The Pronunciation of Old Korean54

The pronunciation of Old Korean (OKE) is a complex and fascinating topic. While it is not possible to know exactly how OKE was pronounced, scholars have been able to make some educated guesses based on a number of sources, including:
The Hangul alphabet, which was invented in the 15th century and is still used today to write Korean.
The transcriptions of OKE words into Chinese characters.
The pronunciations of modern Korean dialects.

One of the most striking features of OKE is its use of vowel harmony. This means that the vowels in a word must all be either front vowels (i, e, a) or back vowels (o, u). For example, the word "hada" (meaning "to do") has a front vowel in the first syllable and a back vowel in the second syllable. This would have been pronounced something like "ha-da" in OKE.

Another important feature of OKE is its use of tone. This means that the pitch of the voice can change the meaning of a word. For example, the word "sara" (meaning "bird") is pronounced with a high tone on the first syllable and a low tone on the second syllable. This would have been pronounced something like "sa-ra" in OKE.

The pronunciation of OKE has changed significantly over time. This is due to a number of factors, including the influence of Chinese and Japanese, the development of the Hangul alphabet, and the modernization of Korean society. As a result, it is not possible to say definitively how OKE was pronounced. However, the evidence that we do have suggests that it was a very different language from modern Korean.

Here is a table that summarizes the main differences between the pronunciation of OKE and modern Korean:


Feature
Old Korean
Modern Korean




Vowel harmony
Yes
No


Tone
Yes
No


Consonants
More complex
Simpler


Overall pronunciation
Very different from modern Korean
Much closer to modern Korean

The pronunciation of OKE is a complex and fascinating topic. While it is not possible to know exactly how OKE was pronounced, scholars have been able to make some educated guesses based on a number of sources. The evidence that we do have suggests that OKE was a very different language from modern Korean.

2025-02-04

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