Korean - Topic Markers

Korean is the official language of both South Korea and North Korea, and it is spoken by over 75 million people worldwide. Its linguistic classification is often debated, but it is frequently categorized as a language isolate or part of the larger Altaic language family (though this is disputed).

The language is highly systematic, which makes mastering its grammatical structure a rewarding process.

1. The Korean Script: Hangeul (한글)

The most immediately distinguishing feature of Korean is its writing system, Hangeul (한글).

• Scientific Design: Hangeul was deliberately created in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great. It is celebrated for its scientific and logical design, where the shape of consonants is modeled on the shape the mouth and tongue make when producing the sound, and vowels represent the philosophical concepts of heaven, earth, and humanity.
• Syllabic Blocks: Letters are combined into square blocks, each representing a syllable (e.g., 한-글), which allows for clear, unambiguous reading and quick memorization.

2. Sentence Structure: SOV (Subject-Object-Verb)

Korean uses a fundamental Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is a major difference from English's SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) order.

• Example:
  • English: I eat an apple. (S-V-O)
  • Korean: 저는 사과를 먹어요. (I - apple - eat) (S-O-V)

3. Grammatical Roles: Particles (Postpositions)

Unlike English, which relies on word order to determine a word's function, Korean uses small suffixes called particles (or postpositions) that attach after a noun to mark its grammatical role. Word order is therefore highly flexible, as long as the verb remains at the end.

Particle	Role	Example
은/는 (Eun/Neun)	Topic Marker: What the sentence is about (often for contrast).	저는 (As for me...)
이/가 (I/Ga)	Subject Marker: Who/what performs the action.	친구가 (The friend is the one who...)
을/를 (Eul/Reul)	Object Marker: Who/what receives the action.	책을 (the book, as the object)
에/에서 (E/Eseo)	Location/Time: Where something is or where an action occurs.	학교에서 (at school, where an action happens)

4. Honorifics and Politeness Levels

Korean is a highly stratified language where the social relationship between the speaker and the listener determines the required grammar, vocabulary, and verb endings. This concept is often called Honorifics (존댓말, jondaetmal).

• Speech Styles: There are distinct speech styles that mark the level of politeness:
  • Formal/Deference ($\sim$ㅂ니다): Used in the military, news, and formal presentations.
  • Polite/Standard ($\sim$요): The common, everyday respectful speech used with strangers, seniors, and colleagues.
  • Casual/Plain ($\sim$아/어): Used with close friends and those younger than the speaker.
• Honorific Verbs/Nouns: Specific verbs and nouns are substituted when talking about a respected person (e.g., using 주무시다 instead of 자다 for "to sleep").

5. Adjectives Function as Verbs

In Korean, adjectives (descriptive verbs) are treated exactly like action verbs: they are conjugated for tense, politeness, and mood, and they always appear at the end of the sentence.

• English: The flower is pretty. (Subject + Copula 'is' + Adjective)
• Korean: 꽃이 예뻐요. (Flower + Subject Marker + Pretty [is])

This eliminates the need for the copula ("to be") when describing qualities, as the description is inherently verb-like.