The Korean Language

by Iksop Lee and S. Robert Ramsey

Book Overview

Iksop Lee is Professor of Korean Language and Linguistics at Seoul National University and former Director of the Korean National Language Research Center. He has written numerous books on Korean linguistics, including Kugo hak kaeso l (An Introduction to Korean Linguistics) and Kugo p'yogipo p yo n'gu (A Study on Korean Orthography). S. Robert Ramsey is Professor of East Asian Linguistics at the University of Maryland...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791448320
• ISBN13: 9780791448328
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

A good shot but not quite perfect . . .

Without a doubt this is one of the best books I have come across about Korean grammar etc. but I disagree violently with those who like the Yale romanisation. It's terrible! And if you look at reviews of other books like this at this web site you will find similar comments from others. McCune-Reischauer would have made this text less esoteric and more accessible, and this is a shame because it is a fine book, one of a kind which one rarely finds, and should have a rightful place on the personal shelves of anyone with an interest in speaking Korean.In general terms, however, it also suffers as so many language texts suffer - bad typesetting, and in this case an emphasis mainly on the ordinary or "panmal" style of speech at the expense of the more "polite" forms, which are familiar from other books on this subject. There are also frequent typos which are confusing, and for these reasons I cannot rate it with a perfect 5. For this I offer a sincere apology to the authors, who have undoubtedly produced a very important work, covering not only the history of the language, but also explain how the Koreans expressed themselves using Chinese characters before King Sejong's "Hangul" was invented. Definitely recommended! ^_^

just noting

I don't speak Korean well enough to appreciate most of this book, but it was still very helpful to me. It has the best explanation I've seen of pronouns and forms of address in Korean; even Korean people had a great deal of trouble trying to explain those things to me. The explanation of verbs was also helpful. If you know more Korean, the book is probably even better; every time I go back to it I learn something new and interesting.

good book

Completely agree with the first reviewer. I have the English edition. I found every section interesting and useful. The design of the alphabet in "Korean Writing" (very unique design), the many sound changes described in "Phonology" that I wasn't aware of and issues it raises in spelling, the use of tones (!) in Middle Korean and in some dialects of modern Korean. But of course the majority of the book is on the grammar of the language. It has copious examples and employs a modest set of vocabulary items. Many lists abound including a list of 14 appellations that can be used to address a person (besides the many used to address relatives).Like Ramsey's book on Chinese, this is a very well written book and employs a very pleasing font. Every example is in Hangul and accompanied by modified Yale Romanization. Initially, I was not happy with "sensayng-nim" preferring instead something more familiar (to me) like "sohnsaeng-nim" but then I realized the Yale Romanization is much closer in spirit to Hangul and superior to the romanization I was accustomed to.I recommend this book for anyone learning Korean who want to see the big picture. The book is packed with useful information that learners would without doubt benefit from. I think even advanced students would find something interesting.

Finally, a book with the answers, ...

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.Actually, I do not have the English version of the book, but I do have the Korean version, which was supposedly translated into English by Professor Ramsey. This book has been the answer to my prayers. I have been trying to learn Korean for the past twenty-five years and have had all kinds of questions about the language that average Koreans have simply been unable to answer. The main reason they have been uable to answer is because they were not used to looking at their language from a non-native speaker's point of view. Well, the writers of the "The Korean Language" finally look at Korean from my point of view. This book discusses the differences between English and Korean and focuses on answering the nitpicky questions that native English speakers are likely to have when learning Korean. What made this book especially interesting for me was that it gave detailed explanations of all aspects of Korean without boring me with a bunch of linguistic jargon.I must admit that I did get a little bored with the chapter explaining the writing system, "hangul," but in general the book was a very interesting read, beginning with the introductory chapter.For beginning students this book may not be what they are looking for, but for the native English-speaking intermediate student and above whose goal is to achieve fluency in Korean, this book is a must-have.