Korean is the official language of South Korea and North Korea. The accent and some words can be different depending if you're in South Korea or North Korea.
Grammar :
Korean is SOV language (Subject + Object + Verb). Grammar-wise, Korean is smiliar to Japanese but very different from Chinese. Verbs change depending on the "polite" degree. One verb won't end the same (suffix) depending on if we talk to a highly respectable person (doctor, teacher, older person etc) than if we talk to friends or family.
Pronounciation: Korean pronounciation is easier than Chinese one but harder than Japanese one.
Writting:
Korean writing is very different from Chinese and Japanese writing. Korean doesn't use chinese symbols. Korean is an alphabet with vowels and consonnants (like latin alphabet) and containing only 34 letters. (So it's way easier to learn it than to learn Chinese characters which contain more than 1500 characters)
Before 1446, Koreans used chinese characters to write. In 1446, King Sejong created the Korean alphabet. The number of Korean people who didn't know how to read and write then decreased. Because Korean alphabet is easier to learn than the thousand of chinese symbols.
Korean alphabet is read like this : 나 is read "na". The first letter (a vertical line then a horizontal line heading towards the right) is the letter N. The 2nd letter is A.
Some vowels are not located next to the consonnant, but BELOW the consonnant. This is the case of the following vowels : U , O, and EU.
Example : 누 is read "nu". The first letter on the top is N and the 2nd letter below is "u".
Each Korean letter is read in a syllabic box. That box is always set like this: Consonnant + Vowel OR Consonnant + Vowel + Consonnant.
Example : in the word 한글 , The first box of syllabs is 한 The first letter (a circle + a small horizontal line on top of the circle) is the letter H. The 2nd letter, next to the H, is the A. The letter all below, is the N. It is then "HAN". The second box of syllabs is 글 ( the first letter ᄀ (horizontal line heading towards the left then a vertical line) is the letter G. The 2nd letter, below the G, is the letter EU (horizontal line) And the last letter all below, is the letter L which is ᄅ (a kind of reversed S) It is then "GEUL". The word is then read "hangeul". 한글 : hangeul.
Here's a picture to resume my explanation: (as you can see there's latin letters transcription on each korean characters/letters :
As you can see, the purple letters (H and G) are the first consonnant in each syllabs. The green letters (N and L) are the final consonnants. And the blue letters (A and EU) are the vowels. Korean alphabet is always set like this: First consonnant + Vowel + Last consonnant. Placed in a syllabic box. (That or Vowel + Consonnant, or Consonnant + Vowel, for the shorter words (Na, Neo... )
__________________________________________________
Korean pronounciation :
- C or CH is pronounced TCH
- S is pronounced S exept if there's a letter i after the S. It is then pronounced "sh". SI = SHI.
- O is pronounced "o" like in the word "Low"
- The "eo" is pronounced like O but a "open" O. Like in the word "Love"
- U is pronounced "oo"
- EU is pronounced like in the word "moo" but without moving your lips.
- EUI is EU + I
- AE is pronounced EH
- E is pronounced EH as well
- J is DJ (Jal = Djal)
- H is like in English
- G is always "gu". Not J. (Gi = Gui)
- the letter R is pronounced almost like L
Now here's a list of Korean phrases and words :
I'm Korean : Na neun hanguk-in imnida
I'm French : Na neun peurangseu in imnida
Korea : Hanguk
France : Peurangseu
Hello : Annyeong ha seyo
Goodbye : Annyeong (also means "hello" in a familiar speech)
Thank you : Kam sa hamnida
Tree : Namu
I love you : Sarang hae (OR Sarang hae yo)
One : Hana
Two : Deul
Three : Set
Four : Net
Five : Taseot
Six : Yoseot
Seven : Ilgop
Eight : Yodeol
Nine : Ahop
Ten : Yeol
How much does it cost / What's the price of it? : Eol ma ye yo?
I wanna go to Korea! : Na neun Hanguk e gago shipeo!
No comments:
Post a Comment