Korean Language: History, Writing System, and Vocabulary

Study Notes

Korean Language

Korean is the language of the Korean Peninsula in northeast Asia, spoken by over 75 million people. It is the official language of both South Korea (Republic of Korea) and North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), with 48 million and 24 million speakers respectively. The language also has significant communities in China (approximately 2 million), the United States (over 600,000), Japan (about 500,000), Russia, and other countries.

History and Writing System

The origin and evolution of the Korean language are subjects of ongoing research and debate among linguists. It is generally believed that Korean has been influenced by Chinese, reflecting the geographical and cultural proximity between the two nations. The Korean writing system, known as Hangul, was invented in 1443 during the reign of King Sejong the Great of the Joseon Dynasty to address the limitations of the previous writing system, which used Chinese characters to represent Korean phonetically.

Hangul is composed of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, each designed to show the mouth or tongue position when pronouncing the corresponding sound. Two to four Hangul symbols make up a syllable, making it one of the most logical ways to write a language.

Vocabulary

Korean vocabulary consists of native Korean words, Sino-Korean words derived from Chinese, and loanwords from other languages, primarily English. Sino-Korean words make up approximately 60% of modern Korean, and the remaining vocabulary is a mix of native Korean and loanwords.

Linguistic Affiliation

Despite being classified as a language isolate, many theories propose that Korean may be linked to the Altaic language family, which includes Turkish, Mongolian, and the Tungusic languages of Siberia. This affiliation is generally accepted by most Korean linguists and considered likely by Western linguists as well.

Language Variation and Dialects

There are two standard varieties of Korean: the Seoul dialect in South Korea and the Phyongyang dialect in North Korea, each regulated by its respective country's national language policy. Additionally, regional dialects roughly correspond to province boundaries in both countries.