Du-eum Beopchik

Poster for the March 1960 presidential election featuring Syngman Rhee and Chang Myon. The names are written without following the 두음 법칙.

The 두음 법칙 (Hanja: 頭音法則) is a phenomenon observed in the Korean language, dating back to the 16th century when actual Chinese characters' pronunciations began to be reflected. It can be traced in documents from the 17th century, where place names like Naejoo (Hanja: 羅州) were written as Naedjoo, and Yeongam (Hanja: 靈巖) as Jeham, reflecting the 두음 법칙 pronunciation. Examples of the 두음 법칙 in the late 19th and early 20th centuries include the romanization of the Lee (이) surname as Ye or Yi.

In 1912, during the Japanese colonial era, the standard orthographic rules for schools initially organized the 두음 법칙 and received the pronunciation of "Naejoo" as Naedjoo and "Yeongam" as Jeham in Hamel's travelogue. However, this claim by Rye Jeong-dong, an honorary professor, as described above, is not accurate.

In modern Korean, except for a few conditions, standard Korean language (표준어) acknowledges the 두음 법칙. However, in the cultural language (문화어) of North Korea, the 두음 법칙 is not generally recognized, and they use the Chinese characters' original pronunciations.

두음 법칙 in Korean Language

In standard Korean, examples of the 두음 법칙 can be found in the transformation of the consonants 'ㄹ' or 'ㄴ' in certain conditions. Many instances demonstrate how the 두음 법칙 is applied in Korean, such as the forced romanization of the Korean surname Ryu as 'Yoo' in official documents. If someone wishes to deviate from this rule, they must request a correction of the "Korean surname's Korean pronunciation" as stated in the family relationship registration book to the judiciary.

In particular, the 두음 법칙 involving 'ㄹ' and 'ㄴ' is noticeable in Hanja-based pronunciation when a Hanja character with the initial consonant 'ㄴ' or 'ㄹ' followed by 'ㅣ' at the beginning of a word changes to 'ㅇ' or 'ㄴ'. The pronunciation following the 두음 법칙 is reflected in the Korean writing.

Conditions for Applying the 두음 법칙

• When the double vowel 'ㄴ' or 'ㄹ' at the beginning of a word with Hanja characters like '녀, 뇨, 뉴, 니, 랴, 려, 례, 료, 류, 리' starting with 'ㄴ' or 'ㄹ' + 'ㅣ' is pronounced as '여, 요, 유, 이', '야, 여, 예, 요, 유, 이'.
• When Hanja characters like '라, 래, 로, 뢰, 루, 르' without 'ㄹ' + 'ㅣ' are at the beginning of a word, they are pronounced as '나, 내, 노, 뇌, 누, 느'.
• '렬, 률' following a vowel or 'ㄴ' final consonant are pronounced as '열, 율'.

For example, '림' (林) is pronounced as '임', '로' (路) is pronounced as '노', and '념' (念) is pronounced as '염', while '라렬' (羅列) is pronounced as '나열'. The 두음 법칙 does not apply to loanwords or foreign words.

• Compound words derived from Hanja or composed of Hanja characters follow the 두음 법칙.
  • 신여성 (新女性), 공염불 (空念佛), 회계연도 (會計年度), etc.

• The 두음 법칙 applies when a Chinese character combines with native words or foreign words.
  • 구름-양(量) = 운량(雲量), 칼슘-양, 어린이-난, 가십-난 (gossip - 난), etc.
• Consonants like (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ) are not subject to the 두음 법칙.

However, there is an exception for words that include ㅏ, ㅓ, where the 두음 법칙 is applied.

Conditions where the 두음 법칙 does not apply

• Words are written as pronounced, except at the beginning of a word.
  • 남녀 (男女), 은닉 (隱匿), 독자란 (讀者欄), 비고란 (備考欄), 공란 (空欄), 답란 (答欄), 투고란 (投稿欄), etc.

• In abbreviations, words pronounced as pronounced are written as pronounced.
  • 국련 (KINX) (국제연합), 전경련 (KINX) (전국경제인연합회), 한총련 (KINX) (한국대학총학생회연합), 소련 (KINX) (소비에트사회주의공화국연방), etc.

• Dependent nouns are written as pronounced.
  • 냥 (兩), 년 (年), 리 (里), 리 (理), 량 (輛)
  • 몇 냥, 몇 년, 거기까지 몇 리냐?, 그럴 리가 없다., 객차

오십 량, etc.

• When attaching Chinese characters to names that are not of foreign origin, the 두음 법칙 is applied.
  • (Choson Dynasty general) Shin Ryp (申砬).
• Conversely, when the name is not of foreign origin, the 두음 법칙 is applied.
  • Heo Nanshok (허난설헌)

Dialects where the 두음 법칙 is observed

The 두음 법칙 was established in Korea before the division between North and South. Although North Korea initially adhered to the 두음 법칙 after the division, they soon abandoned it. In North Korean culture and the dialects of South Korea, such as Jeju language and Korean Chinese, the 두음 법칙 is mostly absent. However, some Chinese characters are written according to their changed pronunciation in North Korea, such as '라사' (羅紗) written as '나사', '라팔' (喇叭) written as '나팔', and '료기' (療飢) written as '요기'. These exceptions recognize the 두음 법칙, reflecting the language reality.

In modern Korean, the 두음 법칙 is primarily observed in the standard language of South Korea and its dialects.

Exceptions to the 두음 법칙

With changes in the law, exceptions to the 두음 법칙 can now be found. One such exception relates to surnames (姓氏), and through the application process, surnames like 李씨 (Lee) can be changed to (이→리씨) and 林씨 (Lim) to (임→림씨), and 柳씨 (Yoo) to (유→류씨).

See also

• Hangul orthography

Further reading

• Byeon Yong-woo (2004), "두음법칙의 형태적 제약", Korean Buddhist Studies, Korean Buddhist Studies Society, 9: 199–229
• Shin Seong-chul (2018), "A Diachronic Study of the ㄹ 두음법칙", Korean Linguistics, Korean Linguistics Society, 85: 151–179, doi:10.15811/jkl.2018.85.005
• Wi Jin (2004), "A Diachronic Study of /n/ 두음법칙", Korean-Chinese Literary Studies, Korean-Chinese Literary Society, 12: 148–167
• Jo Gyu-tae (1999), "Problems with Korean Orthography: On the Pronunciation of the Initial "ㄹ"", Baedal Mal (Journal of the Society of Standard Language), Society of Baedal Mal, 25 (0): 293–310
• Jo Gyu-tae (2009), "Regarding the Change of the Initial "ㄹ"", Baedal Mal (Journal of the Society of Standard Language), Society of Baedal Mal, 45 (0): 69–109

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