Let's learn hangul...!

Okay, so no rewards for timing, considering that I'm leaving in under two weeks, but I've started attempting to get at least a basic grip on the Korean alphabet! It's actually not that hard, since it's entirely phonetic. So, to write a word, you just have to break it down into each syllable, and then find the write consonant + vowel pairing to make the right sound for each syllable - then stick all the syllables together and you have a word! (In other words, you can tell how many syllables there are in a Korean word by counting the number of hangul!) The basic alphabet is pretty tiny!

The hard bit comes with knowing which hangul to put together to make each syllable and how to put them together. Every syllable has to start with a consonant (not necessarily an English consonant), and every syllable is made up of at least one consonant and one vowel. So basically, you start with a consonant, then just add a vowel to it and any another vowel/consonant sound needed to complete the syllable!

Since my name isn't Korean, when you put it into Korean, even though it's one syllable (James), it still gets broken down into multiple hangul to represet the sound. So, my name, James, becomes: "jay-eem-suh". Written in hangul, that's:

1. ㅈ + ㅔ= 제
   
   (j) + (ay) = jay
   

2. ㅇ + ㅣ+ ㅁ = 임
   
   (eh) + (ee) + (muh) = eem
   
   
3. ㅅ + ㅡ = 스
   
   (s) + (uh) = suh
   

So, if you stick all those bits together, you get my name: 제임스!

Korean words are easier to write, since, like I said, the number of syllables will be exactly the same as the number of hangul (and you can't always exactly replicate Western sounds using hangul), but obviously I had to teach you the most important word first!

Anyway, just as an example, here's an easy Korean word: gimchi. So, all you have to do is break it down into its syllables, "gim" + "chi", find the right consonant/vowel pairings for each syllable, then stick it all together! Behold:

1. ㄱ + ㅣ + ㅁ = 김
   
   (guh) + (ee) + (muh) = gim
   

2. ㅊ + ㅣ= 치
   
   (ch) + (ee) = chi
   

So, gimchi is 김치 - see how it's much easier with actual Korean words rather than Western ones? Not only are the sounds easier to make, but there are as many hangul as syllables. Not that it's easy... XD I still struggle with knowing how each syllable should look once the consonant(s) and vowel(s) are slotted together, and that's assuming I can even identify the right hangul to put together in the first place! And getting the right sound is trickier than you might think, since Koreans don't distinguish beteween "r" and "l" (so English words like "particularly" come out as "particurarry"), "b" and "p", and "g" and "k" in the same way that English people do (hence why "gimchi" is pronounced "kimchi" but written with a "g").

...and this, of course, only gets the sound - there's still the somewhat important issue of learning the actual vocabulary and then the teensy weensy grammar points to go with it! *cough* ...apparently Korean grammar is a trashy BITCH. Stiiiiiill, it's fun, riiiiight?! ;)

Anyway, this bloggishly-uncharacteristic lapse into intellectualism was inspired by one of my students, Jisoo, who, for the last thirty minutes of our final lesson on Wednesday, took on the role of my very own Korean teacher!

...now, don't get the wrong impression of me as a teacher - my lessons aren't usually characteristed by such role-reversals, but this was Jisoo's last lesson after six weeks, and she had given me a really sweet leaving gift...! :D (In case you're wondering, it's a traditional Korean souvenir box, made from shells! n_n).

What can I say? Clearly my teaching is of a world-class enough standard that my students feel compelled to shower me with trinkets! Blame me, not them! ;) (P.s. if you're reading this - yes YOU, the ugly one! - please comment! I know it's a shamelessly desperate shout out to space, but when the writing's this good, you've got to give something back, no? ...it goes against the very principle on which this blog was established, but just one comment would be nice! So, as a bit of an incentive, and to help me practise my Korean, the first person to comment will get their name written in hangul on my next post! So, c'mon! Follow the Jisoo example!).

EDIT: Right, here you go, Chris, here's my very poor attempt at writing your name in hangul.

Christopher:

1. ㅋ + ㅡ + ㄹ= 클
   (k) + (uh) + (rr) = kur
   
2. ㅇ + ㅣ+ ㅅ = 일
   (ee) + (ss) = iss
   
3. ㅌ +ㅡ = 트
   (t) + (uh) = tuh
   
4. ㅍ+ㅡ = 프
   (p) + (uh) = puh

So, Christopher would be written as:

클일트프

Just to note, the Koreans don't have an "f" sound, but instead use "p" - there isn't that much difference when you say it quickly, but Christopher is more likely to be rendered "Christoper" in Korean.

Also, note on the second one (일), we needed to make an "iss" sound, but, at the same time, maintain the rule of always starting with a consonant. So, for that purpose, there's the ubiquitous "ㅇ", which is a consonant, but when put it on top and pair it with a vowel, as we did here, it doesn't get pronounced. So that's how you make syllables which start with a vowel sound! Also, just as final point, be aware that that's only when "ㅇ" is on top, when it's on the bottom (LOL), it makes a kind of "ng" sound (e.g. "ung", "ang", etc.).

Okay, so my take on the rest of your name was:

1. Martin: 마틴
   (mah-teen)
2. Jing (pronounced "ging"): 깅
   (geeng)
3. Zhi: 지
   (jee)
4. Huang: 흐우앙
   (huh-uu-ang)

*PHEW* Why couldn't someone with a nice Korean name post on my blog?! XD Hehe, anyway a few things to note again: Koreans don't have a "z" sound, and instead use "j" (so "zhee" would be more like "jee") - also, the "w" sound (in "hwang") is made by combining vowels, so, in this case, you add ᅮ ("uu") and ᅡ ("ah") to get "uuah" which is as close as Korean gets to "wah".

So, putting it altogether, we have:

클일트프 마틴 깅 지 흐우앙

...I'd be interested to learn how much of that is actually right! XD