The ‘Dot That Died’: Hangul’s Lost Vowel
The Korean alphabet, Hangul, is praised for its scientific design, but it once held a secret: a lost vowel called the 'arae-a' (ใ). This "dot from heaven" was the cornerstone…
Tag: korean language
The Altaic Debate: A Family Feud
Are Turkish, Mongolian, Korean, and Japanese distant cousins? The Altaic hypothesis proposes they descend from a single ancient tongue, but modern linguistics has a different story to tell. Dive into…
The Grammar of Respect: Navigating Honorifics
While English speakers use 'sir' or 'ma'am', many languages embed respect directly into their grammar. This post explores the fascinating honorific systems of Japanese, Korean, and Javanese, where changing a…
Saving Face: The Intricate Linguistic Dance of Politeness in East Asian Cultures
The concept of "face" (้ขๅญ, ์ฒด๋ฉด, ใกใณใ) is a cornerstone of social interaction in East Asia, deeply encoded in language. This post explores the intricate linguistic dance of indirectness, honorifics,…
The World in a Different Order: How Subject-Object-Verb Languages Challenge Our Linguistic Assumptions
For most English speakers, "The dog chased the cat" is the only logical way to say it. But what if we told you that for over half the world, the…
Korean Books for Beginner to Intermediate Learners
Are you on the lookout for compelling literature to aid your Korean learning journey? Reading Korean books can give your language studies a much-needed shot...