A Syntactic Comparison ofEnglish and Korean for L1 English Speakers of Korean

Hyunjung AhnUniversity of Washington

AATK 2011 Yale University

Why is it difficult for English speakers to learn Korean?

1.Grammar -> Word-order (different sentence structure)

2.Pronunciation3.Honorifics4. Different orthography system5. Particles

Theoretical syntax -> Classroom

- Does understanding syntactic differences help in the learning of Korean?

Yes!Writing, Reading and Translation

For whom?

- University or high school students with a strong knowledge of grammar

Why use syntax?

- Visualize language structures ina way that may be more easily analyzed

- Use one rule to explain multiplegrammatical rules

What causes the main differences?

English = head-initial(basic head-initial with occasional

head-final elements)

Korean = head-final(consistent head-final properties)

한국어-Head final 언어

- (S)OV word-order- heads are found at the end of their phrases (VP, NP, PP, AdjP)

AATK 2011

English-head initial 언어- SVO word-order- Most heads are found at the initial position

of their phrases (VP, NP, PP, AdjP)

- Chomsky (1988)

What is the head?

The main element of a phrase(that defines the category of the phrase)

e.g.,The head of NP(명사구) -> Noun(명사)The head of VP (동사구)-> Verb (동사)The head of AdjP(형용사구)-> Adj (형용사)The head of PP(전치사구)-> P(전치사)

Syntax tree

“I love you.”

TP

NP VP

N

I love N

NPV

you

(=tensed phrase->sentence/clause)

VP1- with objects

VP2-with Adverb(1)

VP2-with Adverb(2)

VP with PP(Prepositional phrase)

NP 1-with adjectives

NP2- with relative clauses(CP)

PP(전치사구)

Difficulty is from

1. Opposite word-order2. Irregularity of English word-order

One rule can be a solution!

In Korean, the HEAD is always at the END!

번역하기-연습1영어를 한국어로

I go to school by bus with my friendaround 9 o’clock everyday.

(한국말은 끝까지!)

매일 아홉시 제 친구 하고버스로 학교에 가요

쯤에

[ ] [ ] [ ][ ] [ ]

번역하기- 연습2

한국어를 영어로

내일 한국어 수업 후에 여자친구와 같이 도서관에서 공부할 거예요.

-> [내일] [한국어 수업 후에] [여자친구와 같이] [도서관에서] [공부할 거예요]

번역하기- 연습2

-> [내일] [한국어 수업 후에] [여자친구와 같이] [도서관에서] [공부할 거예요]

-> I / will study in the library

with my girlfriend after Korean classtomorrow.

번역하기-연습3 with relative clauses

The teacher who teaches Korean 101 at UW came from Korea last year.

-> Finding a subject NP!

[The teacher who teaches Korean 101 at UW] came from Korea last year.

Subject - [The teacher who teaches Korean 101 at UW]->

VP(predicate)- came from Korea last year.->

UW에서 한국어 101을 가르치는그 선생님은

작년에 한국에서 오셨어

____________________________________

________________________________________

____________________________________

___________

Verb(동사)와 Auxiliary (조동사)

Sentence with tense

영어 (tensed-시제)

한국어 (tensed-시제)

Subordinate clause (종속절)

TP(clause)

한국어?

Head-final language with all the head-final properties!

Not difficult!

References

• Baker, M. (2001). The Atoms of Language:The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar.

Basic BKS.• Chomsky, N. (1988). Language and the Pr

oblems of Knowledge: The Managua Lectures. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

감사합니다!(many thanks to Russell Hugo)