Romanization of Korean explained

The romanization of Korean is the use of the Latin script to transcribe the Korean language.

There are multiple romanization systems in common use. The two most prominent systems are McCune–Reischauer (MR) and Revised Romanization (RR). MR is almost universally used in academic Korean studies, and a variant of it has been the official system of North Korea since 1992. RR is the official system of South Korea, and has been in use since 2000.

The earliest romanization systems for Korean emerged around the mid-19th century. Due to a number of factors, including the properties of the Korean language and alphabet, as well as social and geopolitical issues, a single settled standard did not emerge. By 1934, there were 27 extant romanization systems, and by 1997 there were over 40.

Major systems

The following systems are currently the most widely used:

History

Possibly the earliest romanization system was an 1832 system by German doctor Philipp Franz von Siebold, whom was living in Japan. Another early romanization system was an 1835 unnamed and unpublished system by missionary Walter Henry Medhurst that was used in his translation of a book on the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese languages. Medhurst's romanization scheme was otherwise not significantly used. In 1874, the Dallet system (for the French language) was introduced. It was the first to use the digraphs eo and eu. The Dallet system was also the first to use diacritics for Korean romanization; it used the grave and acute over the letter "e". The first system to see significant usage was the Ross system, named for John Ross, which was designed in 1882. It saw adoption by missionaries.

In 1897, James Scarth Gale introduced his system in his work A Korean-English Dictionary. This system went on to achieve some adoption; it was reportedly adopted by the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. In spite of this, some scholars found issue with these early systems. More systems by Westerners emerged, based on English, French, and German phonology. Japanese scholars also developed their own romanizations for Korean, many of which were built on the work of Siebold and Dallet. In 1933, the first romanization system developed by Koreans, which was appended to the Unified Han'gŭl Orthography System, was promulgated by the Korean Language Society. In 1935, published "The International Phonetic Transcription of Korean Speech Sounds".

Systems continued to be developed to address various perceived shortcomings in other systems. By 1934, according to Japanese linguist Shinpei Ogura's count, there were at least 27 extant systems. Whereas Hepburn romanization had already become the widely accepted standard for the romanization of Japanese by the 1930s, Korean continued to lack such a standard. This led to significant diversity and inconsistencies in romanizations, not only between scholars but reportedly even within the writings of individual authors.

Challenges for developing a standard romanization

The task of developing a standard romanization scheme for Korean was complicated by a number of factors.

Even into the 20th century, there were significant variations in pronunciation and spelling in the Korean language itself, often due to the dialects of Korean. Attempts were made to standardize the Korean language, but these efforts were made by multiple authorities. Two rivaling societies for standardizing Korean emerged: the Korean Language Society and the Chŏson Ŏhak Yŏn'guhoe ; they published separate guidances. Eventually, the Korean Language Society's standard became the basis for the standards of both North and South Korea. Other references for spelling included those used in Gale's dictionary, guidances from the Government-General of Chōsen, and a French dictionary.

Other challenges were fundamental to properties of the Korean language and script, which make the language not easily mappable onto the Latin script. McCune and Reischauer claimed in 1939 that there are eight to ten vowels in Korean (this topic was still debated by that point). As there are only five vowels in the Latin script, the other vowel sounds had to be rendered either using multiple letters in the form of digraphs (e.g. eo for) or by using diacritics. Also, in many cases, pronunciation does not exactly match what is written in Hangul; this happens with all other major scripts as well. For example, due to linguistic assimilation, the state Silla is written in Korean as, but pronounced .

Some challenges were social and geopolitical. Reportedly, early scholars often wrote about Korea from Sinocentric or Japanese perspectives; Korean place names were often rendered using pronunciations from the Chinese or Japanese languages. Furthermore, after Korea went under Japanese rule, the "official" names of many places were considered to be those in the Japanese language. In addition, the Japanese colonial government implemented various restrictions on the use of the Korean language around the mid-1930s; the Korean Language Society was also persecuted in one incident.

In addition, regardless of romanization systems, many chose to spell their names in Latin script in an ad hoc manner. For example, 이/리 (李) is variously romanized as Lee, Yi, I, or Rhee. In some extreme cases, single families romanized their surnames differently on South Korean passports. For example, within a single Korean: family, the father's surname can be "Shim" while his son's can be "Sim".[3]

McCune–Reischauer

See main article: article and McCune–Reischauer. McCune–Reischauer (MR) is a system that was first introduced in 1939, in the journal Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch. It is named for George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer; the two developed the system together in consultation with Korean linguists Choe Hyeon-bae,, and .

After the liberation and division of Korea

With 1945 came the liberation of Korea, as well as its division. Both Koreas began to develop separate language standards. Just after the 1950–1953 Korean War, romanization was reportedly seen as a minor concern, compared to improving fundamental literacy in Korean. Meanwhile, romanization systems continued to emerge; by 1997, there were more than 40 romanization systems.

In 1956, North Korea became the first of the two Koreas to promulgate an official romanization system. This system combines features of the Dallet and 1933 Unifed systems. It was revised in 1986.

In 1959, the published a romanization system, which has since been dubbed the Ministry of Education system (MOE). It reportedly quickly proved to be controversial, especially amongst non-Koreans. Fouser evaluated the system as prioritizing use for Koreans; it had a one-to-one correspondence from Hangul to Latin script, and did not account for the pronunciation changes that Hangul itself did not reflect. The system also tended to produce romanizations that bore superficial resemblence to words in English, some of which were seen as odd or humorous.

Eventually, the South Korean government took to reevaluating the use of the system in anticipation of the 1988 Summer Olympics, which were to be held in Seoul. In 1984, a slightly revised version of McCune–Reischauer was adopted. Some South Koreans reportedly had negative reactions to the system, which they viewed as confusing and overly beholden to pronunciation.

In 1968, Samuel E. Martin introduced a system that has since been dubbed the Yale system. The system became widely adopted by the international academic linguistics community, although few others adopted it. Fouser argues that while the system allowed for reversibility, it is "unsightly", is suited to those who already know Hangul, and does not give readers an idea of pronunciation, even in comparison to the MOE system.

Computer age

With the spread of computers and the Internet by the 1980s and 1990s, complaints about MR reportedly grew. The breves used in MR were not easily accessible on a standard keyboard. Some took to replacing the breve with alternate characters or simply omitting it altogether; the diversity of practice and ambiguity if breves were not used led to confusion. In 1986, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requested both North and South Korea to work together on developing a standard romanization. The two countries held a series of meeting, during which they failed to reach a consensus.

In 1991, the South Korean National Academy of the Korean Language (NAKL;) proposed its own new system. Concurrently, Bok Moon Kim produced . A large debate reportedly emerged, with more systems being proposed and some proposing reverting to previous systems.

Revised Romanization of Korean

See main article: article and Revised Romanization of Korean. On July 7, 2000, the NAKL and Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that South Korea would adopt a new system: Revised Romanization (RR). Road signs and textbooks were required to follow these rules as soon as possible, at a cost estimated by the government to be at least US$500–600 million.[4]

List

Kholodovich romanization

In the 1920s–1930s various languages of the Soviet Union were switched to the Latin alphabet and it was planned that the language of Koreans of the Far East would be one of them.[11] [12] Hanja was deemed too hard to learn, while Hangul was claimed to be inconvenient for typesetting and handwriting. Since removing of Hanja would result in much ambiguity, it was proposed that Chinese words would be replaced by words of Korean origin (compare linguistic purism in Korean). The new alphabet, made by famous Koreanist, who would later make a, looked like this:

USSR Korean Alphabet!Latin script !a!ʙ!d!e!æ!g!h!i!y!k!kh!l!r!m!n!ng!o!ө!ə!p!ph!s!t!th!u!z
Hangul

Lowercase ʙ was commonly used in Soviet Roman-derived alphabets due to some alphabets having a letter similar to b with a different purpose. The usage of only lowercase letters was also not unusual, as it was the Latin alphabet of Adyghe language, for example.

Some words written in the Soviet Latin alphabet: gu lli, nongdhion haggio, nong ʙ, zængsan, gugga diaʙondiyi.

The alphabet saw criticism from Koreans and was never put into use.

Comparison of various systems

Comparison of romanization of consonants[13] [14] [15]
Hangul IPA Yale MR DPRK KORDA RR Shibu Lukoff Mahngun SIL Han
pronounced as //m// mmmmmmmmmm
pronounced as //p// pp/bpbb/pbpbbb
pronounced as //p͈// ppppppbbppbbpppBbb
pronounced as //pʰ// php'phpppphphpp
pronounced as //n// nnnnnnnnnn
pronounced as //t// tt/dtdd/tdtddd
pronounced as //t͈// ttttttddttddtttDdd
pronounced as //tʰ// tht'thtttththtt
pronounced as //l/ [l]~[ɾ]/ lr/lrr/lr/lrll/rrl
pronounced as //s// ssssssssss
pronounced as //s͈// ssssssssssssssssSss
pronounced as //t͡ɕ/~/t͡s// cch/jtsjjjjjjz
pronounced as //t͈͡ɕ/~/t͈͡s// cctchtssjjjjjjjjczJzz
pronounced as //t͡ɕʰ/~/t͡sʰ// chch'tshchchcjhchcc
pronounced as //k// kk/gkgg/kgkggg
pronounced as //k͈// kkkkkkggkkggkkkGgg
pronounced as //kʰ// khk'khkkkkhkhkk
pronounced as //h// hhhhhhhhhh
silent / pronounced as //ŋ// -/ng -/ng -/ng -/ng-/ng '/qngngqg
Comparison of romanization of vowels
Hangul IPA Yale MR DPRK KORDA RR Shibu Lukoff Mahngun SIL Han
pronounced as //a// aaaaaaaaaa
pronounced as //ʌ// eŏŏueoeøauve
pronounced as //o// (w)oooooooooo
pronounced as //u// wuuuoouuuouuu
pronounced as //ɯ/ [ɯ]~[ɨ]/ uŭŭeueuyʉuww
pronounced as //i// iiiiiiii/yii
pronounced as //ɛ// ayaeaeaeaeaiäaiyae
pronounced as //e// eyeeeeeieeeé
pronounced as //ø/ [ø]~[we]/ (w)oyoeoeoeoeoiöweoió
pronounced as //y/ [y]~[ɥi]/ wiwiwewiwiuiwiwiuiuj
pronounced as //ɰi/ [ɰi]~[ɨ̯i]~[i]/ uyŭiŭiuiuiyiʉuiwiwj
pronounced as //ja// yayayayayaiayayafja
pronounced as //jʌ// yeyuyeoieyauzje
pronounced as //jo// yoyoyoyoyoioyoyoljo
pronounced as //ju// yuyuyuyooyuiuyuyouxju
pronounced as //jɛ// yayyaeyaeyaeyaeiaiyaiYjae
pronounced as //je// yeyyeyeyeyeieiyeyeE
pronounced as //wa// wawawawawaoawawaoaōa
pronounced as //wʌ// wewowouewauuvōe
pronounced as //wɛ// waywaewaewaewaeoaiwaioyóae
pronounced as //we// weyweweweweueiweweueōé

Examples

English RR
(RR transliteration in brackets)
pronounced as /[pjʌk̚]/ byeok
(byeog)
pyŏk pyek
on the wall Korean: 벽에 pronounced as /[pjʌ.ɡe̞]/ byeoge
(byeog-e)
pyŏge pyek ey
outside
(uninflected)
pronounced as /[pak̚]/ bak
(bakk)
pak pakk
outside Korean: 밖에 pronounced as /[pa.k͈e̞]/ bakke
(bakk-e)
pakke pakk ey
kitchen pronounced as /[pu.ʌk̚]/ bueok
(bueok)
puŏk puekh
to/in the kitchen Korean: 부엌에 pronounced as /[pu.ʌ.kʰe̞]/ bueoke
(bueok-e)
puŏk'e puekh ey
Korean: 위키백과 pronounced as /[yk.çi.be̞k̚.k͈wa̠] / wikibaekgwa
(wikibaeggwa)
wikibaekkwa wikhi payk.kwa
pronounced as /[han.ɡɯl]/ hangeul or han-geul
(hangeul)
han'gŭl hānkul
Korean: 글자 pronounced as /[kɯl.t͈ɕa]/ geulja
(geulja)
kŭlcha kulqca
(an) easy (+ noun) Korean: 쉬운 pronounced as /[ɕɥi.un]/ swiun
(swiun)
shwiun swīwun
Korea has four distinct seasons. Korean: 한국은 네 계절이 뚜렷하다. pronounced as /[han.ɡu.ɡɯn ne̞ kje̞.dʑʌ.ɾi t͈u.ɾjʌ.tʰa.da]/ Hangugeun ne gyejeori tturyeotada.
(Hangug-eun ne gyejeol-i ttulyeoshada.)
Han'gugŭn ne kyejŏri tturyŏthada. Hānkwuk un nēy kyēycel i ttwulyes hata.
Just check the line color and width you want. Korean: 원하시는 선 색깔과 굵기에 체크하시면 됩니다. pronounced as /[wʌn.ɦa.ɕi.nɯn sʌn sɛ̝k̚.k͈al.ɡwa kul.k͈i.e̞ tɕʰe̞.k͡xɯ.ɦa.ɕi.mjʌn twe̞m.ɲi.da]/ Wonhasineun seon saekkkalgwa gulkkie chekeuhasimyeon doemnida.
(Wonhasineun seon saegkkalgwa gulggie chekeuhasimyeon doebnida.)
Wŏnhasinŭn sŏn saekkalgwa kulkie ch'ek'ŭhasimyŏn toemnida. Wēn hasinun sen sayk.kkal kwa kwulk.ki ey cheykhu hasimyen toypnita.

See also

References

  1. Huh . Sun . 2017-08-16 . How to romanize Korean characters in international journals . Science Editing . English . 4 . 2 . 81 . 10.6087/kcse.100 . 2288-8063.
  2. Web site: ALA-LC Romanization Tables . Library of Congress.
  3. News: 김용 . 2023-07-12 . 아버지 성은 'SHIM', 아들은 'SIM'...'헤라클래스' 부자에 무슨 사연이? . Father's surname is Shim, son's is Sim... What is the story behind the "Hercules" father and son? . . ko . 심정수는 이주 과정에서 여권 신청서를 작성할 때 실수로 아들들의 성을 'SIM'으로 적었다고 한다. 뒤늦게 실수를 알았지만, 다시 이름을 바꾸기는 어려웠다. . When Shim Jeong-soo was applying for his sons' passports to go abroad, he mistakenly wrote their surname as "SIM". He later realized his mistake, but it was too late to change..
  4. Web site: 2000-09-01 . 2005년까지 연차적으로 도로표지판을 바꾸는 데 5000억~6000억원이 들고 . 2019-05-22 . Monthly Chosun.
  5. Web site: Charles Dallet, Histoire . 2024-01-19 . anthony.sogang.ac.kr.
  6. Book: Société des missions étrangères . Dictionnaire coréen-français.
  7. Société asiatique (Paris . France) . 1864 . Aperçu de la langue coréenne . Journal asiatique . 287–325.
  8. Web site: Korean Romanization Reference . https://web.archive.org/web/20090926081646/http://www.glossika.com/en/dict/korpin.php . September 26, 2009.
  9. Web site: Shibu Shohei System of Korean Romanisation . 2024-01-19 . www.tufs.ac.jp.
  10. Web site: KORDA .
  11. Советское языкознание, т.1. Л., 1935
  12. Web site: Ким Герман.Рассказы о родном языке.Рассказ 4.Неудавшаяся революция в корейской письменности .
  13. Book: Korean . Hideki . Noma . 579–584. Encyclopedia of Linguistics . 1. Philipp . Strazny. Taylor & Francis . 2005. 978-1-57958-450-4.
  14. Web site: Updates to the Report on the Current Status of UN Romanization Systems for Geographic Names. United Nations . 2004. 20–22. 30 September 2019.
  15. Web site: Argument for horizontal writing of Hangul . https://web.archive.org/web/20140307225247/http://www.hangeul.or.kr/html/nmf/han_50/12220.pdf# . March 7, 2014.

Sources

External links