In this lesson, we’ll briefly look at how vowels and consonants are
combined in Korean language.
The basic unit
of a Korean letter is a syllable. This means that a complete Korean written letter
must have at least one consonant and a vowel symbol.
A syllable
consists of only one vowel sound. A syllable must have exactly 1 consonant
as the initial sound and 1 vowel as the medial sound. A syllable can be
composed with or without the final sound (consonant). Sometimes there can be 2
consonants located as the final sound.
The combinations of the vowel and consonant symbols are
fivefold.
1.
A syllable can consist of only one vowel, but
with a placeholder. Although the letter pronunciation is consisted of only
vowel pronunciation like “a” (without any spoken consonant), you still need to
start the syllable with a consonant symbol to make the letter complete.
Remember our placeholder?? ㅇ… It is used as zero-value
consonant when it appears before a vowel. It functions as a place holder in a
word-initial position, so that the letter “a” should be written in Korean as 아 (not ㅏ).
EXAMPLES,
I will be 이 not ㅣ
오 and not ㅗ
어 and not ㅓ
야 and not ㅑ
So we get the
logic???
2.
A syllable
can have a vowel followed by a consonant (e.g., like English “on”
or 을 in Korean)
3.
A syllable can have a consonant, followed by a
vowel (e.g., like English “go” or 다 in Korean). Other examples include: 가, 나, 너, 뽀, 쭈, 야, 의, 왜
4.
A syllable letter can have a consonant,
followed by a vowel, and then a consonant (e.g., like English “dam” or 잘 in Korean). Other examples include: 안, 녕, 합, 얌, 굉, 있, 낚, 꺾
5.
A syllable letter can have a consonant,
followed by a vowel, and then two consonants (e.g., like English “host” or 셨 in Korean). Other examples include: 않, 없, 앉
The position of
the vowel symbols is either to the right of or below the initial consonant
symbol, as in 히 and 그. If the syllable has a consonant after a vowel symbol, it
is always below the vowel, as in 잔
and 습
VIDEOS/AUDIO FILES
See YouTube video files below
THINGS TO NOTE
First, a Korean syllable does not
start with two consonants (e.g., unlike the English word “clip”). So you cant have:ㅁㅁ or ㄹㅅfollowed
by a vowel
Note that
consonants such as ㄲ
ㄸ and ㅃ are Tensed/double
consonants and not two dictinct consonants
Secondly Hangul follows the spelling
convention, and consequently, Korean spellings do not change just because it
reads a little differently from its symbol combinations. In other words, one
should not write just as each word sounds (this is the same for English, where
you cannot write just as you hear or speak).
Thirdly, when ㄹ appears at the end of a syllable, it sounds /l/, but at the beginning of
a syllable it sounds /r/. Example:
잘잤어?
Jal
jasseo? Sleep well?
사람
Saram person
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