Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Paladin Brewer]

So, before I arrive in Korea I would like to get some basics of the language at the very least. I was watching videos on youtube on the alphabet and pronunciation, before I moved on to the Korean rosetta stone. But I am getting confused with pronunciation on several of the consonants. For example (and Im sorry typing Korean doesnt seem to be working), but the first one says it is "g" or "k", though it sounds like a K to me. Then later there is another symbol that is also K. The same seems to be true of T or D, or the CH soun also has two, though the people in the video say the first one is a J sound.

Anyone have any good video they recommend to clear it up?

[Paladin Brewer]

On another note, I notice the way people write the letters are rather different. I've seen the first consonant, "g or k" written in 3 different ways now. Is there a standard?

[eunjeong]

It is a G sound, NOT k.
If you pronounce it as k you are gonna have a hard time later. It's actually just so soft that at times it sounds like k. But it's g. ^^
I've passed the korean proficiency exam if that helps at all. ^^

[crossmr]

[BoholDiver]

It sounds like a K but no breath should be coming out of your mouth.

I learned by putting a tissue in front of your mouth. If you can pronounce a K-ish sound (slightly softer) without moving the tissue, you;ve got it right.

In the middle of the word, it sounds like a true G.

[blackjack]

[redaxe]

yeah ㄱ is like a softer version of a "k" at the beginning of a word, and like a "g" in the middle of a word. Same goes for ㅂ (p/b) and ㅈ (ch/j) and ㄷ (t/d).

It's basically the reason why you sometimes see Pusan and sometimes see Busan. To my ear it sounds more like Pusan. Or listen to a Korean person say 바보. It sounds like "pabo."

[Mint]

[blackjack]

[T-J]

부엌 (kitchen) - final ㅋ

First one that popped to mind as it's such a common word, I'm sure there are more.

[jvalmer]

To even complicate it further, there are various sound assimilation rules to be aware of that aren't always followed.

[Paladin Brewer]

Awesome....and here I was thinking Korea has a small easy alphabet system :p Oh well, still easier than learning 2,000 kanji

[andrewchon]

OP:
Yes, there are sophisticated rules about correct Korean spelling,
but it's not that important.
부억 and 부엌 are both passable and will be understood as 'kitchen'
개 and 계 are two different things (dog and crab) but sound the same.
The homonyms in Korean need clarification, just as the English do, even among Koreans.
You can use a synonym, e.g. 개 멍멍이 (dog bark-bark thing) or
spell it 계 여 이 (crab written with ㅕ and ㅣ)

[redaxe]

[blackjack]