Current Events > i don't understand the way korean is romanized

(+) Yeah! (+)

like,

• sun
• seun
• soon

are all pronounced the same?

is there a reason for the distinctly different spellings, or is the way korean is romanized just super inconsistent or something?

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I would assume there is some subtle difference in the way Korean-speakers say those words, even if English-speakers say them the same way

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if it's anything like something like sha and sya in japanese (which is what i'm assuming it is), then it's just the way it's romanized

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I mean, we have homophones in English, too. Plain and plane, where and wear, etc.

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a homophone in korean would be spelled the same exact way in korean since it's a phonetic language (afaik)

so, again, assuming all of the sounds in the op are indeed the same exact sound, then i think it's just cause the way they're romanized is inconsistent

but i need somebody to confirm

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takogumo posted...

if it's anything like something like sha and sya in japanese (which is what i'm assuming it is), then it's just the way it's romanized

if you're bringing this up, shouldn't you also be familiar with the answer to the topic question? the wikipedia page on the subject immediately lists a bunch of different romanization styles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Korean

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Sun and seun would be pronounced differently, because 'u' is a more rounded vowel than 'eu'. It's the vowel sound in "rude" compared to the one in "foot." I don't know about the third one. That doesn't seem like a standard romanization to me.
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Those are three different characters and pronounced very slightly differently. There are some with the exact same sound as far as I know. Not sure what to do with those.

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The one with "eu" I think has more of that "liquid U" sound coming off your tounge

so they are different!

okay, nvm then, i was totally off

i just get a lil frustrated sometimes whenever i come across korean names and am not sure on how to pronounce them is all


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theres like 3 different systems.

my suggestion, dont bother

learn hangul. its easy anyway.

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Antifar posted...

I mean, we have homophones in English, too. Plain and plane, where and wear, etc.

I read that as homophobes in English

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It was probably something devised at the whim of some missionary in the 17th or 18th century, like most Asian languages. That's a sweeping generalization, but that's basically how it was done.

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deoxxys posted...

I read that as homophobes in English

We have those too.

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probably because US influence during Korean War.

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