This page intentionally left blank Using Korean This is a guide to Korean language usage for students who have already acquired the basics of the language. Unlike a conventional grammar, it highlights those areas of vocabulary and grammar which cause the most difficulty to English speakers. Clear, readable and easy to consult, it is essential for all those who wish to take their Korean beyond the beginner’s level. ideal for those who wish to extend their knowledge of Korean and organize accumulated bits of information into a comprehensive picture designed to promote the fluency and accuracy vital to effective communication focuses on the appropriateness of different language styles provides excellent coverage of proverbs, idioms, and sound symbolism offers up-to-date guidance on points of grammar and vocabulary tailored to the needs of the English-speaking user MIHO CHOO is Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. HYE-YOUNG KWAK is based in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Other titles in this series Using French (third edition) A guide to contemporary usage R. E. BATCHELOR and M . H . OFFORD (ISBN 0 521 64177 2 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 64593 X paperback) Using Spanish (second edition) A guide to contemporary usage R. E. BATCHELOR and C . J . POUNTAIN (ISBN 0 521 00481 0 paperback) Using German (second edition) A guide to contemporary usage MARTIN DURRELL (ISBN 0 521 53000 8 paperback) Using Russian (second edition) A guide to contemporary usage DEREK OFFORD and NATALIA GOGLITSYNA (ISBN 0 521 54761 X paperback) Using Italian A guide to contemporary usage J. J. KINDER and V . M . SAVINI (ISBN 0 521 48556 8 paperback) Using Japanese A guide to contemporary usage WILLIAM MCLURE (ISBN 0 521 64155 1 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 64614 6 paperback) Using Portuguese A guide to contemporary usage ANA SOFIA GANHO and TIMOTHY MCGOVERN (ISBN 0 521 79663 6 paperback) Using Arabic A guide to contemporary usage MAHDI ALOSH (ISBN 0 521 64832 7 paperback) Using Spanish Synonyms R. E. BATCHELOR (ISBN 0 521 44160 9 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 44694 5 paperback) Using German Synonyms MARTIN DURRELL (ISBN 0 521 46552 4 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 46954 6 paperback) Using Italian Synonyms HOWARD MOSS and VANNA MOTTA (ISBN 0 521 47506 6 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 47573 2 paperback) Using French Synonyms R. E. BATCHELOR and M. H. OFFORD (ISBN 0 521 37277 1 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 37878 8 paperback) Using Russian Synonyms TERENCE WADE and NIJOLE WHITE (ISBN 0 521 79405 6 paperback) Using French Vocabulary JEAN H. DUFFY (ISBN 0 521 57040 9 hardback) (ISBN 0 521 57851 5 paperback) Using German Vocabulary SARAH FAGAN ( ISBN 0 521 79700 4 paperback) Using Italian Vocabulary MARCEL DANESI (ISBN 0 521 52425 3 paperback) Using Spanish Vocabulary R. E. BATCHELOR and MIGUEL A. SAN JOSE ´ (ISBN 0 521 00862 X paperback) Using Arabic Synonyms DILWORTH PARKINSON (ISBN 0 521 00176 5 paperback) Using Russian Vocabulary TERENCE WADE ( ISBN 0 521 61236 5 paperback) Using Korean A guide to contemporary usage MIHO CHOO with HYE-YOUNG KWAK CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK First published in print format ISBN-13 978-0-521-66788-3 ISBN-13 978-0-511-39896-4 © Miho Choo and Hye-Young Kwak 2008 2008 Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521667883 This publication is in copyright. 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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org eBook (EBL) paperback Contents Acknowledgements ix Style and usage 1 1 Sentence endings 3 1.1 Statements and questions 3 1.2 What about commands? 7 1.3 What about proposals? 8 1.4 Speech samples 9 1.5 When it comes to writing 11 1.6 Writing samples 13 1.7 A few minor styles 15 2 Honorifics 17 2.1 Subject honorification: the suffix -㔲 17 2.2 Object honorification 26 2.3 Honorific nouns 29 2.4 Honorific particles 30 2.5 Use of honorifics in several basic expressions 30 2.6 Non-use of honorific expressions in impersonal language 31 3 Address terms and pronouns 32 3.1 Address terms (䢎䃃) 32 3.2 Pronouns and related words 37 4 Language for daily situations 46 4.1 Greetings 46 4.2 Leave-taking 47 4.3 Expressing and responding to gratitude 48 4.4 Apologies and regrets 50 4.5 ‘Excuse me but…’ 51 4.6 Expressing condolences and encouragement 52 4.7 Extending an invitation or making an offer 53 4.8 Telephone expressions 53 4.9 Congratulations and good wishes 55 vi CONTENTS 5 Conversational bridges 56 5.1 Fillers 56 5.2 Transition expressions 58 5.3 Interjections 64 6 Softening strategies 67 6.1 Use of questions in place of commands and proposals 67 6.2 Softening with the help of special verbs 68 6.3 Softening with the help of special endings 71 6.4 Other softening strategies 73 7 Local dialects 75 7.1 Ch’ungch’ ǂng dialect 75 7.2 Ch ǂlla dialect 75 7.3 Ky ǂngsang dialect 76 7.4 Cheju dialect 77 7.5 Hamgy ǂng dialect 77 7.6 P’y ǂng’an dialect 77 8 Written versus spoken language 78 8.1 Grammatical differences 78 8.2 Vocabulary differences 79 8.3 Spelling/pronunciation differences 80 Vocabulary 83 9 Native and borrowed words 85 9.1 Native Korean and Sino-Korean words 85 9.2 Loan words 89 10 Word formation 93 10.1 Compounding 93 10.2 Reduplication 95 10.3 Prefixation 96 10.4 Suffixation 100 10.5 Abbreviations 115 10.6 Some recently created expressions 117 11 Some vocabulary contrasts 119 11.1 Verbs of wearing 119 11.2 Verbs of taking off 122 11.3 Verbs of playing 123 11.4 Verbs of cleaning 124 CONTENTS vii 12 Proverbs and idioms 126 12.1 Proverbs 126 12.2 Idioms 136 13 Sound symbolism 150 13.1 How sound symbolism works 150 13.2 Onomatopoeia (㦮㎇㠊) 152 13.3 Mimetic expressions (㦮䌲㠊) 157 13.4 Expressions denoting feeling and touch (㦮㩫㠊) 163 14 Numbers 166 14.1 Native Korean numbers 166 14.2 Sino-Korean numbers 167 14.3 Native versus Sino-Korean numbers 169 14.4 Expressions of quantity 178 Grammar 181 15 Verb types 183 15.1 Action verbs versus descriptive verbs 183 15.2 Intransitive verbs versus transitive verbs 185 15.3 Special sub-types of intransitive verbs 188 15.4 Special sub-types of transitive verbs 194 16 Tense and aspect 199 16.1 Tense and aspect on sentence-final verbs 199 16.2 Tense and aspect on non-final verbs 211 16.3 More aspect-related contrasts 214 17 Modality 219 17.1 Requests, suggestions, permission, and prohibition 219 17.2 Obligation, ability, and possibility 222 17.3 Regret, desire, and doubt 224 17.4 Degree 225 17.5 Evidentiality 226 17.6 Special verb-endings expressing the speaker’s attitude 230 18 Negation 233 18.1 How to negate statements and questions 233 18.2 How to negate commands and proposals 236 18.3 Negative form, but positive meaning 237 18.4 Expressions that require negative verbs 238 viii CONTENTS 19 Particles 240 19.1 Omission of particles 240 19.2 -㧊/Ṗ 241 19.3 -㦖/⓪ 243 19.4 -㦚/⯒ 246 19.5 -☚ 248 19.6 -㦮 249 19.7 -㠦 250 19.8 -㠦㍲ 253 19.9 -㠦Ợ(㍲)/䞲䎢(㍲) 254 19.10 -(㦒)⪲ 255 19.11 -㢖/ὒ, -䞮ἶ, and -(㧊)⧧ 258 19.12 -Ⱒ, -㈦, and -㠦 260 19.13 -䎆 262 19.14 -₢㰖 263 19.15 -㫆㹾 and -Ⱎ㩖 264 19.16 -(㧊)⋮ 265 19.17 Miscellaneous other particles 266 20 Comparison 269 20.1 How to express equality and similarity 269 20.2 How to express differences 273 20.3 How to express superlatives 274 20.4 How to express proportions and gradation 275 21 Conjunctives 276 21.1 Combination of equal-status clauses 276 21.2 Combination of unequal-status clauses 279 22 Complex sentences 299 22.1 Quoted/reported clauses 299 22.2 Adnominal clauses 308 22.3 -㰖 clauses 312 22.4 Nominalization 315 English index 318 Korean index 321 [...]... speech act takes place are relevant to the choice of style • A formal style is necessary for addressing strangers or casual acquaintances, regardless of their age or social status (unless they are pre-adolescent children) The use of 반말 is automatic among close friends from childhood up to college (as long as they are in a similar age group), but it takes time and mutual agreement before it is used in a. .. Korean examples into English Finally, we gratefully acknowledge the patience and support of the editorial and production team at Cambridge University Press, especially Helen Barton, Rosina Di Marzo, Sheila Sadler, Kate Brett, Sarah Parker, and Peter Ducker Style and usage 1 Sentence endings Like English, Korean has different styles of speaking and writing that reflect the genre, the setting, and the audience... Oh, how are you? I hope you are doing well I am doing fine myself I’ve been busy teaching Korean and collecting data for my thesis My husband and children are all fine, too By the way, I have a favor to ask of you I am trying to apply for a Korean teaching position at Jeil University and am wondering whether you would be able to write a letter of recommendation for me Even though I know that you are busy,... (for a question), 하게 (for a command), and 하세 (for a proposal) Authoritariansounding and old-fashioned, these forms are now used only among (mostly male) adults of equal social status or by a senior addressing a grown-up junior Typical cases include parents-in-law speaking to sons-in-law or older professors speaking to college students 할말이 좀 있네 I have something to say to you 자네 언제 졸업하나? When are you graduating?... friendship developed after college or in adulthood, and with elder family members if ‘respect’ is more valued than ‘closeness.’ In addition to its use with verbs, -요 (-이요 after a consonant) can also be added to just about any word or phrase that stands alone as a separate utterance (책이요, 학교에서요, 그럼요, 건강하시구요) Its effect in such cases is to convert an otherwise casual-sounding utterance into a formal style Even... statements and questions – general guidelines In general, -시 is used to indicate respect toward the referent of the subject when that person is older and/or has a higher occupational or social status However, several subtleties and special considerations must be taken into account • Usually, -시 is called for if you or the hearer has a personal relationship to the referent of the subject (a grandparent,... -시 and formal endings in all sentence types is perhaps most common among salespeople, who tend to employ these forms with all customers, regardless of age • In general, the deferential use of -시 in commands takes place in circumstances that are similar to those associated with the use of the formal 합니다 and 해요 styles in that the relevant factors involve formality and psychological distance Those who are... their valuable comments and advice, to Albert Rue Burch for his careful reading of various parts of our book, to Hae-Young Kim for sharing her lecture notes with us, and to Boonho Choo, Eun Young Kwak, Yong Won Kwak, Hyang Suk Song, and Jin Sun Choe for their assistance with the selection of Korean examples Sang-gu Kang and Kyu-seek Hwang deserve our thanks for helping with the translation of the Korean. .. one and send it to you 아기는 내가 업으마 Let me piggyback the baby The -거라 ending for commands (-너라 if the verb is 오다), as in 가거라, 보거라, and 오너라, sounds somewhat archaic but may be used by older adults to a much younger person (e.g., a grandparent to a grandchild) It is otherwise heard mostly in historical dramas Finally, the following styles (-나이다/나이까, -느니라, -시옵소서) are archaic and are reserved for historical... a relationship that develops after college The question 말 놓을까요/틀까요? ‘Shall we switch to a casual style?’ might be asked before the transition to 반말 • Use of a formal ending is required when the other person has a higher social status, so you should always use a formal ending to your boss or professor, for example • If you are the boss or professor, you have a choice between a formal and a casual style, . 521 54761 X paperback) Using Italian A guide to contemporary usage J. J. KINDER and V . M . SAVINI (ISBN 0 521 48556 8 paperback) Using Japanese A guide to contemporary usage WILLIAM MCLURE (ISBN. hardback) (ISBN 0 521 64614 6 paperback) Using Portuguese A guide to contemporary usage ANA SOFIA GANHO and TIMOTHY MCGOVERN (ISBN 0 521 79663 6 paperback) Using Arabic A guide to contemporary. paperback) Using German Vocabulary SARAH FAGAN ( ISBN 0 521 79700 4 paperback) Using Italian Vocabulary MARCEL DANESI (ISBN 0 521 52425 3 paperback) Using Spanish Vocabulary R. E. BATCHELOR and