Korean: An Essential Grammar

273 Pages·2009·2.014 MB·English

by  Young-Key Kim-Renaud

Korean
An Essential Grammar
Korean: An Essential Grammar is a concise, user-friendly guide to the basic
grammatical structures of Standard Korean. Presenting a fresh and accessible
description of the language, this engaging grammar is linguistically sophis-
ticated uses clear, jargon-free explanations and sets out the complexities
of Korean in short, readable sections.
Key features include:
• clear grammar explanations
• frequent use of authentic examples
• Korean alphabet used alongside McCune-Reischauer romanization
system
• glossary of grammatical terms
• pronunciation guide
This is the ideal mature reference source both for those studying Korean
independently and for students in schools, colleges, universities, and adult
classes of all types to back up their studies.
Young-Key Kim-Renaud is Professor of Korean Language and Culture and
International Affairs, and Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages
and Literatures at The George Washington University. She is the author
or editor of ten books including Korean Consonantal Phonology, Studies in
Korean Linguistics, and The Korean Alphabet: Its History and Structure.
Routledge Essential Grammars
Essential Grammars are available for the following languages:
Arabic
Chinese
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Finnish
German
Modern Greek
Modern Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Serbian
Spanish
Swedish
Thai
Turkish (forthcoming)
Urdu
Other titles of related interest published by Routledge:
Colloquial Korean
Korean
An Essential Grammar
Young-Key Kim-Renaud
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
For Ariana Sua
First published 2009
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2009 Young-Key Kim-Renaud
Typeset in Sabon and Gill by
Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN13: 978-0-415-38513-8 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-38388-2 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-88361-7 (ebk)
Contents
Preface xiv
List of abbreviations and notations xvi
List of tables and figures xix
Chapter 1 Introduction: the Korean language and
its speakers 1
Chapter 2 Han’gTl, the Korean alphabet 3
2.1 Inventory of the Korean alphabet 4
2.2 Design principles of han’gTl letters 4
2.2.1 Consonants 6
2.2.2 Vowels 8
2.3 Orthography 10
2.3.1 Writing in syllable blocks 10
2.3.2 Writing words consistently 12
2.3.3 Writing direction, spacing, and punctuation 14
Chapter 3 Sound pattern 16
3.1 Sound units 16
3.1.1 Consonants 16
3.1.2 Vowels 18
3.1.3 Semivowels (glides) 19
3.1.4 The syllable 21
3.1.4.1 Resyllabification (liaison) rule 22
3.1.4.2 Written and spoken syllable structures 22
3.2 Rhythmic and intonational patterns 22
3.3 Characteristics of the Korean vowel system 25
3.3.1 The weak vowel (cid:14738)(cid:71)(J) 25 v
Contents 3.3.2 Vowel length 26
3.3.3 Vowel harmony 26
3.3.3.1 Vowel harmony and sound symbolism 26
3.3.3.2 Vowel harmony in verb conjugation 27
3.4 Characteristics of the Korean consonantal system 27
3.4.1 Consonantal strength and sound symbolism 27
3.4.2 Intervocalic voicing 28
3.4.3 (cid:3493) l-weakening 30
3.4.4 (cid:3514) h-weakening 30
3.4.5 Aspiration 31
3.4.6 Unreleasing of syllable-final consonants 32
3.4.6.1 Unreleasing of stop consonants 32
3.4.6.2 Unreleasing of fricatives 33
3.4.6.3 Simplification of syllable-final
consonant clusters 34
3.4.7 Tensing of plain stops 36
3.4.8 (cid:9894)(cid:14754)(cid:12011)(cid:16559) TuJm pIpch’ik (Law of Initials) 37
3.4.8.1 (cid:3493) l-nasalization 38
3.4.8.2 Initial (cid:3488) n-drop 39
3.5 Compound boundary phenomena 40
3.5.1 Unreleasing of consonants before a
compound boundary 40
3.5.2 (cid:13058)(cid:14794)(cid:13618)(cid:14477) saisiot (epenthetic s) 41
3.5.3 Epenthetic (cid:3488) n 42
3.6 Assimilation rules 43
3.6.1 Nasal assimilation 43
3.6.2 Lateral assimilation 44
3.6.3 Palatalization 44
Chapter 4 The sentence 45
4.1 Simple, compound, and complex sentences 48
4.1.1 Simple sentences 49
4.1.2 Compound sentences 49
4.1.3 Complex sentences 49
4.2. The elements of a simple sentence 50
4.2.1 Subject 50
4.2.2 Object 51
4.2.3 Predicate 52
4.2.3.1 Action verbs 52
vi 4.2.3.2 Stative verbs 52
4.2.3.3 NP + copula 53 Contents
4.2.3.4 Existential verbs 53
4.3 Basic sentence patterns 54
4.4 Sentence type classified by function 56
4.4.1 Declarative (Dec) 56
4.4.2 Interrogative (Q) 56
4.4.3 Imperative (Imp) 57
4.4.4 Propositive (Prop) 57
4.4.5 Exclamatory (Exc) 58
4.5 Voice 58
4.5.1 Active voice 59
4.5.2 Passive voice 59
4.5.3 Causative 61
Chapter 5 Words 63
5.1 Korean word (w) structure 64
5.2 Word classes by structural characteristics 65
5.2.1 Bound stems: Verbs 65
5.2.2 Free-standing stems: Nouns and adjectives 66
5.3 Word classes according to their origin 66
5.3.1 Native Korean vocabulary 66
5.3.1.1 Sound-symbolic (SS) vocabulary 67
5.3.1.2 Non-sound-symbolic native vocabulary 68
5.3.2 Vocabulary of foreign origin 69
5.3.2.1 Sino-Korean (SK) vocabulary 70
5.3.2.2 Loanwords 74
5.3.2.2.1 Japanese loanwords 75
5.3.2.2.2 Loanwords from
Western languages 77
Chapter 6 Verbs 83
6.1 General properties of verbs 83
6.2 Types of verbs 86
6.2.1 Action verbs 87
6.2.1.1 Transitive verbs 87
6.2.1.2 Intransitive verbs 87
6.2.2 Stative verbs 88
6.2.3 Equational copula, -(cid:14794)(cid:9530) (i-ta) / -(cid:14234)(cid:9502)(cid:9530) (ani-ta)
‘to be’ / ‘not to be’ 90
6.2.3.1 Affirmative copula -(cid:14794)(cid:9530) (i-ta) ‘to be’ 91 vii
Contents 6.2.3.2 Negative copula (cid:14234)(cid:9502)(cid:9530) (ani-ta)
‘not to be’ 94
6.2.3.3 Alternate shapes of copulative verbs 95
6.2.4 Existential (cid:14814) iss- ‘exist, have’ 95
6.2.4.1 To indicate locational existence 96
6.2.4.2 To denote possession 97
6.3 Making new verbs 97
6.3.1 Forming a verb by adding the suffix -(cid:18350) ha
to a noun 97
6.3.2 Forming verbs with other suffixes 99
6.4 Voice 100
6.4.1 Passive voice 100
6.4.2 Causative voice 103
6.5 Marking event time and aspect 104
6.5.1 Tense 104
6.5.1.1 Present 104
6.5.1.2 Past-tense marker -(cid:14366) Iss 104
6.5.1.3 Past-past (PP) 105
6.5.1.4 Future 106
6.5.2 Aspect 108
6.5.2.1 Progressive aspect -(cid:7990) (cid:14814)(cid:9530)
ko iss-ta 109
6.5.2.2 Resultative aspect -(cid:14346) (cid:14814)(cid:9530) I iss-ta 110
6.6 Expressing speaker’s attitude: Modals 111
6.6.1 Volitional -(cid:7926) kess 112
6.6.2 Suppositive or strong prediction -(cid:7926) kess 112
6.6.3 Retrospective -(cid:9642) tI 112
6.7 Mood suffixes indicating sentence types 113
6.8 Honorific marking 114
6.8.1 Subject honorification (SH) 114
6.8.2 Addressee honorification (AH) 115
6.9 Compound verbs 116
6.10 Auxiliary verbs 117
6.11 Conjunctives 118
6.12 Irregular verbs 124
Chapter 7 Negation 131
7.1 Lexical negation 131
7.2 Sentential negation 133
viii 7.2.1 Two kinds of negative construction 133
7.2.1.1 Short-form (preverbal) negation 134 Contents
7.2.1.2 Long-form (postverbal) negation 135
7.2.2 Unattainable negative constructions 136
7.2.3 Prohibitive negative constructions 138
7.2.4 Negative polarity words 139
Chapter 8 Nouns 140
8.1 General properties of nouns 140
8.2 Types of nouns 143
8.2.1 Proper nouns and common nouns 144
8.2.2 Animate nouns and inanimate nouns 145
8.2.3 Action nouns and description nouns 145
8.2.4 Countable nouns and non-countable nouns 146
8.2.5 Free-standing nouns and bound nouns 146
8.2.6 Pronouns and quasi-pronouns 148
8.2.6.1 Definite pronouns 149
8.2.6.2 Indefinite pronouns 151
8.2.7 Numerals 153
8.2.7.1 Cardinal numerals 153
8.2.7.2 Ordinal numerals 157
8.2.8 Noun classifiers 159
8.3 Making new nouns 161
8.3.1 Making new nouns by suffixation 161
8.3.1.1 -(cid:8326) ki nominalizer 162
8.3.1.2 -(cid:14754) Jm nominalizer 165
8.3.1.3 -(cid:14794) i nominalizer 166
8.3.2 Making new nouns by compounding 167
8.3.2.1 Native compounds 168
8.3.2.2 SK compounds 169
8.3.2.3 Loanwords and their compounds 170
8.4 Ordering relationship in multiple nouns 171
8.5 Noun particles 172
8.5.1 Grammatical particles 173
8.5.1.1 Subject particle (Subj) -(cid:14794)/(cid:7766)
i/ka 173
8.5.1.2 Object particle (Obj), -(cid:14746)/(cid:11218)
Jl/lJl 175
8.5.1.3 Obligatory deletion of subject and
object particles 177
8.5.1.4 Genitive particle (Gen) -(cid:14766) Ji 177 ix