Editing Korean language (section)

==Vocabulary==
[[File:The oldest Korean dictionary.jpg|thumb|right|The oldest Korean dictionary (1920)]]
The core of the Korean vocabulary is made up of ''native Korean'' words. However, a significant proportion of the vocabulary, especially words that denote abstract ideas, are [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|''Sino-Korean'']] words.<ref name="Sohn">{{harvp|Sohn|2001|loc=Section 1.5.3 "Korean vocabulary", pp. 12–13}}</ref> To a much lesser extent, some words have also been borrowed from [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] and other languages.{{sfnp|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=6}} More recent loanwords are dominated by English.

In South Korea, it is widely believed that North Korea wanted to emphasize the use of unique Korean expressions in its language and eliminate the influence of foreign languages. However, according to researchers such as Jeon Soo-tae, who has seen first-hand data from North Korea, the country has reduced the number of difficult foreign words in a similar way to South Korea.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ko:남북의 언어: 종결편 이장균 기자 |url=https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/133661-20040417.html |access-date=27 April 2023 |archive-date=27 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427153920/https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/133661-20040417.html |url-status=live |newspaper=Radio Free Asia }}</ref>

In 2021, Moon Sung-guk of [[Kim Il Sung University]] in North Korea wrote in his thesis that [[Kim Jong Il]] had said that vernacularized Sino-Korean vocabulary should be used as it is, not modified. "A language is in constant interaction with other languages, and in the process it is constantly being developed and enriched," he said. According to the paper, Kim Jong Il argued that academic terms used in the natural sciences and engineering, such as {{Korean|hangul=콤퓨터|labels=no}} ({{Transliteration|ko|mr|k'omp'yut'ŏ}}; 'computer') and {{Korean|hangul=하드디스크|labels=no}} ({{Transliteration|ko|mr|hadŭdisŭk'ŭ}}; 'hard disk') should remain in the names of their inventors, and that the word {{Korean|hangul=쵸콜레트|labels=no}} ({{Transliteration|ko|mr|ch'ok'ollet'ŭ}}; 'chocolate') should not be replaced because it had been used for so long.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:위대한 령도자 김정일동지께서 어휘정리사업이 편향없이 진행되도록 이끌어주신 불멸의 령도 |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/ko/research/articles/125b93c9b50703fe9dac43ec231f5f83?cp=0 |access-date=27 April 2023 |archive-date=26 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226081751/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/ko/research/articles/125b93c9b50703fe9dac43ec231f5f83?cp=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

South Korea defines its vocabulary standards through the [https://stdict.korean.go.kr/main/main.do 표준국어대사전] ([[Standard Korean Language Dictionary]]), and North Korea defines its vocabulary standards through the [https://web.archive.org/web/20231224145010/https://dprktoday.com/kor_dic/ 조선말대사전] (Korean Language Dictionary).

=== Sino-Korean ===
{{Main|Sino-Korean vocabulary}}

{| class="wikitable floatright"
! rowspan="2" | Number
! colspan="3" | [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]] cardinal numbers
! colspan="2" | Native Korean cardinal numbers
|-
! [[Hangul]]
![[Hanja]]
! [[Revised romanization of Korean|Romanization]]
! [[Hangul]]
! [[Revised romanization of Korean|Romanization]]
|-
| 1
| {{lang|ko|일}}
|{{lang|ko|一}}
| ''il''
| {{lang|ko|하나}}
| ''hana''
|-
| 2
| {{lang|ko|이}}
|{{lang|ko|二}}
| ''i''
| {{lang|ko|둘}}
| ''dul''
|-
| 3
| {{lang|ko|삼}}
|{{lang|ko|三}}
| ''sam''
| {{lang|ko|셋}}
| ''set''
|-
| 4
| {{lang|ko|사}}
|{{lang|ko|四}}
| ''sa''
| {{lang|ko|넷}}
| ''net''
|-
| 5
| {{lang|ko|오}}
|{{lang|ko|五}}
| ''o''
| {{lang|ko|다섯}}
| ''daseot''
|-
| 6
| {{lang|ko|육}}, {{lang|ko|륙}}
|{{lang|ko|六}}
| ''yuk'', ''ryuk''
| {{lang|ko|여섯}}
| ''yeoseot''
|-
| 7
| {{lang|ko|칠}}
|{{lang|ko|七}}
| ''chil''
| {{lang|ko|일곱}}
| ''ilgop''
|-
| 8
| {{lang|ko|팔}}
|{{lang|ko|八}}
| ''pal''
| {{lang|ko|여덟}}
| ''yeodeol''
|-
| 9
| {{lang|ko|구}}
|{{lang|ko|九}}
| ''gu''
| {{lang|ko|아홉}}
| ''ahop''
|-
| 10
| {{lang|ko|십}}
|{{lang|ko|十}}
| ''sip''
| {{lang|ko|열}}
| ''yeol''
|}

Sino-Korean vocabulary consists of:
* [[Borrowed words|words directly borrowed]] from [[written Chinese]], and
* compounds coined in Korea or Japan and read using the Sino-Korean reading of [[Chinese characters]].

Therefore, just like other words, Korean has [[Korean numerals|two sets of numeral systems]]. English is similar, having native English words and [[Latinate]] equivalents such as ''water-aqua'', ''fire-flame'', ''sea-marine'', ''two-dual'', ''sun-solar'', ''star-stellar''. However, unlike English and Latin which belong to the same [[Indo-European languages]] family and bear a certain resemblance, Korean and Chinese are [[Genetic relationship (linguistics)|genetically unrelated]] and the two sets of Korean words differ completely from each other. All Sino-Korean [[morpheme]]s are [[Monosyllabic language|monosyllabic]] as in Chinese, whereas native Korean morphemes can be polysyllabic. The Sino-Korean words were deliberately imported alongside corresponding Chinese characters for a written language and everything was supposed to be written in Hanja, so the coexistence of Sino-Korean would be more thorough and systematic than that of Latinate words in English.

The exact proportion of Sino-Korean vocabulary is a matter of debate. Sohn (2001) stated 50–60%.<ref name="Sohn" /> In 2006 the same author gives an even higher estimate of 65%.{{sfnp|Sohn|2006|p=5}} Jeong Jae-do, one of the compilers of the dictionary ''Urimal Keun Sajeon'', asserts that the proportion is not so high. He points out that Korean dictionaries compiled during the [[Korea under Japanese rule|colonial period]] include many unused Sino-Korean words. In his estimation, the proportion of Sino-Korean vocabulary in the Korean language might be as low as 30%.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kim|first=Jin-su|date=2009-09-11|script-title=ko:우리말 70%가 한자말? 일제가 왜곡한 거라네|language=ko|trans-title=Our language is 70% hanja? Japanese Empire distortion|periodical=The Hankyoreh|url=http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/religion/376204.html|access-date=2009-09-11|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011114508/http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/religion/376204.html|url-status=live}} The dictionary mentioned is {{Cite book|year=1992|script-title=ko:우리말 큰 사전|location=Seoul|publisher=Hangul Hakhoe|oclc=27072560}}</ref>

=== Western loanwords ===
{{See also|Konglish}}
The vast majority of [[loanword]]s other than Sino-Korean come from modern times, approximately 90% of which are from [[English language|English]].<ref name=Sohn /> Many words have also been borrowed from [[European languages|Western languages]] such as [[German language|German]] via [[Japanese language|Japanese]] (e.g. {{lang|ko|아르바이트}} (''[[wikt:アルバイト|areubaiteu]]'') 'part-time job', {{lang|ko|알레르기}} (''allereugi'') '[[allergy]]', {{lang|ko|기브스}} (''gibseu'' or ''gibuseu'') 'plaster cast used for broken bones'). Some Western words were borrowed indirectly via Japanese during the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese occupation of Korea]], taking a Japanese sound pattern, for example "dozen"&nbsp;> {{lang|ja-Kana|ダース}} ''dāsu''&nbsp;> {{lang|ko|다스}} ''daseu''. However, most indirect Western borrowings are now written according to current "Hangulization" rules for the respective Western language, as if borrowed directly. In South Korean official use, a number of other Sino-Korean country names have been replaced with phonetically oriented "Hangeulizations" of the countries' endonyms or English names.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Choo |first1=Sungjae |title=The use of Hanja (Chinese characters) in Korean toponyms: Practices and issues |journal=Journal of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences |date=2016 |volume=51 |pages=13–24 |doi=10.34158/ONOMA.51/2016/2 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Because of such a prevalence of English in modern South Korean culture and society, [[lexical borrowing]] is inevitable. English-derived Korean, or "Konglish" ({{lang|ko|콩글리시}}), is increasingly used. The vocabulary of the South Korean dialect of the Korean language is roughly 5% loanwords (excluding Sino-Korean vocabulary).{{sfnp|Sohn|2006|p=87}} However, due to North Korea's isolation, such influence is lacking in North Korean speech.