Hangul is one of the youngest alphabets in the world and is widely regarded as a highly logical system of writing by linguists. It consists of 24 letters, 10 vowels and 14 consonants.
It is also very simple to learn and write. Unlike Chinese and Japanese characters, it can be sounded out phonetically, making it easier for the reader and writer to understand.
History
Hangul is the script that Koreans use to write their language. It is a scientifically designed and efficient writing system that has been highly praised by experts from all over the world.
Originally invented by King Sejong the Great, the Korean alphabet was introduced to help democratize written communication in Korea and give everyone an opportunity to express their own words. People from all social classes started to adopt the new alphabet and learn independently without formal schooling.
Hangul was developed to allow for easier communication and help the Korean nation grow. Although the societal elites opposed it at first, it eventually benefited many Koreans. As a result, it has become the official writing system of South Korea. It is one of the most popular alphabets in the world and is widely used by the Korean population today.
Characters
Unlike other writing systems in East Asia, Hangul uses syllable blocks rather than logographic characters. This means that it is easier to read and learn Korean, even for beginners.
There are 24 basic letters in the Korean alphabet, 14 consonants and 10 vowels. These can be combined with five double consonants and 11 compound vowels to create 40 letters.
Hangul is a very scientific system of writing that was developed about 500 years ago by King Sejong the Great. It was designed with precision in mind and has been praised by linguists across the world.
Vowels
The Korean alphabet (Hangul) is a group of 24 letters that represents the sounds of the language. It is a script that groups sounds into syllables, uses distinct symbols for segments and sometimes uses distinctive strokes to indicate distinctive features like the place of articulation (labial, coronal, velar, glottal), the manner of articulation (plosive, nasal, sibilant, aspiration) or, occasionally, all of these.
The Korean alphabet contains 10 basic vowels and 11 combined vowels, which are sometimes referred to as double vowels or complex vowels. These include ae, yae, e, ye, wa, oe, we, wi, and yi.
Consonants
The consonants in Hangul are designed based on the way the mouth, tongue, and throat make sounds. The basic shapes of the consonants iconically represent the articulations of the mouth and throat, which include the tongue, lips, teeth, and throat.
They fall into five homorganic groups, each with a basic shape and one or more letters derived from that basic shape by means of additional strokes.
Velar consonants (g g [k], k k [kh]): g is a side view of the back of the tongue raised toward the velum; k is derived from g with an extra stroke for the burst of aspiration. Sibilant consonants (s s [s], j j [tc], c ch [tch]): s represents a side view of the teeth and the horizontal line at the top of j represents firm contact with the roof of your mouth; the horizontal stroke topping c represents an additional burst of aspiration.
Syllables
Each letter in Hangul is part of a block or “syllable” that makes up a word. In fact, every word in Korean is made up of syllables!
Syllables are a very important part of the language. They make up the bulk of words and help you to understand what’s going on in Korean text.
Each syllable has a consonant and a vowel. The consonants and vowels take up very specific positions within a syllable.
