learning korean

Korean language is one of the most popular languages. It helps in every aspect of life. You just need to emphasize on it. You need to learn it by heart.Once you are into it you will find that it is really easy to learn and study. You will never face any problem. It's possible that you will face some problems in starting but afterwards you will enjoy it definitely. The Korean language is spoken by the entire population of North Korea and South Korea. While there are certainly differences between the Korean dialect spoken in the north and the one spoken in the south, the dialects are mutually understandable.

The Korean language is also used in the autonomous region of Yanbian which is in the southern province of Heilongjiang in China. Approximately 78 million people speak Korean, including communities of immigrants now living in the former Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, United States, Brazil, Japan, United Kingdom, as well as the Philippines.

The so called denomination of the language varies between both Koreas. In South Korea it is usually called Hangugeo or Hangungmal. Officially the name given to Korean is gugeo which means "language of the country. Colloquially speaking it is also referred to as urimal that literally means "our language."

North Korean typically refers to the Korean language as Chos nmal although it is also called urimal. The standard of North Korea is based on the way it is spoken in the capital P'yngyang while in the south the standard is the way it is spoken in Seoul. The differences between these two forms of the Korean language does not make it impossible for speakers of either group to communicate with each other because the differences are more or less equivalent to the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken in Latin America.

The origin of the Korean language is not yet clear. Some linguists say it belongs to the group of the Altaic and languages whilst others put it in the same group with the Japanese language in one single group: Korean-Japanese.

Since neither of these two views have been demonstrated decisively, those who do study the language prefer to refer to the Korean language as a language significantly distinct from the aforementioned groups. From a morphological point of view, the Korean language uses agglutination which is the process of adding affixes to the base of a word. Korean maintains a grammatical syntax whose base is Subject-Object-Verb. Japanese, Vietnamese, and the Korean languages are influenced heavily by the Chinese language. The system utilized for writing Korean is known as Hangeul, and it is at the same time an alphabetical and phonetic system. It is quite common to use the vocabularies that come either directly or indirectly from the Chinese language. The Korean language is really interesting if you learn it by heart you will definitely enjoy it.

There have been many debates among linguists with regard to the classification of the Korean language. Most of them have managed to reach a consensus and place Korean in the Ural-Altaic family of languages. Others consider it an isolate language due to the lack of evidence of its belonging to a particular group. In spite of the similarities it shares with Japanese, linguists have failed to find a historical relationship between the two languages.

The Korean alphabet consists of a mixture of native alphabet (Hangul) and Chinese ideograms (Hanja). The Chinese alphabet was used during 108 BC and 313 AD when Korea was under Chinese occupation. The Korean alphabet was promulgated during the reign of King Sejong (1418-1450) and at the end of the nineteenth century it got the name of "Hangul". It is still used nowadays and it contains 14 consonants and 10 vowels which are combined to create syllable bodies.

Korean has several dialects, most of them grouped around the two main dialects spoken in Seoul (South Korea) and Pyongyang (North Korea). These dialects are generally mutually intelligible, the main difference between them being the use of stress. The North Korean leaders have tried to eliminate all foreign influences they detected in the language and thus contributed to a further differentiation between the language spoken in Pyongyang and the one used in Seoul.

The Korean vocabulary is made up of Korean words mostly (60%, a high percentage of them derived from Chinese). The rest are borrowed directly from Chinese, Mongolian, Japanese and, more recently, from German and English. Korean is spoken by over 75 people living in the Korean Peninsula as well as in China (over 2 million speakers), the US (also 2 million), Japan (approximately 700 thousand people) and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (around 500 thousand people). It ranks fifteenth in the top of the most widely spoken languages.

Say, you need to learn the Korean language; you're probably wondering what would be the best way to learn Korean. You might have browsed some books and websites and learned of certain theories or ideas from other people. You might also have picked up a few tips on how to memorize the Korean alphabet.

Here are some tips that may help you out in learning Korean:

1. Taking formal language lessons.

There is no harm in studying the language on your own. But sometimes attending classes and with a qualified instructor has its advantages. A teacher can tell you of any inaccuracies in your sentence structure or correct mispronounced words. Formal language lessons often include discussions on Korea's history and culture, as these are also related to language learning.

2. Taking a trip to Korea.

If you have the funds and the means, why not visit Korea? This trip can be an extended vacation or an educational visit. Several universities in Korea offer scholarships and have exchange programs that you can avail. Go to a university near you and check if they are affiliated with any Korean university. Living in Korea can help you learn the language especially since you'll be speaking with Koreans.

3. Learning new words.

Try to learn a new word or words each day. You can set a daily goal for yourself - be it a word or useful expressions. You may also check the origins of certain Korean words. Some of them came from Chinese words and were adopted into the Korean language when the alphabet that the Koreans use now was created. Try browsing Korean websites and study the words commonly used in website navigation. Check the advertisement (such as web banners), magazines, newspapers, and other written materials that you can get your hands on. You may also try making flashcards so you can remember the words easily and study them even you're not at home. You can also keep a small notebook and write down any new word that you learned.

4. Finding a study partner.

If you're in a university, you can easily find a language partner by approaching native speakers of the Korean language who are studying your native language. If you're mastering the language on your own, you can browse some social networking websites or forums. You can communicate with your study partner via email, instant messaging, or online phone calls.

5. Immersing in the Korean pop culture.

Korean movies, dramas, music have found their way into different countries all over the world. You can learn words and phrases by listening to songs. By watching dramas or movies, you can pick up certain nuances with the Korean language and see how people speak with others depending on their age, relationship, and social status.

6. Using the language.

This is probably the most obvious tip but most language learners are afraid to use their target language. Sometimes they're afraid to mispronounce a word. The only way you can learn the language is to use it as often as you can.

7. Trying and trying.

There are certain hurdles to be overcome when learning a new language - forgetting the words you've studied, mispronouncing words, etc. But you should never stop. Remember when you were still mastering your native language. You also encountered similar difficulties. Don't give up.