there may be some
truth to omniglot's claims. However, I can see a much more
distinct similarity between the Tibetan script and the Korean script.
Wikipedia.com
has an article about "Hangul" [Hangeul]. In that
article, the following is written:
| King Sejong was one of the
best phoneticians of his country, and his interest in phonetics
is confirmed by the fact that he sent his researchers 13 times
to a Chinese phonetician living in exile in Manchuria,
near the border between Korea and China. |
That, if true, would clearly
suggest that King SeJong (the founder of the Korean script) had research
done before (and during) the making/inventing of the new script.
Furthermore, would it not be logical to assume that King SeJong's
"team" of script-inventors were highly educated individuals,
who knew of and researched existing scripts of the times?
The article on Wikipedia
& the Wright-House
article show how the Korean script (Hangeul) was based upon the
articulations of the mouth. I do not wish to dispute that.
It is a very interesting idea. Incidentally, the Tibetan alphabet
is categorized almost exactly the same way. And it is possible
that the Tibetan script (and the script after which it was modeled,
namely Sanskrit) were invented in similar ways.
Other similarities between the
Tibetan script and the Korean one include:
- both
are written left to right (although
Hangeul can also be written top-down)
- both are written in syllabic clusters
- Tibetan syllables are separated by dots.
I believe that the same was done in Hangeul anciently
Now
you may judge for yourself
|
Tibetan
Script & Hangeul (Korean Script) |
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WARNING:
to X-pat TEFL TEACHERS in KOREA:
If you are an expatriate English
teacher in Korea, I would caution you NOT to try and enlighten your
students about the above information. I tried, in vain. For more info on the Tibetan script, click
here.
|
Now,
without further ado,
Let's
start to learn Korean!
There is too much for one
page, so I've had to create
2 separate pages.
|
Table of Contents
Preface:
How to learn Korean
Lesson 1: Romanization of Korean letters
(with AUDIO!)
Lesson 2:
Numbers (with
AUDIO!)
Lesson 3: Consonant Pronunciation
(with AUDIO!)
Lesson 4: How to read Korean
words (with
AUDIO!)
Lesson 5: Korean Honorifics
Lesson 6: The Korean Imperative
(Ordering)
Lesson 7: The Korean Interrogative
(Where's the restroom?)
Lessons
8-13 on Page 2
|
| Preface: How to
learn Korean
(This is a "must
read" for any serious learner of the Korean language!)
Recently, I've received some inquiries about the best way to learn
Korean. So, I'd like to address that issue here, in the preface.
I always say that the best way to learn any language is "every
way". And what I mean by that is using a multitude of
methods. Here are some things to consider when learning any
foreign language, BUT MOST ESPECIALLY WHEN LEARNING KOREAN:
1. DECIDE ON A PURPOSE
It is perhaps best to decide what one's purpose is for learning the
language. For example, If one wishes to only read the language,
then it is not necessary to speak it or comprehend it when spoken.
Once you decide what your purpose for learning the language is, it
would be good to set goals.
2. EXPOSURE / IMMERSION
The next thing to consider, is exposure to the target language.
Obviously, the more exposure to authentic language, the better. Immersion
in the culture is by far the best way to learn a language because it is
learned in a meaningful context.
3. MY OPINION OF TEXTBOOKS
Text books do not always give "authentic" language, and
YET, they are not totally worthless. They are good for beginners,
and for increasing vocabulary knowledge. The big problem I have
with textbooks and learning the Korean language is they generally do not
teach honorifics, which is a HUGE part of the Korean language. For
more information about honorifics, please see my lesson #5.
I used textbooks mainly as ideas for topics to study and to increase
my vocabulary. I learned a lot through language exchanges with the
Korean people. A warm-blooded person is so much better than a
cold, dead textbook.
4. RELIABILITY OF REFERENCE MATERIALS FOR LEARNING KOREAN
In the information age, we have come (most of us) to expect a certain
standard from certain sources of information. One thing I never
did when growing up was question the authority of a dictionary
(lexicon). I may have thought, well, this dictionary has more
lucid definitions than another one, but they are were correct. The
problem is with bilingual lexicons/dictionaries there are no
definitions, only TRANSLATIONS. And I hate to burst your bubble,
but some of those translations are WRONG! I have studied Korean
for 10 years and I have made a list of the errors commonly found in the
English-to-Korean & Korean-to-English bilingual dictionaries.
To see the list, click on the link below: Korean
Dictionary Korean
Dictionary
5. RELIABILITY OF KOREANS AS TEACHERS / LINK
EXCHANGE PARTNERS
Koreans are wonderful people (generally), and it is no
fault of their own that their English sucks. Because of the
existence of a plethora of errors in the bilingual lexicons and in their
grammar books, and due to KONGLISH,
Korean people don't speak English perfectly. This causes problems
for the Korean learner, because they will teach you incorrect translations
sometimes. However, there is nothing wrong with their Korean grammar
or pronunciation. I would only worry about getting proper
translations. Some examples:
Koreans will tell you that annyeonghaseyo means
"hi" or "how are you?" Both translations are
totally incorrect. While both "hi" and "annyeonghaseyo"
are similar in function, the meanings are completely different. (See
greetings below (last lesson)).
See also, number 6: Korean Grammar
6. KOREAN GRAMMAR Please be advised
that Korean collective English grammar is atrocious. The reason for
this is of course, faulty teaching and faulty reference materials.
The collective errors of the Korean English Education system have been
perpetuated for years. For example Mr. Seong Mun's English
Grammar Guide is considered a "BIBLE" of ENGLISH GRAMMAR in
Korea. And yet, it is replete with errors. This has repercussions
upon the would-be Korean-language Learner. Let me explain by
example. Koreans are taught that the way to say: "Naneun
((sth)) shirheoyo," is:
"I hate ((sth))." [sth
= something].
THIS IS WRONG! 
It
gets confusing, because most Koreans do not really understand their own
grammar. Every Korean I've ever met (who addressed the topic) has
told me that their Korean grammar classes were harder than their English
classes. And, yet, I do not agree that the Korean grammar is all
that difficult. Yes! It is different from English grammar, but
fully apprehensible. In the example given above,
"Na" is a pronoun which refers to oneself. The particle
"neun" which is attached thereto is ambiguous to Koreans,
because they don't know how to classify it. By default, the word
"Naneun" usually gets translated as "I", and yet this
is usually incorrect. [Notice, I wrote "usually", because
there is ONE instance when it would be correct and that is when it is used
with the copula. Copula = be.] Dr. Ramstedt, a Finnish
linguist, classifies the "neun" (or sometimes "eun")
particle as the "emphatic particle". Therefore, the
correct translation of "Naneun" would be: "In my
case" or "Regarding myself". It is NOT the subject of
the sentence, except with the copula (be verb). Therefore,
the sentence: "Naneun ((sth)) shirheoyo," should be translated:
"In my case, ((sth)) is hated." The word "Shirheoyo"
is an intransitive verb. There is no object in the sentence. So,
keep this in mind when learning Korean. And, I've just
decided that I need to add some lessons on Korean Grammar, which I will do
as soon as I get the time. 7. ROMANIZATION OF KOREAN
ALPHABET Any resources that were printed before the year
2000, will have a different Romanization than the one currently used in
Korea. This is another thing to be aware of. I admit that the
current Romanization, which is the one I use on this webpage, is better
than the previous one, it still presents some problems for Korean-language
Learners. This will become apparent in Lesson 1. 8.
RECOMMENDED ORDER OF STUDY I recommend that you start with
two things: (a) Start memorizing some useful phrases.
When I first went to Korea in 1995, I only knew three phrases: Eolmaimnigga?
(How much?), Gamsahamnida. (I'm grateful.), & Annyeonghashimnigga?
(Are you safe & peaceful?)--the common greeting in Korea.
[Note: Please note that most textbooks will translate Annyeonghashimnigga?
as "How are you?" That would be an incorrect
translation. There is a correct way to say, "How are you?"
but nobody uses that greeting in Korea.] (b) Start, also,
building your base vocabulary. The way I did this was
two-fold. Firstly, every night I would make a list of words that I
wanted to learn, and I would look them up in a bilingual dictionary.
Then, I would memorize them. Secondly, I carried a bilingual
dictionary with me every where I went and I would look up the words on the
signboard in my dictionary. My favorite bilingual dictionary
in Korea is Dong-A PRIME, because it has the most up-to-date and most
accurate translations (although it still is not perfect). You can
buy it online by clicking on the link(s) below: Dong-a's Prime English-Korean Dictionary Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary Then,
once you have about 100 words memorized, I would start learning to make
sentences. Korean is a SOV language. That means that
the syntax is Subject-Object-Verb. One consistent thing about
the Korean language is that the verb is ALWAYS the last word of the
sentence. Quite often, the subject is dropped, when it is
implied. Other languages do this as well. They are called
"pro-drop" languages. But, Korean is unique in that it can
also drop the object when it is implied. For example, Koreans will
often say: "Saranghaeyo," which is the verb
"love". There is no subject and there is no object needed
when you are talking to the object of one's affection. It is
implied, and therefore understood by one's interlocutor. 9.
SPECIAL FONTS NOT NEEDED FOR THIS SITE I made it
possible to study Korean without needing Korean fonts. I've done
this by putting the Korean letters on gif (picture) files and uploading
them to the webpage. |
| |
| Lesson 1: Romanization of
Korean letters
Please notice that some letters are listed twice on the table
below. That's because they have more than one sound.
If you wish to learn to read Korean, your first task will be to
memorize the following information. You might want to make flash
cards and put the Korean letter on one side and the sound on the other
side.
In Lesson 4, you will learn how the letters are put together to make
words.

You may listen to me saying the vowels in order as listed above: |
| |
Lesson 2:
Numbers: Korean Has 2 Numbering Systems As if
learning a foreign language wasn't hard enough, Koreans have to have TWO
numbering systems. It can get kind of confusing knowing when to
use each numbering system, but then again, it is rather simple.
The Sino-Korean numbering systems comes from China. This is not a
hard-and-fast rule, but generally whenever a number collocates with a
Sino-Korean word, the Sino-Korean number is used. And whenever a
number collocates with a pure Korean word, the pure Korean numbers are
used. As a beginner, you cannot be expected to know which words
are pure Korean and which are Sino-Korean. If you wish to find
out, simply look up the word in a bilingual dictionary. If there
are Chinese characters next to the word, it is a Sino-Korean word.
If not, it is a pure Korean word. The Korean word for its currency is Weon or Won
[pronounced: wuhn]. It comes from the same Chinese ideograph as
the Chinese word for its currency, namely Yuan, and
coincidentally, the Japanese word Yen come from the same Chinese
ideograph as well. Since the word is Chinese in origin, the
Sino-Korean numbering system is used when dealing with money. Eventually,
you will need to know both numbering systems, but at first, I recommend the Sino-Korean
numbering system, since that is the one used with money, and you will
need it to buy and negotiate prices. I will teach both here.
[Note: Koreans use Arabic numbers when writing.]
| Arabic #s |
Romanized
Pure Korean
Numbers |
Sounds like this
in North Amer.
English |
Romanized
Sino-Korean
Numbers |
Sounds like this
in North Amer.
English |
| 1 |
hana |
hahnah |
il |
ill |
| 2 |
dul |
dool |
i |
ee |
| 3 |
set |
set |
sam |
sahm |
| 4 |
net |
net |
sa |
sah |
| 5 |
daseot |
tahsuht |
o |
oh |
| 6 |
yeoseot |
yuhsuht |
yuk |
yook |
| 7 |
ilgop |
ill-gope |
chil |
chill |
| 8 |
yeodeol |
yuhduhl |
pal |
pall |
| 9 |
ahop |
ah-hope |
ku |
koo |
| 10 |
yeol |
yuhl |
shib |
ship |
| 11 |
yeol-hana |
yuhl-hahnah |
shib-il |
shibbill |
| 12 |
yeol-dul |
yuhl-dool |
shib-i |
shibbee |
| 13 |
yeol-set |
yuhl-set |
shib-sam |
ship-sahm |
| 14 |
yeol-net |
yuhl-net |
shib-sa |
ship-sah |
| 15 |
yeol-daseot |
yuhl-tahsuht |
shib-o |
shibboh |
| 16 |
yeol-yeoseot |
yuhl-yuhsuht |
shib-yuk |
shim-yook |
| 17 |
yeol-ilgop |
yuhl-ill-gope |
shib-chil |
ship-chill |
| 18 |
yeol-yeodeol |
yuhl-yuhduhl |
shib-pal |
ship-pall |
| 19 |
yeol-ahop |
yuhl-ah-hope |
shib-ku |
ship-koo |
| 20 |
seumeul |
soomool |
i-shipb |
ee-ship |
| 30 |
seoreun |
suhroon |
sam-shipb |
sahm-ship |
| 40 |
x |
x |
sa-shipb |
sah-ship |
| 50 |
x |
x |
o-shib |
oh-ship! |
| 60 |
x |
x |
yuk-shib |
yook-ship |
| 70 |
x |
x |
chil-shipb |
chill-ship |
| 80 |
x |
x |
pal-shib |
pall-ship |
| 90 |
x |
x |
gu-shib |
koo-ship |
| 100 |
x |
x |
baek |
back |
| 1000 |
x |
x |
cheon |
chun |
| 10000 |
x |
x |
man |
mahn |
You may listen to me counting with the pure Korean numbering system
|
| |
| Lesson 3: Pronunciation of
Korean Consonants
When I first endeavored to learn the Korean language, I was
introduced to many new phonemes that I had never been exposed to
previously. I was then 26 years old, way past the so-called
"critical period". I made friends with a patient native
speaker of Korea, who endeavored to teach me these new sounds.
At first, I could not produce them, because I could not hear them.
After listening over and over and given the opportunity to hear
similar sounds juxtaposed (temporally), I soon came to distinguish
(auditorily) the various sounds.
The vowels did not give me trouble except one. And I'll get to
that one later.
The consonants provided quite a challenge.
Korean has 13 consonants, but FOUR in particular, CAN BE DOUBLED
UP. Those four, plus four others provided me with quite a
challenge. The resulting twelve phonemes can be taxonimized into
four sets of three. Each set contains three consonants that are
remarkably similar to the untrained ear. In fact, they were quite
undistinguishable to me at the time I first heard them.
The sets cannot be adequately transliterated into Roman letters (the
letters you see here). But, I'll make do.
Romanized
as: |
Sounds
like: |
Romanized
as: |
Sounds
like: |
Romanized
as: |
Sounds
like: |
| g |
soft /k/ |
gg |
accentuated
/g/ |
k |
aspirated
/k/ |
| d |
soft /t/ |
dd |
accentuated
/d/ |
t |
aspirated
/t/ |
| b |
soft /p/ |
bb |
accentuated
/b/ |
p |
aspirated
/p/ |
| j |
soft /ch/ |
jj |
accentuated
/j/ |
ch |
aspirated
/ch/ |
This is what the Korean consonant-phonemes look
like, respectively:

You may listen to me pronounce these consonants with the
"a" vowel attached. I will start at the top and read
from left to right.
One can plainly see that not only do the consonants (from left to
right) share a phonetic nearness, but they also share a symbolic
nearness.
As soon as I could distinguish the sounds auditorily (from left to
right), I could produce them linguistically (i.e., with my vocal
apparatuses).
The vowel sound that I had trouble with took a couple years before it
could be heard and produced (by me), but I eventually got it. And
it should be noted that it only took years, because I did not devote as
much time and energy into learning it as I did the consonants.
The reason I did not dedicate so much time to the one renegade vowel,
was because I was generally understood by my interlocutors, despite the
error. I was using the English schwa sound, which is phonetically
close, but is more like the backwards "c" (in IPA).
|
| |
| Lesson 4: How to read Korean
Please refer to the above chart on How to read Korean for
this lesson
Vowels can be attached to the right side of a consonant
(as in 1), or below the consonant (as in 2), but it must be noted that
only CERTAIN vowels can go to the right and CERTAIN others can go below.
If you look at lesson one: vowels. The top eight
vowels can go to the right, while the next five go below, and the last one
goes to the right.
Number 1 is Romanized as "ga", but since it is a
beginning sound, the "g" is pronounced like a soft
"k". It means "go" (but it is the most familiar
and least honorific, i.e., not honorific at all). [See lesson five
about Korean honorifics].
Number 2 is Romanized as "go", but since it is a
beginning sound, the "g" is pronounced like a soft
"k". It is a family name in Korea. It also means
"high".
Number 3 is "ga" + "go". Since
the "ga" is first, it sounds more like a soft
"ka". Since "go" is second, it is pronounced as
it is written. The word "kago" could mean: "a
fresh start", or present participle of 'to go', or "go,
and...".
Number 4 is Romanized as "jab", but the
"j" (at the beginning) sounds more like a soft "ch",
and the "b" is NOT pronounced (i.e., voiceless). It sounds
more like "chap". It means: miscellaneous, or root of the
verb 'to grab'/'to take'.
Any consonant at the bottom of a syllable is NOT
pronounced (I mean it is voiceless), except "n", "m",
"l".
Number 5 is Romanized "a". The "magic
cheerio" is not pronounced. It is just there to groom the vowel
"a". If one were to ad 5 to 4, one would get "chaba".
By adding a vowel, the previous consonant becomes "activated"
and voiced. "Chaba" (with a very SOFT "ch"
sound) means grab (in the familiar or least honorific sense).
Number 6 is Romanized "eung". It would be
like this (in IPA) :
| / |
 |
 |
/ |
It means "uh,
huh" or "yep".
[You can see the magic cheerio at the top (no sound), and
at the bottom, (sounding like "ng"].
Number 7 show some Korean dipthongs: "oa"
and "oi".
"oa" is pronounced like
IPA /wa/, and "oi" is pronounced like IPA /we/.
"oa" means 'and'.
"oe" means 'outside' / 'extra~'
Number 8 show some more Korean dipthongs: "oae"
and "ui".
"oae" is pronounced
like IPA /we/, "ui" is pronounced like IPA /wi/.
"oae" means
"why" (but more familiar and least honorific). "ui-e"
means 'up' (adv.) / and "ui-jang" means 'stomach' (as in the
organ).
|
| |
| Lesson 5: Korean
Honorifics
Let's go with some of the examples used above for reinforcement and
extrapolation.
We've learned that ga (pronounced "ka") is the
familiar and least honorific form of "go".
Korean Honorifics is a bit complex, but in time, you'll get it.
Many books will tell you that there are three levels. This is
false. There are actually FOUR levels,
and usage is of paramount importance.
Here are the levels, using "ga":
| infinitive |
low |
middle |
high |
highest |
| gada |
ga |
gayo |
gamnida |
gashimnida |
You may listen
Usage:
ga is used to someone who is familiar AND of equal or inferior
status.
gayo is used to someone who is not familiar, but appears to be
of equal or inferior status.
gamnida is used to someone who is clearly of superior status,
and only when talking about one's self or others of equal or inferior
status.
gashimnida is used to someone who is clearly of superior
status, and only when talking about one who is of superior status.
NEVER USE IT WHEN TALKING ABOUT ONE's SELF.
Further extrapolation:
There are other forms as well, with other usages. It gets
extremely complex, and you may not care to know any more at this point,
but if you do, here you are:
gashyeo is used to a familiar person of equal or inferior
status when talking about someone of superior status.
gashyeoyo is used to someone less familiar of equal or
inferior status when talking about someone of superior status.
You may listen
Then, you can add tenses and moods and imperatives and it gets
REALLY complex.
Are you freaked out yet?
I was oblivious to all the forms when I first started learning Korean
and ignorance is bliss, I guess. Later, when I started learning
all the forms, I started freaking, but only a little. I actually
thought it was cool, because Korean has many forms that don't exist in
English, but are lovely and useful.
Many ideas, moods, feelings, illocution in English are expressed by
suprasegmental features of the SPOKEN language and cannot be written
down (well not with type writers or word processors). But, in
Korean, many such ideas, moods, feelings and such can be expressed both
in spoken AND written form. This is an advantage of Korean over
the English language.
This is also why Koreans have never won a prize for literature, ...
because it is impossible to translate the Korean forms into English and
maintain the same nuance.
Korean is a very, very beautiful language, and I hope it never gets
lost from this earth or this universe.
Another example: Above, I wrote that "oa"
(pronounced /wa/) means "and", and that is correct, but it
also means "come" in the lowest form. It is an irregular
verb and the conjugation is a bit strange. See table below:
| Infinitive |
low |
middle |
high |
highest |
| oda |
oa |
oayo |
omnida |
oshimnida |
You may listen
|
| |
| Lesson 6: The
Korean Imperative
It is imperative that you know how to use the Korean imperative
correctly. Otherwise you could get into trouble.
There are, of course different levels of "honorifics"
involved in using the imperative. Let's look at the verb ga
which means "go".
You can say, "Ga," which means:
"Go." But it conveys the same usage as in English, i.e.,
a command to someone of equal or inferior status and to someone who is
familiar. You could also say, "Gara," which
carries heavy weight if the speaker has definite authority over the
audience. It also implies that there is no option, for to disobey
means serious consequences. There is no equivalent in the English
language, but perhaps a very good translation would be: "Thou
shalt go." Finally, you can add the suffix "seyo"
(middle form) or "shipshio" (highest form) to the verb stem ga
as honorific commands.
Korean also has what I call 'compound verbs' (i.e., two verbs
attached). If one were to add the verb juda (give)
to another verb (used in the imperative mood), then it becomes more
polite. It is a lot like adding "please" in English,
which originally was used as a verb thusly: "...if you
please", but has been shortened to "please" in modern
times.
So, this is what it all looks like:
| No. |
form |
word-for-word
translation |
literal
translation |
free
translation |
| 1 |
ga |
go |
go |
go |
| 2 |
ga-ra |
go shalt |
[thou] shalt go |
thou shalt go |
| 3 |
ga-seyo |
go
[+ mid honorific suffix] |
go
[cannot translate honorifics] |
go, if you
please |
| 4 |
ga-shipshio |
go
[+ highest honorific suffix] |
go
[cannot translate honorifics] |
go, if you wouldn't mind,
please |
| 5 |
ga-jueo |
go give
[+ low honorific, i.e, no suffix]
[familiar form] |
give [me your] going
|
I think it means:
"Give me the pleasure of your going." But,
loosely translated, it means:Please go |
| 6 |
ga-juseyo |
go give
[+ mid honor] |
give [me your] going
[cannot translate honorifics] |
Pretty
Please, go |
| 7 |
ga-jushipshio |
go give
[+ highest honor] |
give [me your] going
[cannot translate honorifics] |
Pretty Please
With Sugar and Honey on top, Go |
You may listen
Notice that there are three kinds of translation:
1. word-for-word, where the words are translated exactly
in the order that they appear in the first language and no other words
are added.
2. literal translation, where the words are rearranged
to match the syntax of the second (target) language, and necessary words
(or suffixes) are added to give the appropriate meaning.
3. free translation, where words, suffixes and syntax
are disregarded and only meaning is translated (and I should
add... "as best as possible").
[Note: I hope many Koreans read this
page, because it is generally assumed by Koreans that English does not
have levels of politeness in its imperatives. Of course, they
should know "please", but often fail to use it, thinking
erroneously that it is not needed. If you are an English teacher,
please do what you can to eradicate these myths about English that exist
in the collective Korean mentality.]
Now for usage. Refer to the table above and the numbers of the
forms...
1. usage mentioned above
2. usage mentioned above
3. usage is to someone less familiar of equal or inferior
status
4. usage is to someone more familiar of superior status
5. usage is to someone very familiar of equal status (to be
polite)
6. usage is to someone not familiar at all of equal status, or
to someone familiar of superior status
Like, you would use this form to a taxi
driver, stating the destination first.
7. usage is to someone clearly of superior status (to show
ultimate respect)
Determining STATUS in Korean
society.
One might ask (if she/he is a foreigner/expatriate): "How
do I determine social status of my interlocutor?"
This is not so simply answered. In fact, it can get quite
complex at times.
There are several factors involved in determining status:
Color code: red = more
honor; blue = less honor
1. Age (older vs. younger)
2. Marital status (has married
vs. has not)
3. Relationship (ex.: teacher : student;
employer : employee;
customer : host)
4. Perhaps ages ago: gender, but not now.
5. Occupation (professional vs. laborer)
Simple? WRONG!
Here are some "what-ifs" to consider:
1. What if your the teacher in an academy and one of your adult
students is older than you?
2. What if your spouse is the youngest child in his/her family
and his/her ELDER sibling is younger than you?
3. What if you are the customer (customer is king in Korea),
but your host is older than you?
4. What if your colleague is older than you, but you are
married and she isn't?
5. What if you are a single professor, and your
acquaintance of equal age is a married laborer?
In the past (according the Confucian values), I'm sure there were
"rules" for all such hypothetical (and real) scenarios, such
as the ones above. However, Koreans are not being formally
educated about the Confucian values and they are sometimes confused
themselves (as I have asked them).
But, this was the general consensus from my students:
Scenario 1: Teacher is one of the highest positions in
the Confucian system. In fact, there is a saying: King,
Scholar, Father: one in the same. (and a teacher is considered a
scholar). The teacher, therefore, deserves the utmost
respect. HOWEVER, (and this is a big however), in Korean society,
an academy teacher is considered of lower status than a public school
teacher, who is of lower status than a professor. FURTHERMORE, the
student in an academy is also a customer and customer is king. In
short, my students said that both should be offered equal respect in the
highest honorifics.
Scenario 2: This was a true scenario. My wife was
the youngest. Her elder brother was younger than I. Upon
asking, I was told that my status in the family was equal to my wife's
status, therefore, I was lower than her brother. However, (they
added), that is in the past, and we should offer equal respect in the
middle form to each other.
Scenario 3: In this case, you are higher, but I've found
that the more respect you give to your host, the better the service you
get.
Scenario 4: This is a toughie, because in Korean and
China a woman is not considered a "woman" until she gets
married; BUT, Age is a line that rarely crossed when dealing with
honorifics. It could go either way. A second factor would
have to come into play (and usually does). For example, if you
have children, you would definitely be higher. If she had
seniority in the company, she would definitely be higher (based upon the
relationship). (Seniority is determined by how long one has worked
for the company).
Scenario 5: This one is a toughie! One would have to be
an expert in the Confucian value system in order the answer this
definitely. It all depends on which is valued more, education or
marriage. If I had to guess, knowing that the whole Confucian
value system is base upon education, I would guess that the professor
would be higher and would command more respect, but would be constantly
chided by others about his single status.
In Korean society (and this may have NOTHING to do with Confucius) a
man is not a "man" until he gets married. So, this case
is really a toughie. Thus, when in doubt, always use the highest
form.
I'll tell you a story. (It's
true).
One day, in Korea, I met a elderly blind woman. We started
talking (in Korean, of course). She couldn't see how old I was (I
was 26, and academy instructor, and unmarried at the time).
She asked, "How old are you?"
(always the first
question Koreans ask, and she used the ultra high/polite form of the
Korean honorific system). Yeonse eoddeoke doesseumnigga?
I answered, "I'm twenty six."
{in the high form
(which is the highest form for talking about one's self)}
seumeul-yeoset imnida.
Then she asked, "What work do you do?"
(dropping down
one level in honorifics). Museun il hamnigga?
I answered, "I'm a teacher."
(staying with the same form as I previously used).
Seonseng imnida.
Then she asked, "Where do you work? A public school or an
academy?" (same form as before).
Eodi il hamnigga? hakyo? hagweon?
I answered, "In an academy." Hagweon
iyeyo.
She, then asked, "Have you gotten married?"
(dropping
down a notch in honorifics). Gyeorhon haesseoyo?
I answered, "No." Anio.
She, then, said, "Oh, you are a boy!"
(in the lowest
form possible). Oh, ai i-ne!
|
| |
| Lesson 7: The
Korean Interrogative
Using ga (the verb "go")...
"Where do you go?" can have four different forms,
depending upon one's interlocutor. See table below:
| low |
mid |
high |
highest |
| eodi ga? |
eodi gayo? |
eodi gamnigga? |
eodi gashimnigga? |
You may listen
What I wrote about usage of the honorifics in lesson five, applies
here.
Special Grammar Note: there are only two words in the Korean
sentence, and four in the English sentence. This is because
grammar is different.
Korean is what is called a "pro-drop" language. That
means the subject can be dropped. English (and possibly other
Germanic languages) is/are the only language(s) that use "do"
in the interrogative, so you can forget about that.
So, the Korean sentence is: "Where go?"
It is very comfortable AND convenient to leave off the subject when
the subject is known. It didn't take me long to get used to it,
because Spanish is another pro-drop language and I was already used to
that.
USEFUL KOREAN INTERROGATIVE: Where is the restroom? Where
is the WC?
Romanized Korean: HwaJangShil Eodi Imnigga?
You may listen
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