By Honorary Reporter Aeren Laqui from Philippines

Photos = Aeren Laqui

An estimated 80 million people worldwide speak Korean, and many more are interested in learning it. As Korean is a language isolate, or a tongue with no known genealogical relations to another language, it can be difficult for beginners to learn. The following are four key points of Korean that can come in handy for learning it. 

Korean grammar uses a word order of subject, object and verb.

Word order

Word order is one of the most striking distinctions between Korean and English. English features an order of subject, verb and object whereas Korean's is subject, object and verb.

Korean uses subject and object particles at the end of each word.

Subject and object particles 

In Korean, a sentence includes particles clarifying words as the subject and object. The subject is marked by adding yi or ga at the end of the word and objects are marked with eul or reul. Because English has no similar particles for this, this feature requires getting used to but can be learned with time and effort. 

Korea has many regional dialects despite the country's relative small size. 

Variety of dialects

Korea's mountainous topography might explain why the language has so many dialects, the most common and standard being that of Seoul. Regional dialects include those native to the nation's southeastern region like the Gyeongsang-do provinces that boast a diversified pitch and easy recognition. Another is the Jeju Island dialect, which is highly distinct from the standard dialect on the Korean Peninsula because it preserves the original form of Korean used in the early Joseon Dynasty.

The ending of a sentence in Korean indicates honorific level.

Formality in speech 

Confucianism's use of age and social rank to assign a person's social standing necessitated the use of honorifics in the language. Depending on age and relationship with the person being spoken to, Korean has varying honorific levels.

The most common level in K-dramas and K-pop songs is informal for dialogue with people of similar age or in casual situations. A casual statement will usually end in -ji or -eo, though this can slightly vary depending on dialect.  

When talking to older people or to show courtesy, a sentence should end in -yo. The honorific form is used most often, so learners of Korean should get comfortable with this from the beginning. For a more formal version, honorific forms end in -nida. Sentences regularly end in -seubnida and -habnida. This gets easier once a student starts getting the hang of verbs, as one needs to just tack on the formal ending.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.