Korean language class in MUNI
■ The special particle -E-/-^-
1) Particle
The special particle Tr/fe- [eun/neun] is a topic particle since it marks the noun as the sentence topic (e.g. what the sentence is about). The particle Tr/fe- is not a case particle; hence it does not indicate the grammatical function of the noun it attaches to.
-In a similar way that the subject particle has two forms0] [i] and 7} [ga], the topic particle also has two forms : tt (after consonants) and fe- (after vowels). Consider the following two sentences.
^H^tt fb^- a} sj-o] <>)],£_. [Chaegyeongeun hanguk saramieyo] "As for Chae-Kyung, (she) is a Korean."
^l^fe 5L%^ a} sj-o] <>)],£_. [Medineun peurangseu saramieyo]  "As for Mehdi, (he) is a French."
Notice that ^fl^ [chaegyeong] is marked by tt ( since it ends in a consonant), whereas [medi] is marked by fe- (since it ends in a vowel). In addition, the above two sentences are "topic-comment" structures: a sentence begins with a topic of the sentence (marked by the topic particle Tr/fe), followed by the predicate (e.g., an equational expression). In the first sentence above, ^fl^, is the topic and ^}^0H]-S- [hanguk saramieyo] is the comment. In the second sentence, vftt], is the topic, while ^}^0H]-S- [peurangseu
saramieyo] is the comment.
Such a topic-comment structure is the most basic sentence type in Korean. To understand its usage in more detail, let's consider the following examples:
-T=rl?l-<STr 5L%^ [ mikaereun peurangseu saramieyo] "As for Mickael, (he) is a French"
-cf| SJ-aJ o] 6\] & [daehaksaengieyo]  "(He) is an university student"
-21      °l] J}.. [21sarieyo]  "(He) is 21 years old"
-mLt>}°] fe- E-] 7] a}e3-o] 6\] ^ [gyokaineun teoki saramieyo]  "As for Gokay, (he) is a Turkish"
Notice that the first three sentences are about Mickael. Because of the fact that Mickael was noted as the topic in the first sentence, it would be redundant to raise Leah as the topic again. Consequently, the second and the third sentence omit the topic u]?]-<S [Mikael]. However, as the fourth sentence is about a different person jE 7}°} [gyokai], the sentence begins with the new topic, jEtj-o]
The noun marked by Tr/fe- appears to be the subject of the sentence. However, Tr/fe- is not a subject particle and it does not mark the noun as the subject. For instance, consider the following sentence:
^tf|7]fe- sM^L 7}o]2l f]tf|7:|7} ^J-^MiL [Haembeogeoneun paibeu gaijeu haembeogeoga masisseoyo]
"As for hamburgers, Five Guys Hamburger is tasty."
Notice that the hamburger is the topic of the sentence (what the sentence is talking about), whereas "Five Guys Hamburger" is the subject of the predicate "tasty."
2) Compare and Contrast
When two sentences, marked by the topic particles tt/^, are used in parallel, the particle Tr/fe- serves to compare and contrast the two topics of the sentences. Consider the following two examples
mL^}°] fe- t-] 7] a}e3-o] 6\] ^ [gyokaineun teokisaramieyo.] "As for Gokay, (he) is a Turkish."
^.^^l^t ^l^lfe —       A}^"°H]-S-. [ geureochiman medineun peurangseu saramieyo] "However, as for Mehdi, (he) is a French."
Notice that both Gokay and Mehdi are the topics of each sentence. Since these sentences are used in parallel, these two topics are compared and contrasted (e.g. One is a Turkish while the other person is French).
3) Switching topics
Koreans use the topic particle Tr/fe- when they switch the topic from one thing to another. For instance, consider the following conversation.
A: --yffll^Mt]-. °1 s'W^? [ Sillyehamnida. i baji eolmayeyo?] "Excuse me, how much is this pair of
pants?"
B: v)]. 30,000-fi°tS^4. [ne.sammanwon imnida ] "Yes. (It)is 30,000 won."
A: n^j, °1 -£.? [geureom i chimaneun eolmayeyo? ]"Then, as for the skirt, how much is (it)?"
B: v)].50,000-S «^4- [ne omanwonimnida.] "Yes, (it) is 50,000 won."
A: °1 ^ w}^] fe-S-?? [ i cheongbajineunyo?] "How about this pair of jeans?"
Let us assume that speaker A is a customer and speaker B is a salesman in the above conversation. Notice that speaker A uses the topic particle Tr/fe- when she changes the topic from one item to another (e.g. asking for the price of a skirt, and then jeans.)
4) Interplay between the subject and the topic particles
When asking a question in Korean, the question word (e.g. [mueot] "what," ^-?■ [nugu] "who" is usually marked by the subject particle 0\P[ [i/ga]. However, when answering the question, the question word is often marked by the topic particle -zrAb. Consider the following examples:
Elma: £!o"0| °-|0)|fl.? [jeongongi mwoyeyo?] "What is (your) major?"
Nina: ^lo-nr $!"^'CH01I-Q. [jeongongeun hangugeoyeyo]" As for (my) major, (it) is Korean."
In Elma's question, the particle 0\P[ is used since £!o- [Jeong°ng] "major" is the subject of the question. However, when responding to this question, the question, Nina answers £!o"£ ^!"^'CH01I-Q. [Jeong°ngeun hangugeoeyo]. "As for (my) major, (it) is Korean," instead of £!o-°l s!"^'cH0l|fl. [jeongongi hangugeoeyo] "The major is Korean." Notice that £!o- is marked by the topic particle -zrAb, not the subject particle 0\P[.
When Elma asks the question,    o- is the subject of the sentence and it is not the topic of the conversation
yet. In other words, the word £!o- is new information which was just brought up in the conversation.
However, after Elma's question, £!o- becomes the topic. As a result, Nina replies with £!o"£
[jeongongeun] rather than £!o"0| [jeongongij.This may sound confusing but, it should become clear with more examples. Consider the following examples:
Su: 0|-i-0| ^| OH a.? [ ireumi mwoyeyo?] "What is (your) name?"
Mehdi: *1| 0|-§-£ D)| n|0j|fl.. [je ireumeun mediyeyo] "As for my name, (it) is Mehdi."
Su: HS^Ol Oj c|Oj|fi.? [gohyangi eodiyeyo?] "Where is (your) hometown?"
Mehdi:  *1| H^tt E|-E|0||fi.. [je gohyangeun pariyeyo] "As for my hometown, (it) is Paris."
5) Appearing at the beginning of the sentence
You can make any element of the sentence the topic by adding the topic particle to it and placing it at the beginning of the sentence, except the verb/adjective that appears at the end of the sentence. For example, consider the following the sentences:
10A|0j| lin^n £Ai^0j|Ai °RC^-I iHfoHfi. [benogeun ojeon lOsieelmahago doseogwaneseo hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo.]
"As for Vinok, (he) studies Korean with Elma at the library at 10:00 a.m."
10A|0j|^ b||^0| IQ^IL £Ai^0j|Ai °RC^-I £^o||fl. [ojeon lOsieneun benogi elmahago
doseogwaneseo hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo.]
"At 10:00 a.m, Vinok studies Korean with Elma at the library."
^rJroULb bl|^0|        10A|0j| £Ai^0j|Ai °RC^-I ^^fi. [elmahagoneun benogi ojeon lOsie
doseogwaneseo hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo.]
"Wth Elma, Vinok studies Korean at the library at 10:00 a.m."
£Ai^(>l|Ai^ b||^0| £2 10A|01| lnro|-Jl o[^oj^ ^^oHfi. [doseogwaneseoneun benogi ojeon lOsie elmahago hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo.]
"At the library, Vinok studies Korean with Elma at 10:00 a.m."
As a SOV language, In Korean the most important sentential elements (e.g. predicates) tend to appear at the end of the sentence. The less important of least unknown information tend to appear toward the beginning of
the sentence. Notice in the above sentences that the -nrAb -marked elements (topics) appear at the beginning of the sentence. The topic of the sentence in Korean tends to be contextually understood element, and thus it can be often easily omitted during conversation.
This contrasts with the subject marked by the particle 0\P[. The subject particle 0\P[ is used to mark a subject (which happens to be new information or has not been mentioned previously in the context). For instance, this explains why most interrogative words such as -^-p- [nugu]'who,"        [mueot] "what," [eonje] "when" and Oj.h. [eoneu] "which," are used with particle 0\P[, as in ^-rH^r), and -?-S!0| [mueosi], but not with the topic particle -zrAb:
Ojl Aich sa|£ °h°iOjfi? "Which restaurant food is delicious?" (X) Ojl Aich aAjo| ^oiOjfi? [eoneu sikdang eumsigi masisseoyo?
] 1"Which restaurant food?"(0)
#^tJ1lL|0r A|-^0|01|fi? "Who is a Slovenian?" (X)
\-\0\ A|-sj-0|0||a? [nuga seullobenia saramieyo?] "Who is a Slovenian?" (O)
■ Conversation
[annyeong? ireumi mwoya?neo eoneu naraeseo wasseo?] [naneun suyeongiya. na hanguk saramiya]
[a jinjja? nan parieseo wasseo nae ireumeun mediya]
[neo hoksi jeone beuruno wabon jeok isseo?] Ti||t): oH. ^-f^ *]#^).
[ani na jungangyureobeun cheoeumiya.]
^ ^ife) ^ *ĎH}fe ^^7>
[ nado. neo jeil joahaneun cheko maekjuga mwoya?]
^AH-i zH? ^S^R Lokal o] sJ-^ifl.
[ piljeuneo ureukel. itta maekjurang syumajini meogeureo
gallae? chekoeumsigeun Lokal i masitdae.]
^<$: at u) aft aIe] ^ 5^7
[geurae. neo beuruno siti tueo haesseo? soljiki malhaeseo beurunoga peuraha boda deo yeppeun dosiin geot gata]
Pflc): L] = e^} 7} %o]7
[neo peuraha ga bwasseo?] [Ani]
Mehdi: Hello. What's your name? Where are you from?
Suyeong: I am su yeong. I am from korea. Mehdi: Really? I am from paris. My name is Mehdi. Suyeong: Have you ever been in Brno before? Mehdi: No, it's my first time visiting central Europe. Suyeong: Same here. What's your favorite Czech beer?
Mehdi: Pilsner Urquell. Do you want to go to eat Smažený and beer later on? As for Czech food, Lokal is tasty.
Suyeong: Okay. Did you do Brno city tour? To be honest, I find Brno more pretty than Prague. Mehdi: Have you ever been Prague? Suyeong: No.
(1) M(-b): M is marked by -b since it ends in vowel.
It is 'M-b' in literary style (official) but people usually omit '-b' for colloquial style.
(2) In colloquial language, people mostly put 'Op before say '£!$[ (really?)?".
It doesn't have any meaning but if you add 'Op , it will make you sound more natural.
(3) L(j 01 ■§■■§.( my name is): 0|-§- is marked by tt since it ends in a consonant.
(4) M-f-inO)|: The Time/Place Particle, 0)1, is used for any words related to time and place. To sound more natural, you can omit 'Oil' when you are having a daily conversation.
(5) #^]o| ^oHA-j; used when telling someone what you really think, especially when it may be something that they do not want to hear. People make frequent use of'#^] o| ^ofjA-j' in a colloquialism.
(6) M^r     comparative. In Korean, you can make a specific comparison by attaching the particle
to the thing that is being compared to. You can use c-| in sentences when not making any specific comparison.
(7) ~^0\\ it is colloquial sentence-closing ending. People  use '-^Op' when they are talking about their personal opinion.
■ Vocabulary
^lls [Gyejeol] season % [Kkot] flower o\ -§- [ Yeoreum] summer -g- [Bom] spring
[Gwamok] subject/course IL^^i [Peurangseu] France BjA|or [ Reosia] Russia [Meksiko] Mexico □ R [Miguk] America/USA Mr^L|0|- [boseunia ] Bosnia
[cheko] Czech
■ Exercise
Exercise A
Complete the sentence using the topic particle and translate the sentence, as shown in the example Example: !□[ /M^L|0f A|-|f
=<£n\£ M^L|0f- A|-|fO|0||fl. "As forElma, (she) is a Bosnian."
1. CH| Z\i 5|a A|-3f
2. L|L|y ^Sb||L|0f AHf
°R [Hanguk]Korea izS.?|0| [Noreuwei] Norway OrHSHH [Aillaendeu] Ireland 5MILF [Kenya] Kenya 0|^ha|0|- [Itallia] Italy ^Ej|oj [Seupein] Spain #^b||L|of [Seullobenia] Slovenia
iJ£ [Ilbon] Japan
[Hoju] Australia 9R [ yeongguk ] England ^ [saek] color
4: s [sosel] novel
^A|- [yeoksa] History
^2.[ [yeonghwa] Movie
-§--§- [undong] Sport
£M [unsikjfood
*r-§-*r [jadongcha] Car
^S" [baekap] Lily
ott^I" [yeongmunhak]: English Literature
^Pr [jakgajauthor *!j [chaek] Book
3.	
4.	o\\zm/±mo\
5.	
6.	JH7fO|/e|7| 4g
7.	
8.	sm=s/ o|^-s|oh a^h
9.	
10.	
Exercise B
Complete the sentence using the topic particle and translate the sentence, as shown in the example: Example: H^/
=H^t=- #0|-oHQ. "As for food, (i) like sushi."
-I O.OI-/ *loh
I . □ —]/     t=l bd
2. gar/^^
3.
4. aj/SS^
5. £/H-^h
6. Ji^m
7. ^Il/^S
s. *npn*m
9. Xr§*r/BMW
10. qnm^w m\
Exercise C
Translate the following sentence into Korean.
Example : As for Nina, (she) is in Slovenia.
= M4b #^N0^| oit^fi
1. As for Gokay, (he) is in Turkey :
2. As for food, (i) like Sushi:
3. As for Coffee, Sk0g is tasty:
4. At the libirary, Su studies German with Gaspard:
5. Which cafe coffee is tasty?:
6. I am from Paris:
7. My major is English literature:
8. As for Mehdi, (he)is French. However, as forYuki, (she) is a Japanese:
9. What's your name?:
10. As for flower, (i) love lily:
Exercise D
Choose the right particle for each sentence.
Example :   £J (0|/7r/i=7b) 0\ £\0\\Q-? "Where is your home?" =S'0|' o)qq|fl?
1. rjj|c|(0|/7r/g-/b) MM ^°\ af-^0|0)|fl. "Mehdi is a master's degree student."
2. □l?rti(0|/^r/§/b) = l>h^ 4l>h0|0||fi. "Mickael is a French."
3. *H3(0|/7|7£/b) #OroHfi. "Chae Kyung loves designer label cups.
4. X1| 0|#(0|/7r/g-/b) 0||a|7r0||fi. "As for my name, (it) is Erika."
5. *|| H^(0|/7r/g-/b) Ai^0|0j|fi. "As for my hometown, (it) is Seoul."
6. M^mo\P\l§:lt) 0\°c\(0\i7\/§:/t) #Orfi. "As for cars, Audi is good."
7. 0\c\(0\p\/§:/£) a\x\R\B. q|°fO|0||fl? " Where is MasarykUniversity?"
8. Sj|°J(0|/7r/-g-/b) 2#^0||fi. "Hye-in is a landlady."
9. H?r0|(0|/7r/§/b) Ej?| Ar|f0|0j|fi "Gokay is a Turkish."
10. L|LK0|/7r/-g-/-b) 20 ^0|0)|fi. "Nina is 20 years old."
■  Sentence Drill Practice
Topic: Traveling
1. V^OW 0\<g7\\ 7rfi?
[sinchonyeoge eotteoke gayo?]
How can I get to 'Sinchon' station? ■»  (Location) 0|| 0\<&7\\ 7rfi?
2. L|-H|H^ 0\C\k\ ArL|-fi?
[ nabigoneun eodiseo sanayo?] Where to buy 'Navigo'?
■»  (things that you want to buy) b/b 0\ c\ k\ X[L\a.?
3. Xib Sra|0||Ai 2^§et D| ^# ^0||fl. [jeoneun parieseo 2judongan meomureul geoyeyo.]
I am going to stay in Paris for two weeks
*  *1b (name of the place) 0j|Ai (length of stay)
4. 4 goi(#) ^ ^ s gtof
[na yeongeo jogeum hal Jul ara] I can speak English little bit.
■>  4 (things that you can do/ Language, computer. Etc.)        W S if Of-
5. H^0^0|aH ^A1|fi [keuruasangirang yogeoteu juseyo]
Croissant and Yogurt please.
■>  (things that you want to order) ^11 £..
6. cq^i^h ^e||b^o||xi 7^ a^s^0|0K
[yeogiga amseutereudameseo gajang yumyeonghan reseutorangiya]
This is the most popular Restaurant in Amsterdam.
-»  Op|7f (the name of the city) 0\\k\ 7f& °g5[ B||^ifO|0|:.
7. <^ WA°\7
[ yeogwon chaenggyeosseo?]
Did you bring the passport?
■>  (Things that you need while traveling) S ?
s. #sisi, 7|q|ai@ ^MCf i^jaoi.
[soljiki, yeonggugeumsigeun gidaehaetdeon geotboda byeolloyeosseo.] To be honest, British food was worse than I expected.
* #S|S|,(nameofthea>untry)#±|£ 71^510 21^4 i^aq.
[donman isseosseumyeon parieseo handareun deo isseosseultende.] If I had enough money, I would stay in paris for one more month.
* (Usually, time or money) °h ^S-MM Cj °ia#EJ!q|
io. aii^oii. ^ioiixi xpj-s 7m mm       s^oh 7^m. m nia^i-K
[sesange. yureobeseo jigabeul kape teibeure ollyeonoko hwajangsire gadani. neo michyeotguna.] Oh my god. You left your wallet on the cafe table in Europe and went to the toilet? You are insane.
* A1|(PlacedA1 (action) « Sf44 L-j n|S?4
■ Answer
Exercise A
1. M^o\o\\a_.
2. L|Lfe #^|L|Of Af^O|q|£.
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o — o
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o
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