In Chapters 4 and 5, we have discussed the phonetic and phonological characteristics of consonants and vowels in Korean. However, not all of the sounds which exist are found frequently in Korean, and some are used more often than others. In this chapter, we would like to explore the frequency of sounds in Korean to find out which sounds are frequently used and which are used less. We will try to find the answers by looking at dictionary data and spontaneous speech data. In addition, we will compare the frequency of sounds in Korean with that of sounds in English.

There are 19 consonants and 7 monophthongs in Korean, along with 10 diphthongs made from 7 monophthongs and 3 glides. Therefore, 36 sounds exist in total in the Korean sounds inventory. In the previous chapter, we considered a diphthong as a combination of a monophthong and a glide. This view can provide a better explanation because it doesn’t increase the number of phonemes unnecessarily. In addition, this can capture the phonetic similarity between the corresponding monophthong and the glide and hence increase explanatory adequacy in accounting for the behaviours of speech sounds.

In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the Korean language and briefly discuss its main characteristics. In 1.1, we will discuss the origin, history and distribution of the Korean language; in 1.2, the Korean alphabet and its romanisation will be discussed; 1.3 focuses on the characteristics of the Korean lexicon; in 1.4, the structural characteristics of Korean will be explored; and in 1.5, the socio-pragmatic characteristics of Korean will be discussed.

Origin, history and distribution

The Korean language in East Asian history

It is impossible to think about the history of Korea without considering the history of Northeast Asia. In the same vein, the history of the Korean language cannot be considered without reference to the influence of Korea’s neighbours; namely, China, Japan and Mongolia. Figure 1.1 shows how the Korean language has evolved from Old Korean into Contemporary Korean within the bigger picture of East Asian history. The classification is based on K.-M. Lee (1998).

Preface

In learning a foreign language, it is essential to familiarise oneself with the sound properties of the language such as the inventory of sounds and phonological processes. Native speakers will acquire these naturally, but learners of the second language must learn them formally. This book aims to provide an introduction to the phonetics and phonology of Korean for those who study the Korean language and/or linguistics. More specifically, the target audience of this book consists both of academics in Korean Linguistics (or in Korean Studies or in linguistics) and of learners of Korean. Among the learners of Korean, this book is targeted particularly at learners of Korean who are familiar with English. Hence, comparison with English is also provided whenever necessary.

This book is rare in terms of being well balanced for these two audience groups. We believe that it will become the first comprehensive book to provide a complete and authoritative description and explanation of the current state of Korean phonetics and phonology.

In the previous chapter we discussed the general aspects of sound production, and learned that there are three steps in the production of sound: (i) initiation, (ii) phonation and (iii) articulation. Whereas the purpose of the last chapter was to help readers familiarise themselves with the physical basis of sound production, this chapter will focus on the abstract reality of sounds, and will introduce the background to phonology. Once speech sounds are produced by a speaker, they are transferred to a listener as a sequence of acoustic signals. These acoustic signals will then be understood by the listener according to his/her knowledge of the relevant language. Even if the listener has perfect hearing, without knowledge of the language being spoken, he/she will find it difficult to segment sounds or to distinguish between different sounds. Hence, in acquiring the sound system of our mother tongue we learn not only an inventory of sounds, but also how to determine which sound distinctions are significant and which not. Understanding the phonological basis of a sound system is also crucial for second language speakers. Together with Chapter 2, this chapter will provide a useful background for understanding the sounds of Korean.

So far, we have observed Korean sounds at the segmental level. In particular, we have considered the phonetic characteristics of each sound. However, the same sound can have different phonetic realisations; for instance, /ɑ/ can be produced either with high pitch or low pitch, as a long vowel or a short vowel, and sometimes loudly or quietly. This is not only the case for individual sounds but also for sequences of sounds or segments. Hence, the same sequence of sounds (or segments) may be realised with a different pitch, loudness or length, and these are known as ‘supra-segmental features’ or ‘prosodic features’. The term ‘supra-segmental features’ emphasises the sound ‘unit’ in which those features appear. By contrast, the term ‘prosodic features’ draws emphasis to the sound properties that are manifested within the sequence of segments. We will use the term ‘prosodic features’ throughout this chapter, since we are more interested in the nature of sound properties than the sound units bearing these properties.

In this chapter, we will discuss the prosody of Korean: in 7.1, we will examine the linguistic function of prosody; 7.2 will provide an overview of the prosodic structure of Korean; 7.3–7.6 look at each of the linguistic units which comprise the prosodic structure of Korean from the syllable, the smallest unit, to the phonological word, phonological phrase, and finally the intonational phrase; and in 7.7, we conclude.

In the previous chapter, we discussed consonants in Korean. In this chapter, we will discuss vowels in Korean. In particular, we will explore which vowels are phonemes in Korean and what their phonetic and phonological characteristics are. In 5.1, we will introduce the basic properties of vowels. In 5.2 and 5.3, we will examine in detail the phonetic and phonological characteristics of monophthongs (simple vowels) and diphthongs in Korean and 5.4 covers features for vowels. The chapter summary can be found in 5.5.

Monophthongs and diphthongs

A monophthong (or simple vowel) is a vowel consisting of one articulation from beginning to end. Likewise, a diphthong is a vowel made up of two articulations and a triphthong is a vowel made up of three articulations. Diphthongs can be further analysed into their constituent parts, glides and monophthongs. The articulation of a glide is similar to that of a vowel, but as it is pronounced much faster it does not remain stable during articulation, unlike vowels. Moreover, unlike a vowel, a glide cannot form a syllable by itself.