[A/N: IT'S BAEKHYUN'S BIRTHDAY TODAY! Check out mm *pops confetti*]
1. Resyllabification
You will have noticed that some of the consonants are represented by two
roman letters, for example ㄱ(g/k), ㄷ(d/t) and ㅂ(b/p). When these
consonants come at the end of an individual syllable (i.e. syllable final
consonant), we use the [k], [t], [p] set of sounds but the sound is ‘cut off’ or
‘blocked’. The same thing can happen in English. Say the words ‘pock’,
‘pot’, and ‘pop’ very quickly. You will find that you do not actually make the
[k], [t], [p] sounds at the ends of the words.
Your mouth goes to a position to
make the sounds but does not go through with it. We say that these end
consonants are ‘unreleased’ because we do not release the sound. While in
English you can say these words more clearly and enunciate the final
consonants, in Korean these [k], [t], [p] end consonants are always unreleased
when we say a syllable on its own.
But when we run syllables together, the end sound can shift depending on
what follows. Again, the same thing applies in English. Say the following
sentences quickly, and with a bit of a drawl:
look over there
sit on the chair
drop in sometime
When you say these quickly, you always sound the [k], [t], and [p] at the end
of ‘look’, ‘sit’ and ‘drop’. But the sound can also slide: [k] to [g], [t] to [d] and
[p] to [b]. If you say these consonants in pairs, you will see that the way you
use your mouth to make them is very close. So when you are talking quickly,
it is very easy to slide from one sound to the other.
Another example is the
phrase ‘sit down’. When you say it quickly, it naturally becomes ‘siddown’. It
takes more effort to make distinct [t] and [d] sounds and you have to talk
more slowly.
People generally like to speak quickly in everyday conversation, and the
sound shift allows that with minimum effort. Look at the Korean word for
‘think’:
생각해요 saeng-gak-hae-yo.
The romanization represents the pronunciation if you say it very slowly, one
syllable at a time. Practice these separately and then say them quickly,
running them together. You will find that the sounds shift a bit and a smooth
and natural pronunciation is saenggakaeyo.
For the same reason:
책이 is not chaek-i but chaegi
먹어요 is not meok-eo-yo but meogeoyo
미안합니다 is not mi-an-hap-ni-da but mianhamnida
한글 is not han-geul but hangeul. �
ⓒ
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KEY TO KOREAN (키 투 코리얀)
बेतरतीबWelcome to KEY TO KOREAN! Your story of reliable korean lessons. This book will help you learn, speak, and write useful Korean words. Together, Let's Learn Korean! Some lessons are from my notes and others are come from different sources. I only co...
