Korean names and there pronunciation
Korean names and there pronunciation
Im really in the mood for making threads today so here's my second.
This has been on my mind for quite a while now so I ask today. Is it just me or the way the Korean pronounce there names is totally different to how they spell it (in English of course). Ive been watching Kdramas for less than 2 yrs but still find Korean names to be very hard to remember (seriously, I only remember Jeon Ji Hyun) even when compared to Japanese names.
Anyone else felt like that?
This has been on my mind for quite a while now so I ask today. Is it just me or the way the Korean pronounce there names is totally different to how they spell it (in English of course). Ive been watching Kdramas for less than 2 yrs but still find Korean names to be very hard to remember (seriously, I only remember Jeon Ji Hyun) even when compared to Japanese names.
Anyone else felt like that?
Well, I can't actually correctly pronounce a lot of the sounds in Korean, and since there are several methods for romanizing the hangul, I can't always tell how something should be pronounced unless I see the actual characters. In "Jeon Ji Hyun," I would normally think "Jeon" and "Hyun" would have the same vowel sound, but if someone romanized the whole name, then the "yu" in "hyun" seems like it would be a "yoo" sound (like the English word "you")--unless it's just a spelling mistake. I only somewhat recently mostly learned the korean alphabet (hangul or hangeul), so I'm still really bad at these things. Oh, and I've gotten better at names, but I find that I start to forget characters' names from dramas I've finished unless there's something specifically memorable about it, like Kim Sam Soon, or the way KDW says "Joo Yoo Rin" all the time in My Girl.
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Same here... Korean names sounds less complicated than Japanese names... the only ones I can remember right now is Takuya Kimura and Takenouchi...forgot.... Oh, and Takeshi Kaneshiro...the rest...total blank...hahamangosteen wrote:I find Korean names easier to remember Can't really remember a Japanese name ,lol.
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i'm not an expert of korean names... but from what i noe.. the hangeul alphabet has no fixed romanzation, so it can be interpreted differently by different ppl
eg. yun n yoon are both윤....
eg. yun n yoon are both윤....
Last edited by galaxiechic on Apr 7th, '06, 13:19, edited 1 time in total.
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I used to be confused by how Koreans pronounced Korean names until I actually learned Hangeul, read the pages on pronounciation in 'Teach Yourself Korean' and did a few of the first units. Now, Korean is A LOT clearer to me, I have a feeling for the language whenever I watch a drama and I am able to understand the simplest of all phrases. Though it isn't enough to understand a drama without subs, of course, it's like I finally find Korean sentences logical and the sounds nice and familiar now that I've learned the basics. So, this is what I recommend you do.
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There are two systems of romanization, actually, in the Korean system. The one that is used more was developed in 1982, I believe, and it's probably reflected most in the romanization in drama titles now. (ex. Goong) However, in Korea, there is an attempt to have it standardized, but there are so many signs to change, so you'll see the multiple ways to romanize something just a few feet away. Ex: the city "Daegu" can be seen as "Taegu" as well. Anyway, the problem with Korean lies in the fact that that a sound is not distinctly or another: ex. the 'k/g' sound. It's not exactly either sound, like in English; so that's why you get discrepancies.
But I digress. Sorry for the long post.
But I digress. Sorry for the long post.
It makes sense ... I think!Tristiseye wrote:There are two systems of romanization, actually, in the Korean system. The one that is used more was developed in 1982, I believe, and it's probably reflected most in the romanization in drama titles now. (ex. Goong) However, in Korea, there is an attempt to have it standardized, but there are so many signs to change, so you'll see the multiple ways to romanize something just a few feet away. Ex: the city "Daegu" can be seen as "Taegu" as well. Anyway, the problem with Korean lies in the fact that that a sound is not distinctly or another: ex. the 'k/g' sound. It's not exactly either sound, like in English; so that's why you get discrepancies.
But I digress. Sorry for the long post.
Argh! Excuse my english!OvertheRainbow wrote: I can remeber my Japanese friend's first names because they're so short like sachi, tomoko but their last names are so long ...btw, you spelled "their" wrong
I actually find the japanese names easier, its also to do with the fact that most Korean names have 3 'words' in them rather than 2 names. Having said that I still find Arabic names quite difficult (but they are still my fav names )
Edit: quote corrected!
Last edited by Kayote on Apr 7th, '06, 21:04, edited 1 time in total.
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actually there arent that many letters in the korean alphabet. the alpahbet is split into 14 main consonants and 10 main vowels. but there are some consonants called "ssang (blank)" this means like two letters put together. Together they make a different sound. for example "Ah-SSAH!" the "ssah" part is a double of the letter ㅅ. so in korean it looks like this 싸. there are also vowels that are put together to make sounds like "ae". i dunno. i'm korean so it's kinda hard to explain. haha, for me its like common knowledge...
so yeah but i agree korean names are easier to remember (not just cuz i'm korean).
so yeah but i agree korean names are easier to remember (not just cuz i'm korean).
Re: Korean names and there pronunciation
You are absolutely right! What were they thinking of? I can sort of understand this when it comes to names, because nearly every name has a Hanja spelling which reads rather differently if you speak Mandarin, Cantonese or Japanese instead of Korean, so in a sense they are used to having several spellings or several pronunciations or sometimes several entirely different names (that's some asian thing). Government officials really puzzle me though, "Revised Romanization of Korean", right...Kayote wrote:Im really in the mood for making threads today so here's my second.
This has been on my mind for quite a while now so I ask today. Is it just me or the way the Korean pronounce there names is totally different to how they spell it (in English of course). Ive been watching Kdramas for less than 2 yrs but still find Korean names to be very hard to remember (seriously, I only remember Jeon Ji Hyun) even when compared to Japanese names.
Anyone else felt like that?
Btw. I'm still to meet the first person who can pronounce Hyundai
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Re: Korean names and there pronunciation
You made me chuckle.dima wrote: You are absolutely right! What were they thinking of? I can sort of understand this when it comes to names, because nearly every name has a Hanja spelling which reads rather differently if you speak Mandarin, Cantonese or Japanese instead of Korean, so in a sense they are used to having several spellings or several pronunciations or sometimes several entirely different names (that's some asian thing). Government officials really puzzle me though, "Revised Romanization of Korean", right...
Btw. I'm still to meet the first person who can pronounce Hyundai
So Im intrigued now. Exactly how DO you pronounce it?
To me its something like this:
Hyundai = Hi-un-dae-e
I don't abide by any romanizatoin system stricly, but I do prefer to spell all "uh" sounds with the "eo". Thus --> Jeon Ji Hyeon instead of Jun Ji Hyun. Sometimes I break that rule for names like "Sun Young" -- which otherwise would be spelled "Seon Yeong."
I wonder how people here pronounce a name like "Choi Ji Woo"? It's pronounced "Chweh Jee Oo" Though the w in the "Chweh" isn't supposed to be noticable while the "Oo" has a small "w" sound -- so it's correct as "Cheh Jee Woo" too.
It's funny though when Korean Americans with the last name "Choi" pronounce their own names as "Choy" (rhymes with toy). It's funny because it's wrong and yet they're Korean...
I wonder how people here pronounce a name like "Choi Ji Woo"? It's pronounced "Chweh Jee Oo" Though the w in the "Chweh" isn't supposed to be noticable while the "Oo" has a small "w" sound -- so it's correct as "Cheh Jee Woo" too.
It's funny though when Korean Americans with the last name "Choi" pronounce their own names as "Choy" (rhymes with toy). It's funny because it's wrong and yet they're Korean...
Re: Korean names and there pronunciation
HöndeKayote wrote: You made me chuckle.
So Im intrigued now. Exactly how DO you pronounce it?
To me its something like this:
Hyundai = Hi-un-dae-e
ö like in her
e like in heh
really a short word, means modern btw
Well Japanese is more straight-forward and has a lot of the same sounds as English besides the whole "r" and "l" and "d" sounds that kind of confuse people sometimes. But Korean has some really unique sounds and spellings so it's harder for me. I don't speak either fluently, but I find it easier to remember Japanese names and pick up Japanese easier then I can with Korean. And also because Koreans have a lot of the same syllables in their names like "Jung" and "Hoon" etc...
There is a new official Romanization scheme
Romanization of Korean names here
http://www.metro.daejeon.kr/english/lif ... fkorea.jsp
If you can read Korean
http://www.korean.go.kr/000_new/80_s03_c4.htm
another one here
http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A020303
Romanization of Korean names here
http://www.metro.daejeon.kr/english/lif ... fkorea.jsp
If you can read Korean
http://www.korean.go.kr/000_new/80_s03_c4.htm
another one here
http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A020303
That's cool, thanks for the links.altair wrote:There is a new official Romanization scheme
Romanization of Korean names here
http://www.metro.daejeon.kr/english/lif ... fkorea.jsp
If you can read Korean
http://www.korean.go.kr/000_new/80_s03_c4.htm
another one here
http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A020303
So there isn't any fixed romanization even if they try to make a standard?
I found it a bit interesting since I watched some dramas where they translated the background songs (like in goong) to "romanizationed" Korean (how do I inflect/conjugate the word romanization?). So I could hear the actual pronunciation and at the same time trying to read the romanzation. I read it trying to use the "English alphabet" and the "Swedish" and thought that the Swedish pronunciation sounded actually more accurate. For example The Swedish "u" and "i" sounded more correct and we also use a rolling "r"...but maybe that's because English isn't my native tongue and there is no Korean standard...
listen to the Swedish alphabet
http://web.hhs.se/isa/swedish/chap9.htm#pronunciation
I found it a bit interesting since I watched some dramas where they translated the background songs (like in goong) to "romanizationed" Korean (how do I inflect/conjugate the word romanization?). So I could hear the actual pronunciation and at the same time trying to read the romanzation. I read it trying to use the "English alphabet" and the "Swedish" and thought that the Swedish pronunciation sounded actually more accurate. For example The Swedish "u" and "i" sounded more correct and we also use a rolling "r"...but maybe that's because English isn't my native tongue and there is no Korean standard...
listen to the Swedish alphabet
http://web.hhs.se/isa/swedish/chap9.htm#pronunciation
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I'm wondering if two person's can get married and both keep their family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."
There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."
There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?
I agree with you. It sounds really strange when the actual pronunciation of Hyeondae turns out as Hyundai.altair wrote:The problem with the New Romanization would be with the established business names
like
현대 -> romanized as Hyundai
real Korean pronunciation is Hyun (as in Jeon Ji-Hyun) Dae (as in Daehanminguk)
if the new Romanization is followed
현대 == Hyeondae
So it took me quite a while to figure out that my friend was referring to the car maker.
I doubt the established business names like Hyundai would change it to Hyeondae.
Keiko1981 wrote:I'm wondering if two person's can get married and both keep their family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."
There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?
Extracted from http://www.planetesl.com/resources/society.html .... "Korean women retain their maiden surname after they get married. They do not use their husband's surname since family surnames are reserved only for people with blood ties."
"People with the same surname who come from the same ancestral hometown are not allowed to marry each other. This is because they are considered family members, even if they are only distantly related. Consequently, when people are attracted to a person with the same surname, they typically will ask for that person's ancestral hometown right away."
BUT ....
If that's true then what about the show LOST? The Korean couple both had the same name?
Read the best answer given here.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 526AA2iDbt
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Some confusion here...y0ssy wrote:Keiko1981 wrote:I'm wondering if two person's can get married and both keep their family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."
There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?
Extracted from http://www.planetesl.com/resources/society.html .... "Korean women retain their maiden surname after they get married. They do not use their husband's surname since family surnames are reserved only for people with blood ties."
"People with the same surname who come from the same ancestral hometown are not allowed to marry each other. This is because they are considered family members, even if they are only distantly related. Consequently, when people are attracted to a person with the same surname, they typically will ask for that person's ancestral hometown right away."
Again family names in Dear My Sister.
Kang Insuk (married to the doctor Kim Jinguk): "Eunju worked hard today"
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kim (she's talking about Lee Eunyeong here, married to Kang Junmo) will get better in no time.
So the correct verison would be like this?
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kang. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun. Mrs. Lee will get better in no time."
Using Personal Titles #4: Miss, Mrs., Ms., Ma'am, by Dennis OliverKeiko1981 wrote:Some confusion here...
Again family names in Dear My Sister.
Kang Insuk (married to the doctor Kim Jinguk): "Eunju worked hard today"
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kim (she's talking about Lee Eunyeong here, married to Kang Junmo) will get better in no time.
So the correct verison would be like this?
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kang. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun. Mrs. Lee will get better in no time."
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/using_pe ... les04.html
Kang Insuk (married to Kim Jinguk) = Mrs. Kim Jinguk or Ms. Kang Insuk
Lee Eunyeong (married to Kang Junmo) = Mrs. Kang Junmo or Ms. Lee Eunyeong
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim (or Ms. Kang).
The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kang (or Ms. Lee) will get better in no time."
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Thank you for the help.y0ssy wrote:Using Personal Titles #4: Miss, Mrs., Ms., Ma'am, by Dennis OliverKeiko1981 wrote:Some confusion here...
Again family names in Dear My Sister.
Kang Insuk (married to the doctor Kim Jinguk): "Eunju worked hard today"
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kim (she's talking about Lee Eunyeong here, married to Kang Junmo) will get better in no time.
So the correct verison would be like this?
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kang. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun. Mrs. Lee will get better in no time."
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/using_pe ... les04.html
Kang Insuk (married to Kim Jinguk) = Mrs. Kim Jinguk or Ms. Kang Insuk
Lee Eunyeong (married to Kang Junmo) = Mrs. Kang Junmo or Ms. Lee Eunyeong
Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim (or Ms. Kang).
The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kang (or Ms. Lee) will get better in no time."
@Keiko1981
I think you may find this write-up by Palash Ghosh an interesting read.
Kim, Park And Lee: Why Do Koreans Have So Few Surnames?
I think you may find this write-up by Palash Ghosh an interesting read.
Kim, Park And Lee: Why Do Koreans Have So Few Surnames?
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