Korean is the official language of North and South Korea. It is not an easy language to master for foreign nationals and there have been many who have admitted to have fallen by the wayside in their quest to learn the language. Besides having nearly 78 million speakers across the globe, there are some interesting facts about the Korean language, which we have discussed in this post.
Part of Uralo-Altaic Group of Languages
Some people think that Korean is an original language; however, it appears to have links to the Uralo-Altaic group of languages including Mongolian, Finnish, Hungarian, Turkish and Manchu. Although, there’s lack of clear evidence to support this claim, some researchers who studied the history of the language have mentioned about the association.
Interesting Grammar
The grammar of Korean language is quite different and interesting; it doesn’t contain grammatical number, definite or indefinite articles, gender distinctions, etc. Also, there are seven speech levels in the language, with each level having its own set of verb endings that indicate a different level of formality of a situation. Moreover, Korean grammar is quite similar to Japanese, but sounds very different.
Chinese Influence
There are many words of Chinese origin (nearly 70%) found in Korean language, but with different grammar use.
Spoken Areas
There are about 78 million native Korean speakers present in different parts of the world. Then you also find Korean spoken as heritage language in the United States, China, Japan, and former Soviet Union.
Historical Alphabets
15th century Korean alphabets are known as Hangeul in S. Korea. Their creation was ordered by the ruler of the time, King Sejong and is considered as probably the most scientific alphabet in the world. There are 24 letters with 14 consonants and 10 vowels.
Bottom Line
Korean is an interesting language to speak; however, like many other languages mastering Korean is not that easy. Need language translation? Call 888-670-3369 to know more.
Are you multilingual? What fascinates you about different languages? Share your thoughts with us in the comments’ section.