The concept of language has always intrigued ever since I was a kid. Growing up in a Filipino household, one of the main languages I was introduced to at a young age was Tagalog. I always wondered how languages were created and understood.
In Chapter 2, "Alphabets," the Korean alphabet, Hangul, is introduced. Hangul utilized the complex Chinese characters for the written language. But the aspect that intrigued me the most about this language are the fourteen consonants and ten vowels that are utilized within this language.
Korean Vowels
Korean Consonants
The innovative construction of this alphabet was creatively put together by a group of young scholars chosen by Sejong, a Korean monarch. Unlike the Greek and Roman alphabets, the Hangul alphabet is written in a non-linear sequence. The syllables combine at least one consonant and one vowel, as seen in the table below:
Syllables that use a vertical vowel are read from left to right, while syllables that utilize a horizontal vowel are read from top to bottom. This system is a very efficient base for this beautiful language and allowed the creation of more complex combinations. For example, this system led to the addition of letters to simple syllables to create more unique configurations and combining elementary syllables into harder, more extensive configurations. While reading about this concept, I was amazed by how creative Sejong and his young scholars were to create such a complex and efficient language system. To take elements from an already existing language and adding your own elements to create a whole new form of communication is a feat that still impacts the world we know today. The creation process for Hangul also allowed me to reflect on the concept of self-expression. This alphabet was based on another existing alphabet, but also included elements from the creators mind. Sejong expressed his unique approach by creating such a diverse language.
Overall, this section allowed me to reflect on my appreciation for language and the different characters that are written in each language. I was always amazed by how some languages used the same letters as English, but were organized in different ways to create different words and syllables than English, and I was even more perplexed by the languages that utilize totally different characters, such as Korean, to represent certain words and phrases. The concept of language will always be an appreciation of mine and I will always respect the art of language.
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