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The Korean Alphabet: Its History and Structure
The Korean alphabet, commonly known as han'gul, has been called one of the greatest intellectual achievements of humankind. Experts agree that few writing systems can match its simplicity and efficiency, its elegance and intelligence.
The only alphabet completely native to East Asia, han'gul distinguishes itself among writing systems of the world with its scientific qualities and unusual linguistic fit to the Korean language. Most strikingly, the theoretical underpinnings of the language, as well as the time and circumstances of its creation, are clearly known and recorded. Han'gul was invented in 1443 and promulgated in 1446 by King Sejong (1418-1450), sage ruler of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910).
This volume, the first book-length work on han'gul in English by Korean-language specialists, is comprised of ten essays by the most active scholars of the Korean writing system. An instructive commentary by eminent linguist Samuel Martin follows, offering perceptive comments on the essays as well as a discussion on Martin's own research findings on the script.
The only alphabet completely native to East Asia, han'gul distinguishes itself among writing systems of the world with its scientific qualities and unusual linguistic fit to the Korean language. Most strikingly, the theoretical underpinnings of the language, as well as the time and circumstances of its creation, are clearly known and recorded. Han'gul was invented in 1443 and promulgated in 1446 by King Sejong (1418-1450), sage ruler of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910).
This volume, the first book-length work on han'gul in English by Korean-language specialists, is comprised of ten essays by the most active scholars of the Korean writing system. An instructive commentary by eminent linguist Samuel Martin follows, offering perceptive comments on the essays as well as a discussion on Martin's own research findings on the script.
- GenresLinguisticsLanguage
336 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1997
35 people want to read
About the author
Young-Key Kim-Renaud
8 books1 followerDr. Young-Key Kim-Renaud is Chair of the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department, Professor of Korean language and Culture and International Affairs, and a faculty member of the Linguistics Program at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is the initiator and a co-convener of the annual Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities series at GW. Before joining GW, Dr. Kim-Renaud served as Assistant Program Director for Linguistics at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). In 1986-87, she taught at Harvard University as a visiting lecturer. She is past President of the International Circle of Korean Linguistics (ICKL) and has been the Editor-in-Chief of its journal, Korean Linguistics, since 2002.
Dr. Kim-Renaud has received major research awards and grants, including three Fulbright awards, twice for Korea and once for Jordan. She has won individual research grants from the Korea Foundation, the Korea Research Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council, the Academy of Korean Studies, and the ROK Arts and Culture Foundation. She has received program and institutional grants for GW from the Korea Foundation, the Korea Research Foundation, as well as the ROK Ministries of Education, of Information, and of Culture. She has also won support for GW's Korean program from the Consortium of Universities of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area.
(from https://elliott.gwu.edu/kim-renaud)
Dr. Kim-Renaud has received major research awards and grants, including three Fulbright awards, twice for Korea and once for Jordan. She has won individual research grants from the Korea Foundation, the Korea Research Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council, the Academy of Korean Studies, and the ROK Arts and Culture Foundation. She has received program and institutional grants for GW from the Korea Foundation, the Korea Research Foundation, as well as the ROK Ministries of Education, of Information, and of Culture. She has also won support for GW's Korean program from the Consortium of Universities of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area.
(from https://elliott.gwu.edu/kim-renaud)
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November 7, 2014
As it is a collection of essays on a given topic, I have mixed feelings about this book. The topic itself is very interesting and rarely encountered in English-language publications. Some of the essays I enjoyed, too. But a lot of them are stiffly written or not deep enough and have unnecessary repetitions in the end of what was said in the beginning.
Displaying 1 of 1 review