If one change in the Korean language could be made - please drop one of the number systems. I keep getting something as basic as numbers wrong all the time 🤣🤣
Amen! The only time I considered quitting was the day I learned about that. Although it wasn't a serious question, I had the thought again when I learned that hada verbs aren't just descriptive or action.
@@mai1tsy and the type of number that goes with it. After a year or more of studying, I finally talked to a Korean person. My first question: What's up with the numbers?!?!
The German language also distinguishes between a formal and a casual form of addressing people (“Sie” vs. “du”). The rules are not as strict as in the Korean language, but by using the formal language you have the opportunity to express politeness and respect, but also to keep your distance from people with whom you do not want to come into close contact. It is common for both conversation partners to use either the formal or the casual form. This avoids one person looking down on the other. I don't want to give up on this language opportunity.
I speak Norwegian, and an interesting change that has taken place over the last few years, is how the English language has increasingly influenced Norwegian. A typical, casual conversation between two teenagers might include not just nouns borrowed from English, but entire verbs! It has become completely acceptable to use certain English verbs (or even create "English-derived" verbs) in non-formal, everyday conversations, especially among teenagers. For example, take the English noun "jet" (airplane). It has found its way into the Norwegian language as an expression to suggest leaving a place: "Skal vi jette?" = "Should we leave?" - "Vi jetter, 'a" = "Let's leave" Even the national council for the Norwegian language (Språkrådet) has shifted its focus from attempting so merge our two written languages (Bokmål & Nynorsk) towards limiting English influence by inventing new Norwegian counterparts to English nouns and terms.
Okay so here's what I got from this 7:08 correct me if I'm wrong. Levels of politeness in the Korean language (as hard as they are for foreigners to learn) can actually help the listener understand the intention of the speaker more easily. I never thought about it like that before. If that's the case then I think it's better not to lose them, as it seems to be part of what makes the Korean speech more direct and to the point when it comes to meaning. As opposed to my mother tongue language where the sub-meanings can have an important role in speech, making it difficult in a lot of cases (if your a native/ know the language very well) to guess the intention of the speaker, and sometimes you even might want to rely on the speaker's facial expressions and tone to understand them. One sentence can have a lot of meanings, which some argue is a proof of the language's strength, but in my opinion the less ambiguous the stronger the language.
@@dayana4654 It's Arabic. One example is a word like حضرتك which is a polite way to address someone, can either be used to speak to your boss or scold your little one, it entirely depends on tone and context. All languages have some level of ambiguity but it seems to me that levels of politeness in Korean can overall help make the meaning clearer.
Great point! Thanks for sharing your thought. Levels of politeness in Korean seem like different colors in the language. It might make learning harder, but it also makes the language more diverse and rich.
@@mirnagabriel9079 Same type of thing in French, if you write an email to your boss, it would be custom to start with; "Cher Yunwhoo". But if Yunwhoo is 5 years old and just played with your husband< razor, you could say to young Yunwhoo; "Touche pas à ça Cher!" and that "Cher" would convey completely different meanings. The difference is similar to the korean 당신.
Very interesting topic. My language, Brazilian Portuguese, has already passed and will still undergo changes. The most noticeable changes I noticed was the reduction of some words, which became shorter and others, especially adjectives, which became simpler.
Wha?? Korean has long and short vowels, too?!?! @6min뒤 Why has no teacher ever said that when we pronounce things wrong??ㅠ Thank you TTMIK for a simple explanation that blew my mind, & unlocked a piece of the 발음 puzzle
Politeness is great in any culture. The problem is when there is rigidity in its implementation. In India we have simple prefaces that convey politness at the begining of a conversation and it is dropped after. It's also very contextual and a cultural issue. In some families casual conversations indicates level of closeness and affection and politeness ia used to express displeasure in a sarcastic manner
Another thread of comments talked about speakers of Arabic, French and English using polite speech when scolding children. Maybe that's sort of universal.
As many or most in this thread know, there is a certain similarity between the politeness levels of (a) Korean, Japanese, and supposedly the “Tibeto-Burman” group of languages; and (b) European languages. But in Korean and Japanese at least, the rules are quite different from those of European languages. In French, German, Spanish, Italian, one very frequently hears a formal second-person pronoun, be it vous / usted / vosotros / Lei. But in Korean & Japanese, the 2nd-p. *pronouns* are assiduously avoided. Plus, in Korean, most verbs take on infixes if they are attached to grammatical 3rd persons perceived to merit honorification, or conversely if the verbs are associated with people in a show of modesty, more deferential or neutral forms crop up. Of course, this risks essentializing Korean / Japanese / Tibeto-Burman, etc. when there are significant parallels, overlaps, and similarities in actual examples of politeness-marking, which seem to show up in Hindi-Urdu, Tamil, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, even Portuguese. But I think the usual analogy that people sometimes make between Korean speech levels and the “tu/vous” distinction can be quite misleading. It’s a useful starting point for learners starting from languages that do not mark this distinctin grammatically; but one does need to keep track of the relative social status of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd persons in the same sentence in Korean (and Japanese, etc.).
I like keeping to strict rules for learning. Knowing and using are two different things. If I am well versed in classic usage then I have the freedom to adapt my language usage to a less formal situation. I would rather be bookwise than streetwise when learning, so I keep the doors open to cultural history. Plus formality eases social interaction with a measure of respect and distance.
In Australia I've seen the general practice of ending a sentence well more and more often disregarded in everyday conversation. For example it is not unusual ro hear someone end their sentence with 'but'. Like, 'it's cold, but.' And it isn't being used to indicate any further discussion lol. It's also usually associated more with rurally located people and it still isn't considered a 'proper' way to speak. Great video btw, really interesting. 감사합니다!
I the case of German, dialects are vanishing fast. The English speaking skills among teenagers are quite high so English grammar gets mixed up with German words. When I hear teachers from Vienna in interviews I can often tell that there is a migration background. As a parent I was frightend at first, but languages get changed by the people who use it. My italian teacher said that the most frequently used italian verbs are irregular because they are used so often they get worn out and become shorter. That funny idea of "word erosion" helped me go through the struggle of studying them.
Can you comment on how Korean speech has changed in the last 50 years? I’m Korean-American, I have noticed that young Koreans in their 20s speak with what seems to me a very distinctive way of pronouncing/enunciating words that’s definitely different from that of older Koreans. Their consonants sound extra hard/brusk and sometimes difficult to understand, probably because I’m not used to it…
Tbh, i am scared of the changing in the languages but as i learn and following korean contents, i realize that i will always follow the changing slowly, like how i do with english. The changing in my first language that annoy me is they kinda 'ruin' the language especially people in marketing using 'non official' words to promote (tv shows, radio, product/services, etc)(using it in advertisement) yet it is great for texting or any casual interaction (social media, chatting) There is a lot more changes but it will be too complicated to explain it 🥰
In the West, dialects have been fading for a while, but in the last couple of years, they seem to have come back a bit. I think this is especially true for the people who didn't go to university and became tradesmen instead. I wouldn't be surprised if Korea would experience similar changes. A lot of languages have kept a clear distinction between formal and informal speech, but us younger generations have become more relaxed about informal speech, unless we are in a professional environment.
The evolving Korean is messing me up. I learn words and my Korean friends say, "Don't use that" or "No one uses that word (anymore).". Also, it is REALLY hard to understand natural Korean speakers. When in Korea, I guess when I was not sure what someone would say, it was very hard unless they were trying to help me understand. If, for example, at a Cafe, I could just basically ignore what they say because I know what they are asking, which happens in familiar situations. I empathize with those here learning English in the US. Especially here in NYC where the language is a mix of all culture and lots of slang.
I'm American and think about English all the time. I never realized how irregular things are which makes me appreciate the structure of Korean. It's complicated but it makes sense.
The problem with instructing in a simplified manner if things go that way will be that learners then won't have the understanding of historical texts. Yeah, they may be able to get around in modern Korea and social settings, but will they be able to read original formats where they haven't shortened words or use difficult grammar. I also think in Government settings you will continue to see the formal endings used quite a bit. I just don't see Korea absolving those formal endings in those types of situations. I know there is a huge youth movement to lighten up the polite speech. I agree with other folks that to me, after learning Korean and living in Korea for so many years, it will be an absolute shame to see Koreans decide to throw their culture and with it their language away. It's what makes Korea so magnificent. But that's our youth today! Sad!
Having learnt Japanese earlier, one thing I cannot get used to in Korean is the lack of Kanji. It's like reading all Hiraganas and Katakanas in Japanese!
I’ve noticed the romanization of Korean words have changed, for the worse. There must have been a concerted effort in Korea to keep spellings of sounds uniform because it’s consistent. For example, instead of spelling the short /u/ sound as “u” (ex. sung), I see it spelled as “eo”, which is incorrect phonetically in English. They shouldn’t have changed it because English speakers now don’t pronounce Korean words correctly. “eo” in English makes a different sound than the short /u/. Just my thoughts
As a teacher (in the U.S.) I used to find it annoying when my middle school students would use “I’m gonna” or “Imma” instead of “I’m going to…”. Oddly enough, over the years I’ve found myself also using them outside of teaching🤪
I was a bit surprised to hear that Koreans have trouble pronouncing short or long vowels. Here in Finland where I emigrated to, Finns have a near-perfect pronunciation of long and short vowels and long and short consonants. As a foreigner this is one of my stumbling blocks. It is very hard to have the length of the vowel or consonant correct, especially with the occurrence of stress, that is always on the first syllable. Irrespective of stress, the length must be correct. Because most Finns have no trouble distinguishing long and short vowels and consonants, I do not think they will change that aspect of Finnish. With this background, hopefully you understand why I find it curious that native Koreans have trouble with the length of vowels. That, or maybe I misunderstood. I have an excuse: I only just started Korean and am still getting used to sound changes, so reading Hangul is still a major undertaking. Thanks for the video!
I don't know that it's so much a difficulty as a distinction that is less clear, like maybe the long vowels used to be longer. Like ㅐ and ㅔ have become more similar.
@@cynamun467 Yeah, maybe Korean is a bit different from Finnish. Here, Finns hear clear as day whether someone uses the right vowel length. As a non-native Finnish speaker, I really have to practice saying the right length. They have no such trouble whatsoever. I can imagine if in Korean the situation is a bit different, then the conclusion can be different as well.
In Korean, there were no clear rules or tendencies for when to use long or short vowels (unlike in English, where you can tell the "o" in "hop" is short and in "hope" is long), and there wasn't even a proper way to notate them. For example, "눈" with a short "ㅜ" means "eye" but "눈" with a long "ㅜ" means "snow". You can tell which one is which by context, so there's no need to worry too much about distinguishing between long and short vowels. This might be why the distinction between long and short vowels almost disappeared.
@@talktomeinkorean Thank you, that explains the difference, as in Finnish there is a 1:1 correspondence from written to spoken language and back. One pronounces as the word is written. Letters do not influence each other (barring one or two exceptions). Thank you for explaining!
That sounds like it's another "victim" of the Korean tendency to make the language efficient. It seems like everything that doesn't contribute to meaning or politeness is subject to getting dropped.
I'm starting to see in Japanese dramas, they are doing away with the "politeness levels" already. I see subordinates talking to their superior, (to my surprise) not ending their sentences in です, and saying ええ instead of はい in a police academy setting!
Do you think the decrease in birth rate will affect language? Do you think Korean’s will be extinct in 100 or so years, if the birth rate does not improve?
NOOOOOooooooooo..........! Humans are humans. if you lose that, psychological respect-fence, elderlies will be disrespected in the long run. In French there used to be some kind of respect level that we used for our parents, grandparents, elderly people in public and ranking people at work. It was called Vouvoiement. Meaning, always use the plural pronoun to show respect. Back then, you wouldn't say to your mother; "Vas-tu à l'église?", we'd say; "Allez-vous à l'église". -We lost that in the '60s. That apparent respect for those people disappeared in a decade. These steps are the type of steps that triggers civilization decline. It sounds innocent and 'moderny', just at face value but, expect lack of respect for property, for one' country, for life of others, etc.
There will be no simplification of grammar, and Korean has a lot of it. I come from England and I do not remember ever studying English grammar at school 30 years ago and certainyl had no exams in it. Compare it to my students here, they are studying it day in day out, have exams all through school with it, and have it in their university entrance test before they can enter university. Grammar will always be thing in Korea. Most of it is cool but bits of it make me want to bang my head against the wall. But, I definitely agree with the simplication of words and expressions which is ongoing, that is how Korean with naturally progress.
Korean has a flexibility that English doesn't. We're so obsessed with our articles and such that we judge people for not getting them right. Correct me if I'm wrong but as long as you're polite, Koreans are mostly focused on getting the message across and not on hitting every technicality. Studying Korean has made me annoyed with all the unnecessary words in English.
I really enjoy the fact that politeness is imbedded into the Korean language. It's one of the things that's attractive about the culture. As an American, where the youth have little respect for the older generation, it's something I don't want to see happen to other countries and cultures, not just Korea.
@@3xsxs953 I’ve actually heard two native speakers of Korean, both fluent in English, say that they _prefer_ speaking in English because they don’t have to think about the politeness levels in the same way as they do when speaking Korean. One found speaking in English to his English-speaking Canadian mother-in-law almost liberating because he didn’t have to gauge the right “level” of politeness (although he _was_ undoubtedly polite by her standards).
@@3xsxs953 I'd like to explore the difference, and not with just one sample point, if any, of thoughts about this subject from native Koreans that lived their entire life there, compared to a westernized Korean going through it from moving to Korea and experiencing it. I would discount any non-native Korean, like me, from such a study. All the while, when I am in Korea and have to use 존댓말 with someone older than me and hear elders speak to me in 반말, it doesn't bother me at all. So if you had a stifling experience. since I don't consider myself special and there is probably a lot of people like me, the stifling might come from somewhere else than just the mechanics of using the different levels. From talking to native Korean friends, much younger than me, it seems to be more an angst against dogmas. I don't know, this my be pure psycho-pop stuff.
Code-switching - As an American who grew up with a regional dialect, I speak more standard in some situations and less standard in others. When I'm emotional or talking to my dog, the regional part really comes out. Also, people are usually shocked when they hear themselves because they think their speech is more standard than it is.
Wow! I didn't know long and short vowel pronunciation was a thing in Korean. I'll put effort into learning more about it and pronouncing those words correctly!
Wow I can say that languages do change over time and sometimes so fast and people don't even realize it... I lived in Korea for almost 5 years and during those 5 years in my country Dominican Republic we speak Spanish, many new words were added to daily conversations because of trends, songs ( we have a genre called Dembow where rappers usually create new words or terms to refer to things) and people incorporate into their daily language very easily... Since I wasn't living in my country, I couldn't understand some of the new words no matter how much I read about them online because the only way to really grasp the meaning was being at the place and experimenting how people actually use them in real life even though I am a native... so I don't know if it is like that with Korean language but even though I appreciate the formalities and politeness level, I feel like the politeness and formalities create distance and the way people respect each other is many times based on "distance, fear and bad power dynamics", I do wish this aspect on how respect is viewed changes over time and it translates into the language, I know it is a hard because this is intrinsic in many aspects of the Korean culture but it will be very interesting to see that change, especially with the newer generation whose is getting tired of old fashion seniors
There is a ton of wisdom in Confucianism. Gathered over 5000 years. It is typical of young to question and reposition everything. They lack the experience to understand the reach of such changes. I would advise them extreme caution on such big changes. Not all power dynamics are bad. I have used 존댓말 to create distance on purpose. I would have lack the vocabulary to express that will of distance, otherwise.
평어 is probably the future then, because of following global cultural trends too as the culture is changing too, together with the language. Also, more and more English expressions will be included in the language. Or English mixed with Korean.
In England, there is really little regard for speaking in specific ways. People speak different forms of Middle Class standard English when not using their local parlance. People are adaptive. The listener is left having to accept how they are spoken to, whether they like it or not. As long as people don’t swear and are deliberately rude, people know that diversity of people brings diverse accents and language styles. Received Pronunciation is the oddity today. Only a small clique of rich people like the monarchy speak this formal. Even formal BBC English is frowned on and so we have the strange phenomenon of the privately educated paying to learn how to speak casually. Those who can, and want to, can write in standard English but in the real world, people just don’t speak that way and never really did. I think South Korea will find it harder to drop your formalities because the society is a lot more regarding of class differences and more keen to take on the trappings of wealth and its culture.
There is little regard but instead you have many layers of politeness in England. Also in Ireland. I'd even say Irish people have more. There's all the woulds, coulds, may, mights, sort ofs and all level of things to basically say "I want". In Korean there are also these as well but there are more obvious delineations. My wife grew up with English as she's from the Philippines but she can be really rude sometimes and doesn't understand why. I think people forget that the Anglo nations have kept a certain nuance to it that other countries that have adopted English don't. The other thing though that Korean may adopt more with the blurring of lines is satire. Because when there's less distinction between politeness there's more room for jokes.
Thank you for this. You're right about the nuances and broad politeness. Only the mentally ill just makes demands though many would say Londoners are rude. I can't fault Korean humour. I find the dramas very often funny, with more depth and clever subtleties to western dramas. There appears to be more brevity in their language and purely on the basis of sounds is likeable. My personal choice to say German and other languages.
I think one of the reasons English speakers love the Korean levels is that they are clear. "If you don't' mind" and "could you" are all over the place and most of us don't even know it's a part of English.
Could write a whole essay on language change, but I believe Korean will gradually become more ‘English like’ in not just vocab but also grammar, adopting the patterns that L2 learners (who usually learn via English) in their 번역된 말. Obviously not the sentence order inversion that English underwent but more grammar patterns, verb structure, and idiom borrowing. If Korean does lose some particles it will be the person particles like 께서, 께, or 에게/한테 being replaced with 에서 and 에. But given the role of modern media and print in preventing widespread changes in language it shouldn’t be too crazy. But then again, if Koreas dwindling population merits immigration and teaching those immigrants Korean, it will inevitably be simplified.
There's no need to get rid of or reduce usage of politeness levels, but it would be good if adults used them more often when speaking to children. The way Korean adults speak to children is so mean. Children mimic adults, so Koreans could do better to set a good example for children instead of always talking down to them.
선생님, I think your predictions are very likely. I am keen to see 평어 take hold. The current hierarchical system is inherently distancing between people. It sets up a considerable barrier for foreigners as well. Let go of confucianism. Love and respect and courtesy are sufficient. Looking/talking down on others is never good. Hug your kids too.
OMG I couldn't agree with your thoughts more and it does sadden me. It is a hit to any culture to loose its rules and distinctions in language. Also those very things are what makes it interesting and stirs the curiosity of others to want to learn something so completely different from their own. It also helps put ones own language rules and distinctions (or lack thereof) into perspective.
Judging that every languages always has some kind of politeness and formality in it, I assume that Korean might only change partly in that regard. Though it should reflect the times people live in. So changes don't have to be bad. Besides that, I think that mass media also kinda helps to slow down certain changes in their media usage at leas, even if commonly spoken Korean might be different. I've once read, that there is in German a tendence of strong verbs becoming weaker verbs. Often starting with them first both forms beeing accepted until less complex weaker form takes over. Though that's a very slow change. Not sure though how common that is.
I started learning Korean without giving it a second thought after I saw my first Kdrama and listened to kpop for the first time. Oh boy what did I get myself into at this age 😅😢 The first thing that annoyed me was the politeness levels. I legit feel it's one of the reasons there's so much bullying etc in Korea, because class stratification is still embedded in the language, learning it from a young age. I didn't give up though, I persevered for a bit, but now 3 years later I decided to quit. I started Japanese and realized how insane Korean grammar is. Plus, I can never get the accent exactly like I'd want to. I'll always love the language but I have to accept reality and my lack of ability to get it 💔🤷♀️
I'm interested in Korean culture for about 12 years now... It already changed too much. You will regret in the future if it goes any further... I know some things can be considered "problematic", like physical punishments in schools or the abusive treatment from seniors towards their subordinates, but the politeness, especially for the language, is one thing that absolutely shouldn't change.
This is a very. interesting topic. I actually think that politeness levels are quite useful and interesting. I know that in Polish right now there is politeness to a certain extent where you can speak formally or informally to someone you know and formally to someone you do not know or someone in a higher(?) position than you. But I also know that it used to be much more polite and there used to be more terms/ ways to refer to someone I have noticed that in Korean, a lot of the words for family members are different depending on what side of the family that person is from (for example having a different word for the sister of your mother and for the sister of your father) and I somewhat recently found out that that used to be a thing that Polish speakers had specific words for too. Also, in both Polish and Spanish, previous generations (like my mom for example) spoke/speak to their parents formally, but that seems to be less common but that could also be due to the fact that most of the younger speakers that I have come across were born in or have lived most of their lives outside of their parents' home country (the United States)
I would actually love it if koreans could adress the person they are speaking to by their name or at least say ‘you’ without it being offensive i find it ridiculous to ‘refer to someone’ when that person is right in front of you😂 Also the polite form even includes someone that’s a year older and if you speak informally you are considered rude?! Like if you’re a year or two older why would that be the same speech form i have with an elderly person that never made any sense to Me🙃
As a Korean learner of 25 years running, I hate it when vocabulary that I've learned is simply dropped for [mostly] English words, and not loan words like 컴퓨터, but straight up usurping, e.g. 메뉴 for 차림표, 와이프 for 부인 아내 집사람 etc., 헤머 for 망치, and the big one(s): 신경성 | 긴장감 | 정신걱 압박감 for stress -- apparently Koreans had zero "스트레스" until they learned English... really? Give me a break
안녕하세요. 단어 다정하다와 정답다는 어떻게 다른지 설명해 주셨으면 감사하겠습니다. 말한 김에 그 단어들은 kbs에서 방송하는 '이웃집 찰스'라는 프로그렘에 나온 거예요. 진행자가 하는 말에 한 때에 다정한 이웃을 사용했고 지금은 정다운 이웃을 활용하는 겁니다. 말이바뀐 것에도 ttmik 의견 부탁드립니다.
Fascinating video! I mentioned in a comment sometime ago that English dropped the informal “thou” form and kept only the formal “you” form and nowadays almost no one realizes that “you” was the formal form. Any shift to 평어 is probably a good thing because it flattens the hierarchy (hence, “equal language”) but abandons the high-low aspect of 반말 (i.e., speaking informally to someone is not necessarily speaking “down” to that person). One other change that might occur is that age distinctions might not be so rigidly defined, so if the age difference is just a few years, maybe people won’t care. (I think that's the case in Japan with Japanese.) Personally, I’ve been hoping for “you-reform” (maybe 유-reform? haha), like what actually happened in Sweden in the late 1960s. You _had_ to address people by titles or some form of address in Sweden, and _not_ “you” (“du” in Swedish). The whole thing became so cumbersome and annoying that the Prime Minister abandoned it and everyone followed, using “du,” and no one looked back. So, in Korea, with people trying to figure out how to address strangers on the street or maybe there’s someone in a large office whose title you can’t quite remember, maybe some “you”-reform would be good. 당신 is too loaded so I nominate 유 (“you”), which everyone is familiar with from English and carries no emotional baggage. (But, obviously, Koreans get to pick whatever word works best.)
A few of us were in the comment stream. And the Swedish reference was there as well. People don't realise that English is all formal and hence that marker has no meaning now. What is funny is that you'll hear "yous" or "yousuns" for a plural of "you", when you is already a plural! Personally I think it Korean will settle on 요 as a general ending maybe even to the point where there is no 이에/예요 and it just becomes 요. I suspect this already happens anyway. It is easy to say and easy to remember. Plus it has a nice neutral sound compared to a strong 야.
@@michaelcorbett4236 “A few of us were in the comment stream. And the Swedish reference was there as well.” Oh, gosh, I must seem pretty boring then, rehashing the same old stuff! (I think I remember you!) Yeah, Korean _could_ settle on 요 but I’m not so sure about losing 이에/예요 because isn’t there real semantic content there (i.e., 이다 )? I suppose informal/formal distinctions carry something like semantic content, too, but somehow it doesn’t seem the same. (Not really an analogy but, in English, we collapse “I’m going to eat” to “I’m gonna eat” but never “I’m going to the movies” to “I’m gonna the movies,” even though the “relaxed” part is identical-there’s an unconscious sense of “grammaticality” there-which is to say just because some things seem very droppable doesn’t mean they will be.) Well, it’s all speculation, anyway, so who knows?
Very interesting topic. I think the particles wont disappear in writtern form for a long time. Just in spoken Korean they will be used less because they are too important to clarify the exact meaning of difficult sentences. I agree with the politeness levels. They will surely lower overall and become less nuanced and go more towards an equal level. Just as in Japanese the highest levels of politeness that are already hard to use for younger people will fade away. I dont know about the dialects, they do tend to get weaker through mass media but they also provide a sense of local togetherness and might be kept as an important cultrual feature. When I think about what should change I think about the 2 letters like the vowel e of the exact same sound. Just make it one for simplification ;-) But it probably wont happen.
I think you are right. With continued globalization, languages are all being affected by more people speaking them, with less fine tuning. Since I am interested in BTS, and in other global endeavors, I read so many comments by non-native english speakers, and they are invariably full of "mistakes". However, the commenters still get their points across and manage to communicate what they want to say. Due to texting culture and abreviated writing, even native speakers have less and less proficiency with english spelling and grammar. I love languages, but I am no longer a stickler for correctness, because I view globalization and culture mixing and sharing as a good (and inevitable) thing in the present and future world. And I welcome simplification of the languages I'm learning as a bonus. ❤
Thanks for sharing! I tend to agree with some of the predictions (esp on dialects), but I also think that while there is a tendency towards simplification, occasionally this need not happen because people also want to differentiate. The speech level distinction is useful and likely to stay. Even though as a foreign speakers, popularization of the Seoul standard to is to be welcome, it's also sad to see dialects weakening or disappearing. It would be nice if people could continue to speak it at home or hometown. I think more efforts to preserving and promoting dialects are worthwhile. Another thing I personally find it a bit too overwhelming is the proliferation of foreign loanwords (esp English and Konglish), to the point that I think it's a bit too much. Nicer if some efforts are made to translate new words in literal meaning using native words, like what some continental European languages do.
as a native Chinese (Cantonese) speaker, my personal selfish wish would also be to see (traditional) Chinese characters/Hanja to be used a bit more again, although for this one my pretty confident prediction is that it is not going to happen...
Some of the things changing right now are the various names for relatives, particularly siblings as more families have less children, the specific older/younger terms will probably disappear. And older sister (언니), for instance, is also getting used by women for close female friends.
We'll see in 50 years ( if we're still alive then ) 😂, if ever this video still exist and new generation would be able to watch this and they would be able to comment.😊
Wow! that is really a fascinating outlook! Too bad we still can't say "you" though... that's still one of the hardest milestones to overcome. Fortunately what my mom says here helps: You는 상대를 가리키는말인데 상대없는 대화가 있나요? 그래서 당신이라는 단어는 꼭 필요하지요~
Why don't I want the grammar to be shortened. I also think dinstiction between 반말 그리고 준대말 아직도 유명헤요. And I also think learning will be a little harder to understand if proper grammar rules and patterns are not applied
Without hierarchy, how can Korean language be Korean? I would very much like to know how the Korean language has changed because of the entertainment business and the Seoul/Los Angeles relationship.
![[ Bilingual ] My Name is Choi Jadoo / Learn Korean with Jadoo](/img/1.gif)
If one change in the Korean language could be made - please drop one of the number systems. I keep getting something as basic as numbers wrong all the time 🤣🤣
for real, even after 2 years i’m still confused 😭
Amen! The only time I considered quitting was the day I learned about that. Although it wasn't a serious question, I had the thought again when I learned that hada verbs aren't just descriptive or action.
@@cynamun467 and then when you learn the different particules to use when you want to count a specific object 😭
@@mai1tsy and the type of number that goes with it. After a year or more of studying, I finally talked to a Korean person. My first question: What's up with the numbers?!?!
I know! it's really confusing, right? But don't worry too much about it. Even advanced learners sometimes get them mixed up.
Don't take our beloved politeness levels away! 😂 We put so much effort into learning Them! 😂💪🏻
Yes exactly 🤣
Right😂
That is such a cute reason🥰
Exactly!
Hi, it's as if you are reading my mind 😮😮
The German language also distinguishes between a formal and a casual form of addressing people (“Sie” vs. “du”). The rules are not as strict as in the Korean language, but by using the formal language you have the opportunity to express politeness and respect, but also to keep your distance from people with whom you do not want to come into close contact. It is common for both conversation partners to use either the formal or the casual form. This avoids one person looking down on the other. I don't want to give up on this language opportunity.
I speak Norwegian, and an interesting change that has taken place over the last few years, is how the English language has increasingly influenced Norwegian. A typical, casual conversation between two teenagers might include not just nouns borrowed from English, but entire verbs! It has become completely acceptable to use certain English verbs (or even create "English-derived" verbs) in non-formal, everyday conversations, especially among teenagers.
For example, take the English noun "jet" (airplane). It has found its way into the Norwegian language as an expression to suggest leaving a place:
"Skal vi jette?" = "Should we leave?" - "Vi jetter, 'a" = "Let's leave"
Even the national council for the Norwegian language (Språkrådet) has shifted its focus from attempting so merge our two written languages (Bokmål & Nynorsk) towards limiting English influence by inventing new Norwegian counterparts to English nouns and terms.
France is famous for "purging" English words
Hand phone - that one still makes me cringe.
Korean has tons of words borrowed from English too! This is probably an international phenomenon.
Okay so here's what I got from this 7:08 correct me if I'm wrong. Levels of politeness in the Korean language (as hard as they are for foreigners to learn) can actually help the listener understand the intention of the speaker more easily. I never thought about it like that before. If that's the case then I think it's better not to lose them, as it seems to be part of what makes the Korean speech more direct and to the point when it comes to meaning. As opposed to my mother tongue language where the sub-meanings can have an important role in speech, making it difficult in a lot of cases (if your a native/ know the language very well) to guess the intention of the speaker, and sometimes you even might want to rely on the speaker's facial expressions and tone to understand them. One sentence can have a lot of meanings, which some argue is a proof of the language's strength, but in my opinion the less ambiguous the stronger the language.
Okay now I'm curious, what's your native language?
@@dayana4654 It's Arabic. One example is a word like حضرتك which is a polite way to address someone, can either be used to speak to your boss or scold your little one, it entirely depends on tone and context. All languages have some level of ambiguity but it seems to me that levels of politeness in Korean can overall help make the meaning clearer.
Great point! Thanks for sharing your thought. Levels of politeness in Korean seem like different colors in the language. It might make learning harder, but it also makes the language more diverse and rich.
@@mirnagabriel9079 Same type of thing in French, if you write an email to your boss, it would be custom to start with; "Cher Yunwhoo". But if Yunwhoo is 5 years old and just played with your husband< razor, you could say to young Yunwhoo; "Touche pas à ça Cher!" and that "Cher" would convey completely different meanings. The difference is similar to the korean 당신.
English too. It's strange to me when my husband says "no, sir" to our dog.
Very interesting topic. My language, Brazilian Portuguese, has already passed and will still undergo changes. The most noticeable changes I noticed was the reduction of some words, which became shorter and others, especially adjectives, which became simpler.
Wha?? Korean has long and short vowels, too?!?! @6min뒤 Why has no teacher ever said that when we pronounce things wrong??ㅠ Thank you TTMIK for a simple explanation that blew my mind, & unlocked a piece of the 발음 puzzle
Politeness is great in any culture. The problem is when there is rigidity in its implementation. In India we have simple prefaces that convey politness at the begining of a conversation and it is dropped after. It's also very contextual and a cultural issue. In some families casual conversations indicates level of closeness and affection and politeness ia used to express displeasure in a sarcastic manner
Another thread of comments talked about speakers of Arabic, French and English using polite speech when scolding children. Maybe that's sort of universal.
As many or most in this thread know, there is a certain similarity between the politeness levels of (a) Korean, Japanese, and supposedly the “Tibeto-Burman” group of languages; and (b) European languages. But in Korean and Japanese at least, the rules are quite different from those of European languages. In French, German, Spanish, Italian, one very frequently hears a formal second-person pronoun, be it vous / usted / vosotros / Lei. But in Korean & Japanese, the 2nd-p. *pronouns* are assiduously avoided. Plus, in Korean, most verbs take on infixes if they are attached to grammatical 3rd persons perceived to merit honorification, or conversely if the verbs are associated with people in a show of modesty, more deferential or neutral forms crop up.
Of course, this risks essentializing Korean / Japanese / Tibeto-Burman, etc. when there are significant parallels, overlaps, and similarities in actual examples of politeness-marking, which seem to show up in Hindi-Urdu, Tamil, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, even Portuguese.
But I think the usual analogy that people sometimes make between Korean speech levels and the “tu/vous” distinction can be quite misleading. It’s a useful starting point for learners starting from languages that do not mark this distinctin grammatically; but one does need to keep track of the relative social status of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd persons in the same sentence in Korean (and Japanese, etc.).
I like keeping to strict rules for learning. Knowing and using are two different things. If I am well versed in classic usage then I have the freedom to adapt my language usage to a less formal situation. I would rather be bookwise than streetwise when learning, so I keep the doors open to cultural history. Plus formality eases social interaction with a measure of respect and distance.
시청하면서 즐거운시간을 보냈어요! 고생 많으셨습니다 선생님! 항상 다음 에피소드가 기대돼요!!!
In Australia I've seen the general practice of ending a sentence well more and more often disregarded in everyday conversation. For example it is not unusual ro hear someone end their sentence with 'but'. Like, 'it's cold, but.' And it isn't being used to indicate any further discussion lol. It's also usually associated more with rurally located people and it still isn't considered a 'proper' way to speak.
Great video btw, really interesting. 감사합니다!
I the case of German, dialects are vanishing fast. The English speaking skills among teenagers are quite high so English grammar gets mixed up with German words. When I hear teachers from Vienna in interviews I can often tell that there is a migration background. As a parent I was frightend at first, but languages get changed by the people who use it. My italian teacher said that the most frequently used italian verbs are irregular because they are used so often they get worn out and become shorter. That funny idea of "word erosion" helped me go through the struggle of studying them.
Can you comment on how Korean speech has changed in the last 50 years? I’m Korean-American, I have noticed that young Koreans in their 20s speak with what seems to me a very distinctive way of pronouncing/enunciating words that’s definitely different from that of older Koreans. Their consonants sound extra hard/brusk and sometimes difficult to understand, probably because I’m not used to it…
Tbh, i am scared of the changing in the languages but as i learn and following korean contents, i realize that i will always follow the changing slowly, like how i do with english.
The changing in my first language that annoy me is they kinda 'ruin' the language especially people in marketing using 'non official' words to promote (tv shows, radio, product/services, etc)(using it in advertisement) yet it is great for texting or any casual interaction (social media, chatting) There is a lot more changes but it will be too complicated to explain it 🥰
Fascinating video!! And this sounds very likely!
In the West, dialects have been fading for a while, but in the last couple of years, they seem to have come back a bit. I think this is especially true for the people who didn't go to university and became tradesmen instead. I wouldn't be surprised if Korea would experience similar changes.
A lot of languages have kept a clear distinction between formal and informal speech, but us younger generations have become more relaxed about informal speech, unless we are in a professional environment.
In future, Korean will be in the list of "top 10 easiest languages"
The evolving Korean is messing me up. I learn words and my Korean friends say, "Don't use that" or "No one uses that word (anymore).". Also, it is REALLY hard to understand natural Korean speakers. When in Korea, I guess when I was not sure what someone would say, it was very hard unless they were trying to help me understand. If, for example, at a Cafe, I could just basically ignore what they say because I know what they are asking, which happens in familiar situations. I empathize with those here learning English in the US. Especially here in NYC where the language is a mix of all culture and lots of slang.
I'm American and think about English all the time. I never realized how irregular things are which makes me appreciate the structure of Korean. It's complicated but it makes sense.
There are short and long vowels!? I never really heard them be differentiated before.
The problem with instructing in a simplified manner if things go that way will be that learners then won't have the understanding of historical texts. Yeah, they may be able to get around in modern Korea and social settings, but will they be able to read original formats where they haven't shortened words or use difficult grammar. I also think in Government settings you will continue to see the formal endings used quite a bit. I just don't see Korea absolving those formal endings in those types of situations. I know there is a huge youth movement to lighten up the polite speech. I agree with other folks that to me, after learning Korean and living in Korea for so many years, it will be an absolute shame to see Koreans decide to throw their culture and with it their language away. It's what makes Korea so magnificent. But that's our youth today! Sad!
Having learnt Japanese earlier, one thing I cannot get used to in Korean is the lack of Kanji. It's like reading all Hiraganas and Katakanas in Japanese!
Hmm I didn't know some words are spelled the same but pronounced with different length. That's too bad because how am I supposed to know?
Hey🙋♀️
I’ve noticed the romanization of Korean words have changed, for the worse. There must have been a concerted effort in Korea to keep spellings of sounds uniform because it’s consistent. For example, instead of spelling the short /u/ sound as “u” (ex. sung), I see it spelled as “eo”, which is incorrect phonetically in English. They shouldn’t have changed it because English speakers now don’t pronounce Korean words correctly. “eo” in English makes a different sound than the short /u/. Just my thoughts
But it's Romanization not Anglicization. But I do agree with you about Woo and Choi.
As a teacher (in the U.S.) I used to find it annoying when my middle school students would use “I’m gonna” or “Imma” instead of “I’m going to…”. Oddly enough, over the years I’ve found myself also using them outside of teaching🤪
😂😂😂
after 2 years learning korean, i’m crying, so we’ve been learning these rules to disappear it in the future 🤣
I was a bit surprised to hear that Koreans have trouble pronouncing short or long vowels. Here in Finland where I emigrated to, Finns have a near-perfect pronunciation of long and short vowels and long and short consonants. As a foreigner this is one of my stumbling blocks. It is very hard to have the length of the vowel or consonant correct, especially with the occurrence of stress, that is always on the first syllable. Irrespective of stress, the length must be correct. Because most Finns have no trouble distinguishing long and short vowels and consonants, I do not think they will change that aspect of Finnish. With this background, hopefully you understand why I find it curious that native Koreans have trouble with the length of vowels. That, or maybe I misunderstood. I have an excuse: I only just started Korean and am still getting used to sound changes, so reading Hangul is still a major undertaking. Thanks for the video!
I don't know that it's so much a difficulty as a distinction that is less clear, like maybe the long vowels used to be longer. Like ㅐ and ㅔ have become more similar.
@@cynamun467 Yeah, maybe Korean is a bit different from Finnish. Here, Finns hear clear as day whether someone uses the right vowel length. As a non-native Finnish speaker, I really have to practice saying the right length. They have no such trouble whatsoever. I can imagine if in Korean the situation is a bit different, then the conclusion can be different as well.
In Korean, there were no clear rules or tendencies for when to use long or short vowels (unlike in English, where you can tell the "o" in "hop" is short and in "hope" is long), and there wasn't even a proper way to notate them. For example, "눈" with a short "ㅜ" means "eye" but "눈" with a long "ㅜ" means "snow". You can tell which one is which by context, so there's no need to worry too much about distinguishing between long and short vowels. This might be why the distinction between long and short vowels almost disappeared.
@@talktomeinkorean Thank you, that explains the difference, as in Finnish there is a 1:1 correspondence from written to spoken language and back. One pronounces as the word is written. Letters do not influence each other (barring one or two exceptions). Thank you for explaining!
That sounds like it's another "victim" of the Korean tendency to make the language efficient. It seems like everything that doesn't contribute to meaning or politeness is subject to getting dropped.
I'm starting to see in Japanese dramas, they are doing away with the "politeness levels" already. I see subordinates talking to their superior, (to my surprise) not ending their sentences in です, and saying ええ instead of はい in a police academy setting!
Do you think the decrease in birth rate will affect language?
Do you think Korean’s will be extinct in 100 or so years, if the birth rate does not improve?
This is why too scary to think about it. 😖
Is it sad? Or is it okay? I guess is okay…
대한민국이 모든 미국의 요구에 응하는 계속하면 맞는 대우가 되겠어야.
과거가 소중한 교훈을 후련하지 않았으냐
남 잡이가 제잡이.
NOOOOOooooooooo..........! Humans are humans. if you lose that, psychological respect-fence, elderlies will be disrespected in the long run. In French there used to be some kind of respect level that we used for our parents, grandparents, elderly people in public and ranking people at work. It was called Vouvoiement. Meaning, always use the plural pronoun to show respect. Back then, you wouldn't say to your mother; "Vas-tu à l'église?", we'd say; "Allez-vous à l'église". -We lost that in the '60s. That apparent respect for those people disappeared in a decade. These steps are the type of steps that triggers civilization decline. It sounds innocent and 'moderny', just at face value but, expect lack of respect for property, for one' country, for life of others, etc.
There will be no simplification of grammar, and Korean has a lot of it. I come from England and I do not remember ever studying English grammar at school 30 years ago and certainyl had no exams in it. Compare it to my students here, they are studying it day in day out, have exams all through school with it, and have it in their university entrance test before they can enter university. Grammar will always be thing in Korea. Most of it is cool but bits of it make me want to bang my head against the wall. But, I definitely agree with the simplication of words and expressions which is ongoing, that is how Korean with naturally progress.
Korean has a flexibility that English doesn't. We're so obsessed with our articles and such that we judge people for not getting them right. Correct me if I'm wrong but as long as you're polite, Koreans are mostly focused on getting the message across and not on hitting every technicality. Studying Korean has made me annoyed with all the unnecessary words in English.
I can't imagine that korean phone calls can get any simpler 😂 ("네? 네, 네! 네...")
Yup like even if you don't understand say 네 with the propriate tone and everything will be fine😂
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
And why I'm not going to get afraid of AI until a computer can translate Korean.
Add some 응s here and there with the 네 and you can officially phone call Korean people 😂😂😅
As a beginner learner, I am now jealous of future Korean learners. 😅
I really enjoy the fact that politeness is imbedded into the Korean language. It's one of the things that's attractive about the culture. As an American, where the youth have little respect for the older generation, it's something I don't want to see happen to other countries and cultures, not just Korea.
I'm horrified when I hear parents speaking more politely to children than the children speak to them.
It does sound nice, but when you're living your entire life inside of it it can become stifling (Speaking from experience).
@@3xsxs953 That is a good point.
@@3xsxs953 I’ve actually heard two native speakers of Korean, both fluent in English, say that they _prefer_ speaking in English because they don’t have to think about the politeness levels in the same way as they do when speaking Korean. One found speaking in English to his English-speaking Canadian mother-in-law almost liberating because he didn’t have to gauge the right “level” of politeness (although he _was_ undoubtedly polite by her standards).
@@3xsxs953 I'd like to explore the difference, and not with just one sample point, if any, of thoughts about this subject from native Koreans that lived their entire life there, compared to a westernized Korean going through it from moving to Korea and experiencing it. I would discount any non-native Korean, like me, from such a study. All the while, when I am in Korea and have to use 존댓말 with someone older than me and hear elders speak to me in 반말, it doesn't bother me at all. So if you had a stifling experience. since I don't consider myself special and there is probably a lot of people like me, the stifling might come from somewhere else than just the mechanics of using the different levels. From talking to native Korean friends, much younger than me, it seems to be more an angst against dogmas. I don't know, this my be pure psycho-pop stuff.
Code-switching - As an American who grew up with a regional dialect, I speak more standard in some situations and less standard in others. When I'm emotional or talking to my dog, the regional part really comes out. Also, people are usually shocked when they hear themselves because they think their speech is more standard than it is.
Wow! I didn't know long and short vowel pronunciation was a thing in Korean. I'll put effort into learning more about it and pronouncing those words correctly!
I love Korean because of the polite levels. It’s beautiful and respectful. Don’t change.
Wow I can say that languages do change over time and sometimes so fast and people don't even realize it... I lived in Korea for almost 5 years and during those 5 years in my country Dominican Republic we speak Spanish, many new words were added to daily conversations because of trends, songs ( we have a genre called Dembow where rappers usually create new words or terms to refer to things) and people incorporate into their daily language very easily... Since I wasn't living in my country, I couldn't understand some of the new words no matter how much I read about them online because the only way to really grasp the meaning was being at the place and experimenting how people actually use them in real life even though I am a native... so I don't know if it is like that with Korean language but even though I appreciate the formalities and politeness level, I feel like the politeness and formalities create distance and the way people respect each other is many times based on "distance, fear and bad power dynamics", I do wish this aspect on how respect is viewed changes over time and it translates into the language, I know it is a hard because this is intrinsic in many aspects of the Korean culture but it will be very interesting to see that change, especially with the newer generation whose is getting tired of old fashion seniors
There is a ton of wisdom in Confucianism. Gathered over 5000 years. It is typical of young to question and reposition everything. They lack the experience to understand the reach of such changes. I would advise them extreme caution on such big changes. Not all power dynamics are bad. I have used 존댓말 to create distance on purpose. I would have lack the vocabulary to express that will of distance, otherwise.
When I went out to talk to our landscapers in Spanish, I noticed myself using usted. I'm positive I would not have done that before studying Korean.
So after i learned all of that and being stuck with ㅂ니다 and 요 stuff 🙃🙃
Could you please please don't change 😅
평어 is probably the future then, because of following global cultural trends too as the culture is changing too, together with the language. Also, more and more English expressions will be included in the language. Or English mixed with Korean.
In England, there is really little regard for speaking in specific ways. People speak different forms of Middle Class standard English when not using their local parlance. People are adaptive. The listener is left having to accept how they are spoken to, whether they like it or not. As long as people don’t swear and are deliberately rude, people know that diversity of people brings diverse accents and language styles.
Received Pronunciation is the oddity today. Only a small clique of rich people like the monarchy speak this formal. Even formal BBC English is frowned on and so we have the strange phenomenon of the privately educated paying to learn how to speak casually. Those who can, and want to, can write in standard English but in the real world, people just don’t speak that way and never really did.
I think South Korea will find it harder to drop your formalities because the society is a lot more regarding of class differences and more keen to take on the trappings of wealth and its culture.
There is little regard but instead you have many layers of politeness in England. Also in Ireland. I'd even say Irish people have more. There's all the woulds, coulds, may, mights, sort ofs and all level of things to basically say "I want". In Korean there are also these as well but there are more obvious delineations. My wife grew up with English as she's from the Philippines but she can be really rude sometimes and doesn't understand why. I think people forget that the Anglo nations have kept a certain nuance to it that other countries that have adopted English don't.
The other thing though that Korean may adopt more with the blurring of lines is satire. Because when there's less distinction between politeness there's more room for jokes.
Thank you for this. You're right about the nuances and broad politeness. Only the mentally ill just makes demands though many would say Londoners are rude.
I can't fault Korean humour. I find the dramas very often funny, with more depth and clever subtleties to western dramas. There appears to be more brevity in their language and purely on the basis of sounds is likeable. My personal choice to say German and other languages.
I think one of the reasons English speakers love the Korean levels is that they are clear. "If you don't' mind" and "could you" are all over the place and most of us don't even know it's a part of English.
Could write a whole essay on language change, but I believe Korean will gradually become more ‘English like’ in not just vocab but also grammar, adopting the patterns that L2 learners (who usually learn via English) in their 번역된 말. Obviously not the sentence order inversion that English underwent but more grammar patterns, verb structure, and idiom borrowing. If Korean does lose some particles it will be the person particles like 께서, 께, or 에게/한테 being replaced with 에서 and 에. But given the role of modern media and print in preventing widespread changes in language it shouldn’t be too crazy. But then again, if Koreas dwindling population merits immigration and teaching those immigrants Korean, it will inevitably be simplified.
There's no need to get rid of or reduce usage of politeness levels, but it would be good if adults used them more often when speaking to children. The way Korean adults speak to children is so mean. Children mimic adults, so Koreans could do better to set a good example for children instead of always talking down to them.
That's why I'm so excited about this new style. You don't need to have rudeness to have politeness. Everybody can be polite to each other.
선생님, I think your predictions are very likely. I am keen to see 평어 take hold. The current hierarchical system is inherently distancing between people. It sets up a considerable barrier for foreigners as well. Let go of confucianism. Love and respect and courtesy are sufficient. Looking/talking down on others is never good. Hug your kids too.
I hope Korean grammar won't lose its cases so soon. They help learners of Slavic or Uralic languages switch from their language to Korean easier.
OMG I couldn't agree with your thoughts more and it does sadden me. It is a hit to any culture to loose its rules and distinctions in language. Also those very things are what makes it interesting and stirs the curiosity of others to want to learn something so completely different from their own. It also helps put ones own language rules and distinctions (or lack thereof) into perspective.
Ttmik is always interesting
Judging that every languages always has some kind of politeness and formality in it, I assume that Korean might only change partly in that regard. Though it should reflect the times people live in. So changes don't have to be bad. Besides that, I think that mass media also kinda helps to slow down certain changes in their media usage at leas, even if commonly spoken Korean might be different.
I've once read, that there is in German a tendence of strong verbs becoming weaker verbs. Often starting with them first both forms beeing accepted until less complex weaker form takes over. Though that's a very slow change. Not sure though how common that is.
This is fascinating. Thanks!
감사합니다!!
I started learning Korean without giving it a second thought after I saw my first Kdrama and listened to kpop for the first time. Oh boy what did I get myself into at this age 😅😢
The first thing that annoyed me was the politeness levels. I legit feel it's one of the reasons there's so much bullying etc in Korea, because class stratification is still embedded in the language, learning it from a young age.
I didn't give up though, I persevered for a bit, but now 3 years later I decided to quit. I started Japanese and realized how insane Korean grammar is. Plus, I can never get the accent exactly like I'd want to.
I'll always love the language but I have to accept reality and my lack of ability to get it 💔🤷♀️
I'm interested in Korean culture for about 12 years now... It already changed too much. You will regret in the future if it goes any further... I know some things can be considered "problematic", like physical punishments in schools or the abusive treatment from seniors towards their subordinates, but the politeness, especially for the language, is one thing that absolutely shouldn't change.
This is a very. interesting topic. I actually think that politeness levels are quite useful and interesting.
I know that in Polish right now there is politeness to a certain extent where you can speak formally or informally to someone you know and formally to someone you do not know or someone in a higher(?) position than you. But I also know that it used to be much more polite and there used to be more terms/ ways to refer to someone
I have noticed that in Korean, a lot of the words for family members are different depending on what side of the family that person is from (for example having a different word for the sister of your mother and for the sister of your father) and I somewhat recently found out that that used to be a thing that Polish speakers had specific words for too.
Also, in both Polish and Spanish, previous generations (like my mom for example) spoke/speak to their parents formally, but that seems to be less common but that could also be due to the fact that most of the younger speakers that I have come across were born in or have lived most of their lives outside of their parents' home country (the United States)
Thank you for the video, it was interesting. I also think that with time there will be more and more English words in Korean.
I would actually love it if koreans could adress the person they are speaking to by their name or at least say ‘you’ without it being offensive i find it ridiculous to ‘refer to someone’ when that person is right in front of you😂 Also the polite form even includes someone that’s a year older and if you speak informally you are considered rude?! Like if you’re a year or two older why would that be the same speech form i have with an elderly person that never made any sense to Me🙃
As a Korean learner of 25 years running, I hate it when vocabulary that I've learned is simply dropped for [mostly] English words, and not loan words like 컴퓨터, but straight up usurping, e.g. 메뉴 for 차림표, 와이프 for 부인 아내 집사람 etc., 헤머 for 망치, and the big one(s): 신경성 | 긴장감 | 정신걱 압박감 for stress -- apparently Koreans had zero "스트레스" until they learned English... really? Give me a break
안녕하세요. 단어 다정하다와 정답다는 어떻게 다른지 설명해 주셨으면 감사하겠습니다. 말한 김에 그 단어들은 kbs에서 방송하는 '이웃집 찰스'라는 프로그렘에 나온 거예요. 진행자가 하는 말에 한 때에 다정한 이웃을 사용했고 지금은 정다운 이웃을 활용하는 겁니다. 말이바뀐 것에도 ttmik 의견 부탁드립니다.
I hope Korean doesn’t change in this way :(
안녕하세요 선생님들 ❤ 이 단어들 차이가 좀 설명해 줄 수 있을까요? 감사합니다 🙏🏻 🪷 '자기 vs 자신 vs 스스로 vs 본인'
감사합니다 🥹
I just learned that there are long and short vowels! 😀
Fascinating video! I mentioned in a comment sometime ago that English dropped the informal “thou” form and kept only the formal “you” form and nowadays almost no one realizes that “you” was the formal form.
Any shift to 평어 is probably a good thing because it flattens the hierarchy (hence, “equal language”) but abandons the high-low aspect of 반말 (i.e., speaking informally to someone is not necessarily speaking “down” to that person).
One other change that might occur is that age distinctions might not be so rigidly defined, so if the age difference is just a few years, maybe people won’t care. (I think that's the case in Japan with Japanese.)
Personally, I’ve been hoping for “you-reform” (maybe 유-reform? haha), like what actually happened in Sweden in the late 1960s. You _had_ to address people by titles or some form of address in Sweden, and _not_ “you” (“du” in Swedish). The whole thing became so cumbersome and annoying that the Prime Minister abandoned it and everyone followed, using “du,” and no one looked back.
So, in Korea, with people trying to figure out how to address strangers on the street or maybe there’s someone in a large office whose title you can’t quite remember, maybe some “you”-reform would be good. 당신 is too loaded so I nominate 유 (“you”), which everyone is familiar with from English and carries no emotional baggage. (But, obviously, Koreans get to pick whatever word works best.)
A few of us were in the comment stream. And the Swedish reference was there as well. People don't realise that English is all formal and hence that marker has no meaning now. What is funny is that you'll hear "yous" or "yousuns" for a plural of "you", when you is already a plural!
Personally I think it Korean will settle on 요 as a general ending maybe even to the point where there is no 이에/예요 and it just becomes 요. I suspect this already happens anyway. It is easy to say and easy to remember. Plus it has a nice neutral sound compared to a strong 야.
@@michaelcorbett4236 “A few of us were in the comment stream. And the Swedish reference was there as well.”
Oh, gosh, I must seem pretty boring then, rehashing the same old stuff! (I think I remember you!)
Yeah, Korean _could_ settle on 요 but I’m not so sure about losing 이에/예요 because isn’t there real semantic content there (i.e., 이다 )? I suppose informal/formal distinctions carry something like semantic content, too, but somehow it doesn’t seem the same. (Not really an analogy but, in English, we collapse “I’m going to eat” to “I’m gonna eat” but never “I’m going to the movies” to “I’m gonna the movies,” even though the “relaxed” part is identical-there’s an unconscious sense of “grammaticality” there-which is to say just because some things seem very droppable doesn’t mean they will be.) Well, it’s all speculation, anyway, so who knows?
Very interesting topic. I think the particles wont disappear in writtern form for a long time. Just in spoken Korean they will be used less because they are too important to clarify the exact meaning of difficult sentences. I agree with the politeness levels. They will surely lower overall and become less nuanced and go more towards an equal level. Just as in Japanese the highest levels of politeness that are already hard to use for younger people will fade away. I dont know about the dialects, they do tend to get weaker through mass media but they also provide a sense of local togetherness and might be kept as an important cultrual feature. When I think about what should change I think about the 2 letters like the vowel e of the exact same sound. Just make it one for simplification ;-) But it probably wont happen.
I think you are right. With continued globalization, languages are all being affected by more people speaking them, with less fine tuning. Since I am interested in BTS, and in other global endeavors, I read so many comments by non-native english speakers, and they are invariably full of "mistakes". However, the commenters still get their points across and manage to communicate what they want to say. Due to texting culture and abreviated writing, even native speakers have less and less proficiency with english spelling and grammar. I love languages, but I am no longer a stickler for correctness, because I view globalization and culture mixing and sharing as a good (and inevitable) thing in the present and future world. And I welcome simplification of the languages I'm learning as a bonus. ❤
The formality differences have happened in Portugal Portuguese these last few decades I've noticed
Thanks for sharing! I tend to agree with some of the predictions (esp on dialects), but I also think that while there is a tendency towards simplification, occasionally this need not happen because people also want to differentiate. The speech level distinction is useful and likely to stay. Even though as a foreign speakers, popularization of the Seoul standard to is to be welcome, it's also sad to see dialects weakening or disappearing. It would be nice if people could continue to speak it at home or hometown. I think more efforts to preserving and promoting dialects are worthwhile. Another thing I personally find it a bit too overwhelming is the proliferation of foreign loanwords (esp English and Konglish), to the point that I think it's a bit too much. Nicer if some efforts are made to translate new words in literal meaning using native words, like what some continental European languages do.
as a native Chinese (Cantonese) speaker, my personal selfish wish would also be to see (traditional) Chinese characters/Hanja to be used a bit more again, although for this one my pretty confident prediction is that it is not going to happen...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!😊
Some of the things changing right now are the various names for relatives, particularly siblings as more families have less children, the specific older/younger terms will probably disappear. And older sister (언니), for instance, is also getting used by women for close female friends.
We'll see in 50 years ( if we're still alive then ) 😂, if ever this video still exist and new generation would be able to watch this and they would be able to comment.😊
Just like in the dutch language, I think in Korean language politeness levels will go away.
Wow! that is really a fascinating outlook! Too bad we still can't say "you" though... that's still one of the hardest milestones to overcome.
Fortunately what my mom says here helps:
You는
상대를
가리키는말인데
상대없는 대화가 있나요?
그래서 당신이라는 단어는 꼭 필요하지요~
Why don't I want the grammar to be shortened. I also think dinstiction between 반말 그리고 준대말 아직도 유명헤요.
And I also think learning will be a little harder to understand if proper grammar rules and patterns are not applied
That blue looks great on you, Hyunwoo! Perfect color
Without hierarchy, how can Korean language be Korean? I would very much like to know how the Korean language has changed because of the entertainment business and the Seoul/Los Angeles relationship.