Unit IX, Linking Sounds in Korean When pronounced fast and natural, some consonants in Korean are linked together to form aaiferent sound than what it appears to ‘ound ike based on how its writen. This pracess i called “conso rant assimilation” andi alo used in many other languages. Consis- ‘ring that most native speakers of any language speak quite fest, t ‘may be dificult to spot and understand these assiilations. When speaking or reading Korean, however, the pronunciation rules regard Ing consonant assimilation are quit simple a5 they follow the “ease Cf pronunciation” principle, or changing the way 2 word i 3 The fst and most fundamental pronunciation rule i clled “re-sy- Iabiieation”. When a lable ends with final consonant and fl ‘owed by a syllable that begins with ©, such asin JO, Itlooks asf It would be pronounced distinctly a5 two diferent syllables, 82 (mat) ‘then Of (a, with a stacato, or separation of sound. This too awk: ward and dificult when speaking quickly, therefore the becomes part of the Of, and the resulting sound te [OPRH (Ua Lidia Ke Seu ‘Asa final consonant, 8 changes to L when the following syllable begins with Example: Lee tee 2 — (EE) Bro Vis the final consonant in asllable andi followed by ©, itis ‘dropped and no sound is made. Simply move onto the nest sylabe. Examples: 12 — we) 2. Boh — 0H © +0} When € isthe final consonant of asilable, t becomes a sound wien the following syilable i 0. The © Is essentially dropped, and the ©, which snow said as“", pairs up with | and is pronounced ast, Hore ate afew more examples to help you get the hang fit ue —oRH 0 — (aN) 401 — x) “The actual speling ofthe word never changes, iis only the pronun- ciation that modified, Lets get right into the nitty-gritty) B44, C,0rx ‘when # iethe fina consonant and is combined with “1, €or X, think oft ashelping create an addtional put of ai needed to say the aspirated consonants 3, oF & Samples: Lens) 2.BCh— (eH) 3.¥AI— eta) examples: 1. Bol — ax) 2. B0l — AH) 3. wl — (uixi) = +0) Similarly to ©, when & isa final consonant and is followed by Ot becomes a 2 sound. Again, the © Is dropped and % joins forces with | sothatt pronounced a “RI. Example: 1. gol — BH 2. tol — (HERI) c+al ‘This combination ls exactly like & 60}. The €, when followed by ‘i, transforms to a % sound. This time, the ® i& dropped and 2 is united with | s0 that its pronounced as “RP Example: 1.281 — (cD 2.8 — (Fa) (hapa Hg(One of the most frequently overlooked and forgotten rules among, Korean language learners isthe “nasalzation’ rule, whichis when all ‘consonants that come before a natal consonant (L oF ©) ae forced to become nasal sound (1L, 0, oF 0} CE, A.M, x, Ror +e ‘When any ofthe above consonants are followed by &, the sound changes to &. examples TA, or nee LBB IEE) ‘Whenever you see a letter combination of “1 inthefinal postion of 2, = — (gs) ‘syllable and ti followed by L, the “is pronounced as 0. 3 age iae) amples: A 1H = (a) wo+loram+o 2.RE 18 ‘When & oF 3 i fllowed by Lor 1, the 84 or a changes to an Et 3 We — (Bel sound pe amples: ‘The same principle applies to 1+ as wall. When “tends syllable 1, Qi — (te) and the fllowing letter is 1, the “1s pronounced as ©. awe rae! 3.48 Oct — re eich examples: 4. QAILICE — iattuich 138-138) 5, SH — (21) 2. 2a — ae ie 3% kin Sods area o ute ‘When L and @ moet, the L sounds replaced by the 2 sound, Check out some examples: te 1) 2. Ale — (eH 23h — (att) 4. steht — (tetany O+2ro+e ‘This combination result inthe 2 sound being replaced by an sound, amples: 182 -18e) 238-18) 3.8 — 19864) ‘These rules may seom dificult to memorize a frst, but once YOU start applying them to your spoken language, the sounds wil come together very naturally and your pronunciation wil be Impeccablet Congratulations! You are wellon your way to becoming a 82 OLE! hap a eg