Learn the difference between modern Korean and old Korean
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: Is modern Korean very different from old Korean? |
| Kyejin: And if so, what are the differences? |
| Michael: At KoreanClass101.com, we hear these questions often. In the following situation, Gabriel Garcia is an exchange student. He is visiting a museum with his friend Do-jun Jo. While they are looking at an old book, Gabriel says, |
| "I don't understand." |
| Gabriel Garcia: 이해를 못 하겠어요. (Ihaereul mot hagesseoyo.) |
| Dialogue |
| Gabriel Garcia: 이해를 못 하겠어요. (Ihaereul mot hagesseoyo.) |
| Do-jun Jo: 고전 문체라 그래요. (Gojeon munchera geuraeyo.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Gabriel Garcia: 이해를 못 하겠어요. (Ihaereul mot hagesseoyo.) |
| Michael: "I don't understand." |
| Do-jun Jo: 고전 문체라 그래요. (Gojeon munchera geuraeyo.) |
| Michael: "It's in classical Korean." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: A language is an ongoing process. We can't name a single language where we could say that the creation process is completed. A language is always changing, due to current trends at the time, or world political situations. |
| For example, try to read Shakespeare, who wrote in English, in his original version. You might not understand a word. Also, books published today might become hard to read for someone who will be born one hundred years from now. |
| Korean is no exception. The change between old Korean and modern Korean might be even bigger than what we experienced in English. |
| When Korean language learners first begin their studies, they will focus on the modern form of Korean spoken by native speakers in North and South Korea today. This modern form of Korean is referred to as |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul). |
| Michael: However, as you dive deeper into your Korean language studies, you're also likely to encounter the old form of Korean, known as |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo). |
| Michael: Let's first take a look at the history of Classical or Old Korean and its transformation into the Modern Korean we know today. |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo), |
| Michael: or "Old Korean," first took root in the fourth century CE, during the period known as the Three Kingdoms of Korea or, |
| Kyejin: 삼국시대 (samguksidae). |
| Michael: It lasted until roughly the tenth century CE, during what's called the Later Silla. The ancestral origin of the Korean language prior to the fourth century CE is highly debated. Some linguists insist Korean has roots in the Altaic languages, like Turkish, Japanic languages, or Dravidian languages, like those spoken in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. For this reason, Korean is often assigned to its own language family, known as the Koreanic language family. The point at which Old Korean became Modern Korean is also highly debated. What most linguists will agree on, however, is that around the 15th century, in the midst of the reign of the |
| Kyejin: 대조선국 (daejoseonguk) |
| Michael: Chosun Dynasty, the |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul) , |
| Michael: We know today laid a foundation. So how do the languages themselves–Old Korean, |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo) |
| Michael: and Modern Korean, |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul) |
| Michael: differ? |
| Michael: To begin, the writing system of Old Korean and Modern Korean looks very different since Old Korean, |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo) |
| Michael: uses Chinese characters, or |
| Kyejin: 한자 (hanja) |
| Michael: as a representation of both sound and grammar. Modern Korean, |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul), |
| Michael: on the other hand, uses its own system, known by the same name, |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul), |
| Michael: which consists of 24 basic letters, each with its own sound. Letters are formed using simplistic geometric patterns. |
| Michael: Old Korean is also unique in its various grammatical structures. The nominative, accusative, and the dative cases, for example, used their own case markers. |
| Also the pronunciation of words differs a lot. For instance, imagine if someone from the Chosun Dynasty was to meet a modern day Native Korean, there would be difficulties in trying to understand one another. |
| Korean language learners might also wonder how often they're likely to run into |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo), |
| Michael: "Old Korean." While |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul) |
| Michael: is by far the prominent form of written and spoken Korean today, it's also true that you may see |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo) |
| Michael: used in ancient literature, legal documents, as well as business cards, although this is slowly transitioning to Hangul with the next generation. Still, many place names and family or personal names, although they appear in Modern Korean today, were once translated from Old Korean too. |
| Michael: Pronunciation is another key difference between Old Korean and Modern Korean. Although the ancient |
| Kyejin: 한자 (hanja) |
| Michael: is based on Chinese characters, it's important to know that the pronunciation of Old Korean is very different from standard Mandarin, for example. |
| Michael: Although you may never need to learn Old Korean, |
| Kyejin: 고대국어 (godaegugeo), |
| Michael: It's still a great way to learn more about the history, language, and culture of Modern Korean, |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul), |
| Michael: As you continue in your studies of Korean. |
| [SUMMARY] |
| Michael: In this lesson we learned that old Korean differs a lot from what we learn right now. Not only does the writing system differ completely, since old Korean used Chinese Characters, while modern is using Hangul, but also the grammar changed a lot, as well as how words are pronounced. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Michael: Although you only see |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul) |
| Michael: being used by Native Koreans today, |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja) |
| Michael: still exists in everyday life for native Koreans. There are many Sino-Korean words, or words that come from Chinese characters, that you will come across when studying Korean today. |
| There are even two number systems, one in pure Korean, or |
| Kyejin: 한글(hangul), |
| Michael: and the other in Sino Korean, or words that derive from |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja). |
| Michael: However, did you know that, until a few decades ago, both |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja) |
| Michael: and |
| Kyejin: 한글(hangeul) |
| Michael: were used, especially in written Korean? |
| The usage of both was called |
| Kyejin: 한자혼용(hanja honyong, 漢字混用). |
| Michael: This literally means mixed use of |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja) |
| Michael: and |
| Kyejin: 한글(hangeul). |
| Michael: This is because although |
| Kyejin: 한글 (hangeul) |
| Michael: was introduced in 1446, the ruling class still opted to use |
| Kyejin: 한문(hanmun), |
| Michael: or Chinese characters, to read and write. They still wanted to differentiate themselves from the lower, illiterate classes. This is why most literature until the early twentieth century was written in |
| Kyejin: 한문(hanmun), |
| Michael: rather than |
| Kyejin: 한글(hangeul). |
| 한자혼용(hanja honyong) |
| Michael: became the official writing system of Korean at the end of the nineteenth century, and |
| Kyejin: 한문(hanmun) |
| Michael: was no longer the primary method of writing for the Korean government and literature. |
| Of course, there was a movement pushing for |
| Kyejin: 한글(hangeul) |
| Michael: -only writing, and both styles of writing remained for most of the twentieth century. Students still learned |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja) at school. |
| Michael: However, in the twenty-first century, the use of |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja) |
| Michael: slowly dwindled, and today, |
| Kyejin: 한자(hanja) |
| Michael: is no longer used in formal written documents, while they do still remain in signboards and road signs, written under its Hangul counterparts. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Kyejin: 안녕히 계세요 (Annyeonghi gyeseyo). |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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