The 'Korean wave' in music and film and Korea's rise to become the twelfth economic power in the world have boosted the world-wide popularity of Korean language study. The linguistic study of Korean, with its rich syntactic and phonological structure, complex writing system, and unique socio-historical context, is now a rapidly growing research area. Contributions from internationally renowned experts on the language provide a state-of-the-art overview of key current research in Korean language and linguistics. Chapters are divided into five thematic areas: phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax, semantics and pragmatics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, and language pedagogy. The Handbook includes cross-linguistic data to illuminate the features of Korean, and examples in Korean script, making it suitable for advanced students and researchers with or without prior knowledge of Korean linguistics. It is an essential resource for students and researchers wishing to explore the exciting and rapidly moving field of Korean linguistics.

The Handbook of Korean Linguistics presents state-of-the-art overviews of the linguistic research on the Korean language. • Structured to allow a range of theoretical perspectives in addressing linguistic phenomena • Includes chapters on Old Korean and Middle Korean, present-day language policies in North and South Korea, social aspects of Korean as a heritage language, and honorifics • Indispensable and unique resource not only for those studying Korean linguistics but cross-linguistic research in general

This work, first published in 1994, provides a framework which covers the major aspects of contemporary standard Korean and allows cross-language comparisons. It offers a wide-ranging and comprehensive grammatical description of Korean, covering syntax, morphology, phonology, ideophone/interjections and lexicon.

A lively and fascinating introduction to the sound, structure, and history of Korean.

An Introduction to Korean Linguistics is a valuable and comprehensive text for those with an interest in Korean linguistics. This book provides an in-depth introduction to the basics of Korean linguistics, and modern linguistic theory, in an accessible style. It features a step-by-step approach designed to lead the reader through the linguistic make-up of the language, from the basics of its sound system and sentence structure to the semantics of modern spoken Korean. Features include: Detailed chapters covering the core areas in the field of linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax Clear and accessible explanations which effectively demonstrate the intricacies and subtleties of the Korean language Suggested readings for those interested in expanding their knowledge of a specific topic Exercises designed to complement the factual and analytical issues covered in each chapter A comprehensive glossary of central terms and a companion website offering a wealth of additional materials. Korean is an invaluable language for the study of theoretical and comparative linguistics as it provides important examples and counter-examples to key issues, making An Introduction to Korean Linguistics an essential text for students and professional linguists alike.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the linguistics of Korean. It presents essential facts about the language: its speakers, its relation to other languages of the world, historical development, dialects (including the differences between South and North Korean), writing systems, the composition and structure of words, and sound patterns and syntax. It provides a wealth of examples and user-friendly descriptions that do not presuppose advanced knowledge of either linguistic theory or Korean on the part of the reader.

The linguistic study of Chinese, with its rich morphological, syntactic and prosodic/tonal structures, its complex writing system, and its diverse socio-historical background, is already a long-established and vast research area. With contributions from internationally renowned experts in the field, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art survey of the central issues in Chinese linguistics. Chapters are divided into four thematic areas: writing systems and the neuro-cognitive processing of Chinese, morpho-lexical structures, phonetic and phonological characteristics, and issues in syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and discourse. By following a context-driven approach, it shows how theoretical issues in Chinese linguistics can be resolved with empirical evidence and argumentation, and provides a range of different perspectives. Its dialectical design sets a state-of-the-art benchmark for research in a wide range of interdisciplinary and cross-lingual studies involving the Chinese language. It is an essential resource for students and researchers wishing to explore the fascinating field of Chinese linguistics.