MANNAM Korean class: Spelling system of Hangul(한글 맞춤법)1

MANNAM Korean class: Spelling system of Hangul(한글 맞춤법)1

 Foreigners who learn Hangul say that ‘Korean has a very difficult grammar and a way of spelling the words.’ That can be true, but once you get to know the spelling system it can be easier to write Korean. In MANNAM Korean class, we learned about the rules about this system. Hope other people who learn Korean as a foreign language can advance their Korean skills by reading this post.

 Systems are made because people need a rule to get organized. The rules of Korean orthography is made to speak, write, read clearly when we communicate. It was regulated by writing Korean in Korean. 1933, Korean language society established < Unified draft in Korean spelling system >. After correcting and supplementing < Spelling system of Hangul > was made and used starting from March 1^st 1989.

 The first chapter is general provisions. Starting from the first line, it says ‘In Korean spelling system we write standard language but the rule is to write it in the right grammar.’ Second line, every word from the sentence follows the rule of word spacing. Third, loanwords have to follow ‘loanword orthography’.

 Let’s examine the first chapter more. The first line has three meanings. Standard language is the subject in spelling system. We write as same as we speak (Phoneticism). For example, we speak ‘상추(Sangcho: lettuce), 아름다워(Arumdawo: Beautiful)’ and write the same as we speak. ‘We write in a right way depending on the grammar (Write in meanings).’ Like, 꽃에(Koche: at a flower), 꽃잎(Konip: floral leaf), 먹는(mongnun: eating) / 꼬체, 꼰닙, 멍는[Pronunciation]. Phoneticism is a way to write words same as we read, but even though it is a same word, the pronunciation can be different by the environment. So it is hard to understand, and it is hard to read. On the other hand, writing by the meanings can make one word in one conception, but as we try to maintain the original form, it differs with the pronunciation. 지붕(집+웅/Gibung: roof), 무덤(묻+엄/Mudoum: grave) is the example.

 When you learn Korean, you can’t learn it just by remembering it. You have to know the rule that maintains the form of grammar. It is tricky to learn Korean but by knowing the system and the rules can be a big help. In MANNAM Korean class, we learn not only the words from Korean books we learn how to communicate well. Join and let’s learn more in MANNAM Korean class!