Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mills]

I bought a children's, Han-gul alphabet poster at E-Mart today. It has vowels across the top and constantans down the left side, with vowel/constantan combinations throughout so you can practice the different pronunciations. The only problem is that it's entirely in Korean so I need to make some labels with the English pronunciations. Anyone care to double-check my work?

�� ă
�� (��+��) "ya"
�� "ah"
�� "e-yo"
�� ō
�� (��+��) "yo"
�� ŭ
�� "yu"
�� "ugh"
�� ĭ


�� "k/g"
�� "n"
�� "t/d"
�� "l/r"
�� "m"
�� "p/b"
�� "s"
�� "e/m"
�� "ch/j"
�� "ch/h"
�� "k/h"
�� "t/h"
�� "p/h"
�� "h"

Thanks.

[huffdaddy]

a couple of links for ya.

http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?s=0e9cc53deab6087acfc4ed5dbd71587d&showtopic=31332

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Online_Korean_learning_resources

[endofthewor1d]

�� = 'a' as in 'ah'
�� = 'ya'
�� = 'aw' as in 'saw'
�� = 'yaw'
�� = 'o' as in 'so'
�� = 'yo'
�� = 'u' as in 'flute'
�� = 'yu'
�� = 'oo' as in 'look', not as in 'moon'
�� = 'ee' as in 'feet', but is also used for 'i' as in 'hit'. i think the sound is probably somewhere in between.


�� = usually sounds like 'g' at the beginning of a syllable. 'k' at the end of a syllable. '��' = 'ga'. '��' = 'ahk'.
�� = 'n'
�� = usually sounds like 'd' at the beginning of a syllable. an unaspirated 't' at the end of a syllable.
�� = usually sounds like 'r' at the beginning of a syllable. an 'l' at the end of a syllable.
�� = 'm'
�� = usually sounds like 'b' at the beginning of a syllable. an unaspirated 'p' at the end of a syllable.
�� = usually sounds like 's' at the beginning of a syllable. an unaspirated 't' at the end of a syllable.
�� = silent at the beginning of a syllable. really just space filler for a sound that begins with a vowel. at the end of a syllable it sounds like 'ng'.
�� = usually sounds like 'j' at the beginning of a syllable. an unaspirated 't' at the end of a syllable.
�� = usually sounds like 'ch' at the beginning of a syllable. an unaspirated 't' at the end of a syllable.
�� = hard 'k'
�� = hard 't'
�� = hard 'p'
�� = 'h'

that's a good start. those are the basics anyway. some of the sounds are a little different depending on how syllables are situated next to one another. good luck.

[SPINOZA]

�� - more of an "aaah"
�� (��+��) "yaaah"
�� - 'o'-sound (as in 'song', 'block', 'stop' although sometimes sounds like an 'u' as in 'sung')
�� add 'y' to the ��
�� strong 'oh'-sound. Doesn't exist in English.
�� - Yo! (seems to change to a sound more like the ��-sound with polite ��-endings IMO.
�� ŭ - yeah.
�� "yu" yeah
�� more of an 'eurgh' (long schwa)
�� - eeeeee

�� - silent when at the beginning but 'ng' when at the end (like sing)
�� - more of a j but not exactly like our j.
�� - somewhere between a ch and a t.


The rest seems okay, although there are some you've not covered.

[Mills]

[zappadelta]

[thekingofdisco]

[SPINOZA]

[billybrobby]

If you want to develop good (as opposed to 'passable') pronunciation, i think you should memorize that table and then throw it away as quicky as possible.

My problem with romanization is that it encourages people to think that these sounds are really equivalent, when really they're pretty poor approximations. Basically, every one of the mappings is slightly wrong, some of them terribly so. Think of the way Koreans pronounce english. It really is just as bad, if not worse, when English speakers pronounce Korean using English language sounds. So, of course, you need to know what these symbols are, and the easiest way to get them to stick in your brain is to equate them with what you already know. But think of it as a stepping stone and nothing more.

i don't mean to sound like a know-it-all. my korean pronunciation is pretty lame too.

[billybrobby]

[kermo]

[ajgeddes]

Billybrobby is absolutely correct. Most of the sounds do not equal an exact English sound. By doing that, you are probably hindering their pronunciation more than helping them. Teach the sounds, don't make equivalents. Anybody that has studied applied linguistics and areas like that will for sure agree.

[Mills]

[ajgeddes]

Ah, sorry, I didn't really read it all through. Even still, don't try to match all the Korean letters with corresponding English letters. Only about 25% of the letters really have an exact same sound in English. Best way to learn is to just get a Korean person to practice pronunciation of the letters with you, especially the vowels.