It’s no secret that the whole Korean peninsula is highly popular, and Korean culture has grabbed the interest of several people. The Korean language is entirely dominated in Korean region, and new people are ready to adopt a new language because they enjoy it very much.
The Korean language is considered the 17th most spoken language, and it has over 82 million speakers worldwide. It is not only spoken in the Korean peninsula but also holds minority language status in a few areas of China, Japan, Turkey, the USA, and Canada.Korean communities belong to North Korea and South Korea but you’ll notice the difference between how Korean is spoken in these regions. As they speak Korean, there are lots of differences and there is a need to rely on high-grade Korean video translation to make words spelled and pronounced correctly.
About Korean Language
Korean language is known to be as one of the oldest living languages in the world. Also, its origins is hard to trace, and there is no evidence that show its relation to several other languages. Renowned for its unique script and rich cultural heritage, the Korean language is divided into four periods – Old Korean, Middle Korean, Early Modern Korean, and Modern Korean.
Many linguists believe it belongs to the Altaic family of languages from North Asia. Despite its unclear origins, Korean language has been spoken since 57 BC. Later, Modern Korean was introduced in the 17th century and even after that language continued to evolve.
10 Facts About Korean Language
The Korean language stands as one of the world’s most interesting languages. With Korea’s positioning as a major player in the global economy, the Korean language is gaining importance. Here are the 10 facts that you must know about the Korean language:
1- No Grammatical Gender
Carrying out perfect Korean translation is challenging as there is no grammatical gender. Korean is not gendered. Language and some words categorize people based on their gender. So, if a term refers to a female person, the prefix 여 (yeo) is added and if it refers to a male person, the prefix 남 (nam) is added. Here is the example: 여사장 (yeosajang) – boss (female), 사장 (sajang) – boss (male).
2- Formerly Used Chinese Characters
Ancient Koreans employed Classical Chinese from the 4th century and they used Chinese characters and made them adapted for Korean, known as hanja. Hanja was used for nearly a millennium and Hangeul replaced it in official in the 20th century. Still, many schools in South Korea offer Hanja education that helps to improve Korean language ability.
3- Two Counting Systems
Korean language follows two distinct methods of accounting for things. Different terminology is used when it is about referring to tiny and large numbers in Korean. The native Korean lexicon is utilized in counting system, telling time, mentioning your age, and counting objects. This can go up to the number 99. When carrying out real Korean certificate translation, it is important for translator to understand it in a better way.
The other system has come from Chinese origin and is utilized for the expression of the minutes and in a variety of other metrics such as money, distance, and dates.
4- Celebrating Hangul Day On October 9
Hangul plays a big role among the Koreans. Thus, every ninth of October, Koreans commemorate (Hangulnal) which is also known as Hangul Day to celebrate the Korean alphabet. Since 1926, the date of Hangul Day in Korea has moved around quite and now the 9th of October has been celebrated as the holiday every year since 1945.
5- Several Korean Dialects
The Korean language also has different dialects that are spoken in the entire peninsula. The following are few regional dialects:
● Hamgyong
● Pyongan
● Central dialects
● Gyeongsang
● Jeolla
6- Characters Written From Top to Bottom
Did you know that Korean characters were written from top to bottom? Nowadays it’s written from left to right, but you might still see vertical writing at international movie festivals that are hosted in Korea. If there are old documents and when you demand to translate a document into Korean language, translators sometimes struggle if they don’t know the language history.
7- Consonants Mimic Shape Of Your Tongue
According to the experts, it is said that the consonants in the Hangul alphabet were drawn to mimic the shape of the tongue that becomes when pronouncing them. For instance, when you pronounce the consonant ㄱ (“g” sound), the back of your tongue goes up to touch the back of your mouth and so you can see in the shape of that inn character.
8- Verbs Always Come Last
As we know in English sentences the patterns follow subject-verb-object (SVO) word order but in Korean language, if follows an SOV concept. This means that the verb is considered as a final element in the sentence and thus it comes after the object. Similarly, the Japanese language also uses the SOV word order.
9- Rich In Famous Tongue Twisters
The Korean language is known for its rich and different vocabulary but it is also rich with tongue twisters. When there is a need for exact Korean audio translation, getting to work on pronunciation is necessary as the language has more tongue twisters. For example:
The factory manager of the soy sauce factory is factory manager Jang = (Gan-jang gong-jang gong-jang-jang-eun jang gong-jang-jang-i-go doen-jang gong-jang gong-jang-jang-eun gang gong-jang-jang-i-da) 간장 공장 공장장은 장 공장장이고 된장 공장 공장장은 강 공장장이다
10- Language Isolate
If you know Korean language history, you’ll be aware that the language was made by King Sejong. You’ll not find it like other languages where they have emerged and have different roots from other languages. However, some linguists have tried to link Korean to other languages.
Some linguists say Korean is part of the “Altaic” language group that belongs to Central Asia. So, according to them, languages belong to Turkish and Finnish language. However, most of the time, is is known as “language isolate,”.
How to Get Top-Notch Korean Translation Solutions?
The Korean market is expanding rapidly and various businesses are aiming to enter the booming market. But there is a huge competition and you won’t see great results if you don’t adapt to the local language. It is best to hire a professional Korean Translation agency that can help your business reach the local market.
There are numerous challenges in Korean translation however without professional linguists, it is hard to get accurate translation. We have a huge team of translators who are native speakers and thus ensure to delivery of relevant and accurate translations.
Conclusion
Getting to know Korean will allow you to gain a better understanding of its facts and discover the beauty of the Korean language. If you want to communicate with accuracy in the Korean market, it is best to get trained linguists who carry extraordinary skills and deliver top-notch translation solutions. We have a huge team of Korean translators who come from diverse backgrounds and are experts in their subject areas.
If you are interested to know more about us, contact us at +91-8527599523 or quickly send us a instant quote.