Article In:
Korean Linguistics
Vol. 20:2 (2024) ► pp.113–126

Hangul — a hybrid orthography

| University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa,
Hangul is widely categorized as a classic example of a morphophonemic orthography, in which each morpheme receives a single spelling, even if its pronunciation varies from context to context. This paper makes the case that Hangul is in fact a hybrid orthography that adheres to a morphophonemic strategy for spelling consonants but adopts the conventions of a phonetic writing system for representing vowels. Various explanations for this arrangement are considered.
Keywords: Hangul, morphophonemic orthography, phonetic orthography, hybrid writing system
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Two orthographies
    • 2.1A phonetic orthography
    • 2.2A morphophonemic orthography
  • 3.The hybrid character of Hangul
    • Vowel harmony
    • Epenthesis
    • ‘Silent’ sounds
    • Contraction
    • Exceptions and irregularities
  • 4.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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References (13)
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