The 4th Day: Memorizing Four Basic Semi Vowels

Semi-vowels are sounds that have characteristics of both vowels and consonants, and they are usually represented by [y] or [w] in English. Here, we are going to learn four semi-vowels that correspond to four basic vowels:ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ. If we add the consonant 'ㅇ' to make sounds, they would be as follows:

아[a] → 야[ya]

어[eo] → 여[yeo]

오[o] → 요[yo]

우[u] → 유[yu]

Please notice that each of the four semi-vowels has two dots, so you can remember them as a set of basic vowels. Additionally, the consonant 'ㅇ' is silent when it comes at the beginning of a syllable.

아 야, 아 야, 아 야

어 여, 어 여, 어 여

오 요, 오 요. 오 요

우 유, 우 유, 우 유

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 13th Day: The Difference Between 애 And 에

Image
The difference in the location of the tip of the tongue between 애 and 에 is crucial in understanding the characteristics of these vowel sounds. When comparing Korean vowels to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the tip of the tongue for 애 is located at the front-low in the mouth, and the shape of the lips is closer to 아[a] than 이[i]. On the other hand, the tip of the tongue for 에 is positioned at the front-middle of the mouth, and the shape of the lips is closer to 이[i] than 아[a]. This means that 애 is similar to [æ] while, 에 is similar to [e].  At first, it may be difficult to distinguish between the two pronunciations, but let's practice pronouncing them by considering the position of the tip of the tongue conceptually. Please listen carefully to the 애 and 에 sound. Play 애: 애기, 에: 에서, 개: 개나리, 게: 게살, 내: 내일, 네: 네 개, 매: 매미, 메: 메기, 배: 배치기, 베: 베다, 새: 새마을, 세: 세 개, 래: 모래, 레: 모레, 내가, 내가, 내가 네가, 네가, 네가
Read more

The 9th Day: Practice The 으 Sound

The vowel '으' is written as [eu[ in the Latin alphabet, but it is a simple vowel (monophthong) pronounced like the IPA sound [ʉ] . To pronounce ‘으,’ place the tip of the tongue in the middle-high position of the mouth, and the lips are naturally open without touching each other. It is different from the sounds ‘어’ [ ɞ ] and ‘우’[ u ]. Let's practice the 'ㅡ'sound in the words: Play 으뜸, 으르렁, 으스스, 으슥하다, 그것은, 그와 같이, 그곳에, 금은, 지금, 은빛, 스물, 스멀스멀, 슬금슬금, 아슬아슬, 슬하, 근질근질, 트다, 트지다, 터뜨리다, 트림, 트럼펫, 늦었어요. 들뜨지 마세요. 먹으러 가요. 읽으면 돼요, 잡으면 안돼요, 흐느끼다.  은어 – 언어 – 운어 / 은어 – 언어 – 운어 / 은어 – 언어 – 운어
Read more

The 12th Day: Practice The 의 Sound

Do not blame a Korean who says ‘의’[ʉi] as ‘이’[ii] or ‘에’[e]. Each vowel in Korean has its characteristic sound value. However, ‘의’ pronunces not only as [ʉi], which is its inherent sound, but also sometimes as [ii] or [e] depending on the location. Let's understand first the rules about the 의 sound. The character "의" is pronounced as [ʉi] when it is the first syllable. When it is the second syllable or later, it can also be pronounced as [ii]. The possessive particle "의" is pronounced as [ʉi] or [e]. For example, "의자" is pronounced as [ʉi ja], "의사" is pronounced as [ʉi sa], and "의무" is pronounced as [ʉi mu]. Whereas, "주의" can be pronounced as [ju ʉi] or [ju ii], and "주의의" can be pronounced as [ju ʉi ʉi], [ju ʉi e] or [ju ii e]. So then, how is "민주주의의 의의" pronounced? You can say one of the followings as Korean standard accent. [민주주의의 의:의], [민주주의의 의:이], [민주주의에 의:의], [민주주의에 의:이], [민주주이의 의:의], [민주주이의 의:이], ...
Read more