Comprehensive Study Notes on the History of the Korean Language

The Introduction and Early Chronology of the Korean Language

• The 1446 Milestone: The formal history of the Korean language is considered to begin in 1446, the year King Sejong promulgated the manual for the newly invented Korean alphabet (Hunmin chongum). Before this date, there was virtually no high-quality documentation of the language.
• Chinese Writing Influence: Chinese writing is believed to have originated around the 17th century B.C. By 108 B.C., immediately following the presence of Han commanderies in the peninsula, local scribes were certainly writing in Chinese.
• Early Recording Attempts: Ancient Koreans attempted to record native elements—primarily proper names—using Chinese characters through two methods:     * Phonograms: Using logograms to approximate sounds.     * Logograms as Meanings: Using characters to suggest native meanings.
• Silla and the Hyangga: The most advanced adaptation occurred in the Silla Kingdom (57? B.C. - 935 D.C.). Scribes composed poems known as hyangga ("local songs"), written in a complex weave of Chinese graphemes. Only 25 hyangga have survived from these centuries.
• Reconstruction of Old Korean: Because the corpus is small and transcription methods are opaque, "Old Korean" is largely a reconstruction based on structural information from the 15th century.

Genetic Hypotheses and Lingual Origins

• Genealogical Debate: There are two primary hypotheses for the origin of Korean:     * The Altaic Hypothesis: Proposes kinship with Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic families.     * The Japanese Connection: Proposes a shared genetic source with the Japanese language.
• Macro-Altaic Union: This theory combines both hypotheses, placing Korean and Japanese within a larger Altaic family.
• Approaches to Altaic Kinship:     * Classical Comparative Method: Establishing regular sound correspondences.     * Morphological Scorciatoia (Short-cut): Examining specific inflectional endings common to both. A significant example is the triade of markers used for nominals and modifiers: the nominalizer $-(o/u)m$, the future marker $-(o/u)lq$, and the past/completed marker $-(o/u)n$.
• Tungusic Relation: The most promising research path involves comparing Korean with Tungusic languages (e.g., Manchu). Over 250 lexical entries in Manchu correspond to Korean words, and at least 70 Manchu verbs show close similarity to Korean forms.
• Altaic Structural Characteristics: Shared features include vowel harmony, verb-final word order, agglutination, and the existence of the "converb" (a suffix functioning as a relative pronoun or conjunction).
• Dravidian Theory: In 1905, Homer B. Hulbert, and later in 1984, Morgan Clippinger, suggested a link to Dravidian languages (South India). Clippinger presented 408 pairs of elements and postulated 60 phonological correspondences, though this idea was largely abandoned after the 1980s.

Historical Formations: From Old Chosŏn to the Three Kingdoms

• Old Choson (Vecchio Choson): The first state mentioned in Chinese annals. Traditionally founded in 2333 B.C. by Tan'gun ($檀君$).     * Asadal ($asatal$): The name of the capital. The suffix $-tal$ means "mountain" (as in Koguryo place names). The prefix $asa-$ resembles Middle Korean $achom$ ("morning") and Japanese $asa$ ("morning").     * **Wangkem ($):** A title for *Tan'gun* meaning "sovrano" (sovereign).$Wang$is Chinese for "king," and$kem is the native equivalent.\n* **Ethnic and Linguistic Groups (3rd-4th Century):** Ethnographers divided the inhabitants into three groups: the **Suksin** (), the *Puyo* ($夫餘$), and the Han ().\n    * **The Puyo Group:** Included the languages of Puyo, Koguryo, Okcho, and Ye. Chinese sources (like *Dong Yi zhuan*) note that Koguryo and Puyo were linguistically similar.\n    * **The Han Group:** Divided into Mahan, Chinhan, and Pyonhan. Mahan became **Paekche**; Chinhan became **Silla**; Pyonhan became **Kaya**.\n\n# Toponyms and the Linguistic Evidence of Koguryo\n\n* **The Samguk sagi (1145):** Compiled by Kim Pusik, this is the oldest existing Korean history. Its geography monographs (Volumes 34–37) provide crucial linguistic data.\n* **The Suwon Example:** The current city of Suwon was recorded in two ways in Volume 37:\n    * 買忽: Read as a phonogram (*mayhwol*).\n    * 水城: Read as a *hun* (meaning-based) transcription ("Water City").\n    * This confirms the Koguryo word for "water" was 買$($may$or$mi$) and "city" was$忽$($hwol).\n* **King Kyongdok’s Reform (757):** The Silla monarch standardized all place names to two-character Chinese styles read with sino-korean pronunciations. For example, the Koguryo *Maehol* became the Silla *Susong*.\n* **Koguryo-Japanese Link:** Koguryo words like "water" (may$) and "city" show striking similarities to Japanese words (e.g., Japanese$mi(du) for water).\n\n# Evolution of Middle Korean (MK)\n\n* **Early Middle Korean (X–XIV Centuries):** Began when the Koryo dynasty (918) moved the capital to **Kaegyong** (Kaesong). The Silla dialect became the base for Middle Korean, though it likely absorbed Koguryo substrata.\n    * **Jĭlĭn leìshǐ (Kyerim yusa):** Compiled in **1103–4** by Sun Mu (). It contains over 350 Korean words transliterated with Chinese phonograms from the Song period.     * Hyangyak kuguppang: A 13th-century pharmacological treatise. It is the oldest preserved Korean medical text, containing names of 180 medicinal ingredients transcribed using a mix of hun and phonograms.
• Late Middle Korean (XV–XVI Centuries): Represented by Hangul texts. This is the best-documented premodern linguistic stage in the world.     * Hunmin chongum (1446): The primary manual. The Haerye (Spedification) part includes theories on phonology.     * Yongbi och'onka (1447): "Song of the Dragons Flying through the Sky." The first literary work in Hangul, containing 125 stanzas.     * Worin sokpo (1459): A 25-volume Buddhist compilation.     * Hunmong chahoe (1527): A dictionary by Choe Se-jin defining 3,360 characters. It is the source of modern Hangul letter names and alphabetical order.

The Mechanics of the Korean Alphabet (Hangul)

• Triple Division of the Syllable: Unlike the Chinese binary division (fanqie), Sejong divided the syllable into three parts:     * Initial Sound ():** Consonants.\n    * **Medial Sound (): Vowels (Sejong's primary innovation).     * Terminal Sound ():** Consonants.\n* **Consonant Design:** Modeled on the shape of the articulating organs:\n    * **Molar ( [k]): Tongue root blocking the palate.     * Lingual ( [n]):** Tongue touching the upper palate.\n    * **Labial ( [m]): Shape of the mouth.     * Incisive ( [s]):** Shape of the tooth.\n    * **Laryngeal (o$[$\emptyset]):** Shape of the throat.\n* **Vowel Design:** Modeled on the "Three Powers" of Neo-Confucianism:\n    * **Cielo ( [$\Lambda$]): Roundness of the sky.     * Terra ($[$\text{—}]):** Piattezza (flatness) of the earth.\n    * **Uomo ( [$|$]): Eretto (upright) profile of man.
• Orthographic Rules:     * Eight Terminal Rule: Only eight letters were used for final sounds ($, , , , , , ,$ - k, n, t, p, m, s, l, ng).     * Saisios (Genitive S): Transcribed as $s$, though its realization varied ($/s/, /z/$ or reinforcement).

Phonology and Syntax of Middle Korean

• Consonants: Included voiced fricatives that later disappeared: bilabial $/W/$ ($), dental$/z/$($), and velar $/G/$ ().\n* **Vowels:** Originally **seven** vowels. The vowel ($[$\Lambda$]$) was lost in two stages: first by merging with $/u/$ in non-initial syllables (15th-16th c.), then by merging with $/a/$ in initial syllables (18th c.).
• Tones (Side Dots): Tones were marked to the left of the syllable:     * No dots: Low height (Even Tone).     * One dot: High height (Departure Tone).     * Two dots: Rising height/Long vowel (Rising Tone).
• Verb Inflection: Highly complex system including the deferential marker $-zoW-$, the honorific $-(o/u)si-$, and the volitive $-wo/wu-$ (used for subjective intention).
• Syntactic Ties: Subjects of dependent clauses were often marked in the genitive case or with the accusative $(o/u)l$ rather than the nominative. Middle Korean style was characterized by extremely long, complex, uninterrupted strings of clauses.

Post-Middle Korean Eras

• Early Modern Korean (XVII–XIX Centuries): A transition period often reflecting social disruption from the Imjin Wars. Orthography was non-standardized. Key changes included the spread of palatalization and the loss of the $$ vowel.
• Contemporary Korean: Begins with late 19th-century "Illumination" reforms. Orthodox standards were finally defined in 1933.