Korean Phonology: Vowel Harmony

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Korean phonology Vowel Harmony (모�조화(�音調和)

The Korean language has three kinds of vowels - Positive (�, ㅗ), Neutral (ㅣ), and Negative (ㅓ, ㅡ, ㅜ). Vowel harmony restricts mixing different types of vowels in one word. This characteristic appears many different Altaic languages, including Turkish, Mongolian and Manchurian.

However, in modern Korean, vowel harmony rule is no longer generally obeyed, and it appears in only certain kinds of words. Words with negative vowels stress the meaning. For example, 'í??당í??당' is a little splash you get when you throw a little stone, 'í’?ë?©í’?ë?©' is like throwing a rock.

1. Words that describe sound

• í??당í??당 - í’?ë?©í’?ë?© (water splashing sound)

2. Words that describe motion

• ì°°ëž‘ì°°ëž‘ - ì² ë ?ì² ë ? (water filled in a vessel that's just about to overflow)
• ì‚´ëž‘ì‚´ëž‘ - 설ë ?설ë ? (flowing of wind)

3. Stressing adjectives

• 노랗다 - 누렇다 (yellow)
• 파랗다 - í?¼ë ‡ë‹¤ (blue)

4. Particles at the end of verbs

• ë³´+았다 (saw) vs 부+었다 (swollen)
• ì‚´+았다 (lived) vs ì?°+었다 (cut)
• ìž¡+았다 (caught) vs ì ‘+었다 (folded)

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