Grammar & Usage Units 1 6 20 Autumn 2004
D.J. Silva Unit 1: First Words The fundamental goal of this lesson is the get you communicating in Korean. The key to success is discipline and memorization: commit these phrases to memory as part of developing new language routines. 1. 네. (예.) Yes. / I see ne ye 2. 아니오. No. anio 3. 안녕하세요? / 안녕하십니까? Hello. / Greetings. annyeonghaseyo / annyeounghasipnigga 4. 안녕히 가세요. / 안녕히 가십시오. Goodbye (to one leaving). annyeonghi gaseyo / annyeonghi gasipsio 5. 안녕히 계세요. / 안녕히 계십시오. Goodbye (to one staying). annyeonghi gyeseyo / annyeonghi gyeseyo 6. 감사합니다. / 고맙습니다. Thank you. gamsahamnida / komapseumnida 7. 천만에요. You're welcome. chenmaneyo 8. 실례합니다. Pardon me (for what I'm about to do). sillyehamnida 9. 실례지만 Pardon me, but sillyejiman 10. 미안합니다. / 죄송합니다. I'm sorry (for what I've done). mianhamnida / joesonghamnida 11. 알겠습니다. I understand. / I get it. algessseumnida 12. 모르겠습니다. I don't understand / don't get it. moreugessseumnida 13. 무엇이에요? What is it? mueosieyo 14. 좀 주세요. Please give (it to me). jom juseyo 15. 영어 하세요? Do you speak English? yeong-eo haseyo 16. 한국말 잘 못 해요. I can't speak Korean well. hangungmal jal mot haeyo Draft Do not cite! revised 9/18/2004 21
17. 천천히 말씀 해주세요. Please speak slowly (for me). cheoncheonhi malsseum haejuseyo 18. 한국말로 무엇이라고 해요? How do you say it in Korean? hangungmallo mueosirago haeyo 19. 영어로 무슨 뜻이에요? What does it mean in English? yeong-eoro museun ddeusieyo 20. 시계(가) 있으세요? Do you have a watch? sigye(ga) isseoyo 21. 좀 보여 주세요. Please show (it to) me. jom boyeo juseyo 22. 얼마에요? How much (is it)? eolmaeyo 23. 좀 써 주세요. Please write it for me. jom sseo juseyo 24. 화장실이 어디 있어요? Where's the bathroom/toilet? hwajangsiri eodi isseoyo 25. 길을 잃어버렸어요. I've lost my way. kireul ilheobeoryeosseoyo 26. 좀 도와 주세요. Please help me. jom dowa juseyo 27. 사람 살려! Help! saram sallyeo Review the footnotes associated with Unit 1 of the CD-ROM (green underlined links). They will offer initial insight into how the Korean language reflects important cultural beliefs. Additional Grammatical Notes Speech Styles In Korea, social relationships are very important: the relationship between two speakers is determined by factors such as one's age, social status, and job rank. In addition, speech styles can vary depending upon the nature of the interaction (informal vs. formal). These cultural notions are expressed throughout the language, most commonly in verb forms. At the beginning of this course, we will focus on "polite informal" speech style. This style is characterized by the sentence-final particle 요 "-yo." There is also a "polite formal" style, which you will find in some of the phrases above; in this style, declarative sentences end with the 22 Autumn 2004
D.J. Silva particle 습니다 / -읍니다 "-(s)eumnida" and questions in 습니까/- 읍니까 "-(s)eumnigga." The following table introduces the basic forms used to mark the two polite speech styles. declarative sentence question (interrogative) command (imperative) polite informal polite formal 해요. 합니다. I/you/he/we speak. 해요? 합니까? Do I/you/ speak? 하세요! 하십시오! Speak! Verbs The verb is undoubtedly the most important element in a Korean sentence. In most cases, the verb contains a variety of grammatical markers, each of which carries different information. The parts of a verb include the root (always the first element), an optional honorific marker (used to show respect to the speaker or referent), an optional tense marker (absent in present tense verbs), a "linking vowel" (used for some verb forms ending with a vowel), and a style marker. 하십니까? 있어요. 하 시 -ㅂ니까 있 어 요 root honorific style root linking vowel style Unlike the majority of European languages, Korean verbs do not explicitly provide information about the subject of the verb: there no verb markers that indicate information about "I", "you", "she", "we", etc. Basic Sentence Structure / Subject Deletion In Korean, the basic shape of a sentence is S-O-V: subject, object(s), verb. Moreover, the subject of a sentence is often omitted, particularly in cases when the situation allows you to identify the subject. Depending on the context of the conversation, the sentence 한국말 잘 못 해요 could mean "I can't speak Korean well" or "you can't speak Korean well" or "s/he can't speak Korean well." If you really wanted to clarify the situation, you could include a subject: Draft Do not cite! revised 9/18/2004 23
나는 한국말 잘 못 해요. naneun hangungmal jal mot haeyo I can't speak Korean well. I Korean language well not-able do/speak topic direct object adverb verb Although the sentence above is grammatically correct, it would only be used in a situation in which the speaker needed to draw special attention to him-/herself: "My friend speaks Korean well but as for me, I don't." At this early stage of your relationship with Korean, what's most important to remember is this: if a sentence doesn't have a clearly recognizable subject, don't worry. That's normal in many cases. Implied Subjects As noted above, Korean sentences don't necessarily include an overt subject. That said, there are other grammatical clues that let you know how to interpret the various actors involved. In the sentence 영어 하세요? "Do you speak English?", the verb contains the honorific marker 세. Since a speaker can never use an honorific marker to refer to him-/herself, we know that this sentence can not mean "I speak Korean." It could only be used to refer to another person either the listener or a third person. If you're asking this question directly to another individual, the only reasonable interpretation would be "Do you speak English?" The answer to this question can not include the honorific marker: Person A: 영어 하세요? "Do you speak English?" Person B: 네, 영어 해요. "Yes, (I) speak English." Remember: You can't use the honorific marker 세 or 시 when referring to yourself. Exercises Exercise A. Practice reading and writing the following phrases. Make sure that you know what each means. (You can check your answers by viewing the answer key on page 37.) 1. 아니오. 2. 사람 살려! 3. 미안합니다. 4. 네. 5. 안녕하세요? 6. 감사합니다. 7. 안녕히 계세요. 8. 안녕히 가세요. 24 Autumn 2004
D.J. Silva 9. 화장실이 어디 있어요? 12. 실례합니다. 13. 모르겠습니다. 10. 영어 하세요? 14. 한국말로 무엇이라고 11. 좀 써주세요. 해요? Exercise B. Practice reading the following Classroom Instruction Phrases. (See the preface to this workbook.) 1. 앉으세요. 2. 읽으세요. 3. 쓰세요. 4. 칠판에 쓰세요. 5. 나를 보세요. 6. 대답하세요. 7. 크게 말하세요. 8. 더 크게 말하세요. 9. 일어나세요. 10. 아니오, 모르겠어요. 11. 질문 있어요? 12. 들으세요. 13. 잘 들으세요. 14. 칠판을 보세요. 15. 책을 펴세요. 16. 알겠어요? 17. 네, 알겠어요. 18. 따라 하세요. Exercise C. Read these signs. 1. 2. 3. Draft Do not cite! revised 9/18/2004 25
Exercise D. Complete the following table of verb forms. Don't forget to use the CD-ROM for additional practice. You should spend time working on the multiple-choice questions, the fill-in-theblank exercises, and the dictation. Don't forget to quiz yourself using the flashcard function, too. 26 Autumn 2004