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SUNY Series in Korean Studies
The Korean Language
An accessible, comprehensive source of information on the Korean language-its structure and history to its cultural and sociological setting.
- GenresLinguisticsNonfiction
388 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 22, 2013
Thoroughly interesting text on the history and structure of the Korean language. It is NOT a textbook nor a grammar reference nor a language usage handbook. This book has a linguistic bent but I think it is accessible to anyone who has studied a foreign language at the high school or college level.
Examples are all in Korean with Yale Romanization and English translation.
Examples are all in Korean with Yale Romanization and English translation.
July 25, 2020
All in all, this is an excellent general overview of the Korean language. Iksop Lee (이익섭 / 李翊燮) is a well-known Korean linguist of the Korean language, and his influence on this work is clear right from the start. This book contains a better evaluation of the history of the Korean language, the difference between the various dialects, and a better evaluation of the seemingly worlds of Late Middle Korean and "Modern" (pre-20th century) Korean than any other English language book on the subject I know of.
In fact, there is no better place to go for a description of dialectical variants of Korean than this book. The brief section on Korean from the DPRK alone is worth the price. For selfish reasons, I wish that the authors had at least spent a bit of time discussing other interesting dialectical variants such as the variation spoken by 2,000,000 native speakers in the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture in China. However, that does not take away from the fantastic example sentences presented here in multiple dialects, complete with numerous sample words and general descriptions of how certain odd dialects can be recognized instantaneously by native speakers. For anybody interested in knowing what Korean in real life really is like, this is the best place to go.
The approach to grammar in this book is also quite good. Lee and Ramsey opt for a more general approach to Korean grammar than what one normally gets from the textbooks, going for the bird's-eye view instead of getting lost in the weeds. They made two critical decisions that give this book immense strength for intermediate learners: they separated the honorific system from everything else, and then decided to treat phrase structure separately from syntax.
Now, this does not mean that their approach to grammar is perfect. The authors leave the differences between certain "special particles" completely unstated. Frustratingly, 까지, 조차, and 마저 are lumped into the same mini section together with an incredibly vague explanation of the differences in nuance. Similarly, concepts important to those interested in higher literature are touched on lightly, such as the use of 여 / 이여 as a vocative particle. However, the authors give this no more than a brief mention and two example sentences, leaving the reader hoping for more.
For me, however, the biggest flaw in this book is the insistence of Ramsey on using the McCune-Reischauer Romanization system at every possible moment. This makes things hopelessly confusing. Lists of vocabulary words seem messy with all the ugly romanization polluting the page, and, critically, the authors neglected to add in the Hangul forms of the Japanese loan words used during the colonial period. Hangul is extremely easy to learn and is a far better representation of the Korean language than any Western-based alphabet (though the authors are thankfully willing to remind us of its shortcomings). Why not dump the ABCs and stick with what works best?
Flaws aside, this is an excellent book. I do not think it was only composed for linguists, as I myself am not a linguist. This book is best for intermediate students of the language who want to better understand its history and dialects. If you pass over it, you are really missing out.
In fact, there is no better place to go for a description of dialectical variants of Korean than this book. The brief section on Korean from the DPRK alone is worth the price. For selfish reasons, I wish that the authors had at least spent a bit of time discussing other interesting dialectical variants such as the variation spoken by 2,000,000 native speakers in the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture in China. However, that does not take away from the fantastic example sentences presented here in multiple dialects, complete with numerous sample words and general descriptions of how certain odd dialects can be recognized instantaneously by native speakers. For anybody interested in knowing what Korean in real life really is like, this is the best place to go.
The approach to grammar in this book is also quite good. Lee and Ramsey opt for a more general approach to Korean grammar than what one normally gets from the textbooks, going for the bird's-eye view instead of getting lost in the weeds. They made two critical decisions that give this book immense strength for intermediate learners: they separated the honorific system from everything else, and then decided to treat phrase structure separately from syntax.
Now, this does not mean that their approach to grammar is perfect. The authors leave the differences between certain "special particles" completely unstated. Frustratingly, 까지, 조차, and 마저 are lumped into the same mini section together with an incredibly vague explanation of the differences in nuance. Similarly, concepts important to those interested in higher literature are touched on lightly, such as the use of 여 / 이여 as a vocative particle. However, the authors give this no more than a brief mention and two example sentences, leaving the reader hoping for more.
For me, however, the biggest flaw in this book is the insistence of Ramsey on using the McCune-Reischauer Romanization system at every possible moment. This makes things hopelessly confusing. Lists of vocabulary words seem messy with all the ugly romanization polluting the page, and, critically, the authors neglected to add in the Hangul forms of the Japanese loan words used during the colonial period. Hangul is extremely easy to learn and is a far better representation of the Korean language than any Western-based alphabet (though the authors are thankfully willing to remind us of its shortcomings). Why not dump the ABCs and stick with what works best?
Flaws aside, this is an excellent book. I do not think it was only composed for linguists, as I myself am not a linguist. This book is best for intermediate students of the language who want to better understand its history and dialects. If you pass over it, you are really missing out.
November 17, 2022
Solid, informative book. Quite interesting.
Though if you have studied Korean to some extent, you'll find yourself reading through a lot of information you already know or are at least vaguely aware of. But I think it could be a good basis (for understanding and for further research) if you struggle with some aspect of the language.
On the other hand, if you can't even read hangeul, it'll will be significantly harder to enjoy and understand, even if it's still interesting. (Though I gotta say, you could also just quickly teach yourself reading/recognizing hangeul, since it's very easy.)
So what I'm saying: this book would be perfect for someone who can read hangeul, maybe knows some Korean basics, and is first and foremost interested in linguistics.
Though if you have studied Korean to some extent, you'll find yourself reading through a lot of information you already know or are at least vaguely aware of. But I think it could be a good basis (for understanding and for further research) if you struggle with some aspect of the language.
On the other hand, if you can't even read hangeul, it'll will be significantly harder to enjoy and understand, even if it's still interesting. (Though I gotta say, you could also just quickly teach yourself reading/recognizing hangeul, since it's very easy.)
So what I'm saying: this book would be perfect for someone who can read hangeul, maybe knows some Korean basics, and is first and foremost interested in linguistics.
May 7, 2013
By far the most comprehensive book out there on the Korean language. You will learn everything there is to know about Korean grammar and syntax. My only complaint is that it would not make a great textbook for somebody trying to learn Korean. This is pretty intimidating. I could not imagine trying to read this beast without a couple of linguistics courses under my belt.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews