...이시라, ...하소서, ...가오

[dogilin]

Hi everyone, I'd like to know the exact meaning of expressions like 이시라, 하소서, 가오... It seems to be sort of poetic language that is used mainly in biblical context. Do you know any good internet site on that topic, or any good book? I can't find anything like that, except some entries in big dictionaries where the explanations are too short and complicated.
Or how about even making a mp3 lesson on that topic?

Please don't answer with something like "you don't need that stuff anyway", bc that's what all Korean friends of mine keep telling me when I ask them...

[holdfast]

you are right, this is sort of poetic language that is used in biblical context and you will also hear it in historical dramas because it is old language. i don't completely understand it (and there are a lot of different ways to say things) but i can tell you what i have learned so far ^^ (i go to a korean church, so i hear this kind of stuff all of the time, and i need to learn it too).

~소서 as in 하소서 is an old imperative form (하십시오) - it is like 하세요 but way more formal. you would only use this when talking to God or the king.
~옵소서 is even more formal than just 소서 - i often hear it as 인도하여 주시옵소서
~리 is an old future tense as in 모든 것을 드리리 (i will give you everything)
~사 is another one i just came across (i think i saw 부으사) but i am not sure of the meaning.
~리라 is another one i see, and i am not sure if it has the same meaning as it does in modern language..

sorry i am not much help, but that is all i know so far, and i hope someone else can explain some more (:

[dogilin]

@holdfast: Thank you so much, that's already a great start!
Now another thing that would be interesting: Is 주시옵소서 really more formal than -소서, or may it be that the -옵- is there only for grammatical / pronounciation reasons?
What would the less formal version look like? Just 주시소서?

The more I think about that ancient language, the more interesting it gets.

[holdfast]

i don't quite get it either.. as far as i can tell, 소 functions like 시... because a lot of times people pronounce 소서 as 셔서 which would be the conjugated form of 시. i guess it's like the ultimate mega version of 주세요 - as far as i can tell, it means the exact same thing..

i might be completely wrong here, i am just guessing.

[manyakumi]

@holdfast: Thank you so much, that's already a great start!
Now another thing that would be interesting: Is 주시옵소서 really more formal than -소서, or may it be that the -옵- is there only for grammatical / pronounciation reasons?
What would the less formal version look like? Just 주시소서?

옵 is a suffix just for making your words polite.

But,
주소서 is already polite enough. (not 주시소서)