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Korean Language

Praise of the Korean language by foreigners

A Presbyterian missionary named John Ross remarked on the beautiful flexibility and expressiveness of the Korean language, surpassing even that of ancient greek,^[1] which made the New Testament translation far more easier to understand than the Chinese translation.^[2]

And James Scott, A 19th century author on Korean grammar stated that there are complex inflection and agglutination that shows almost every varying shade of thought or action^[3]

Furthermore, Ross said that, not only was Korean more clear and expressive than Chinese, the simplicity of the Korean script Hangul made it more widely accessible, to even the unlearned, unlike Chinese.^[4]

references

^ "Indeed, the beautiful flexibility of the Corean verb, can find no equal in the west among modern languages; old Greek being the only language it appears to me, which can compare with it. " The Passing of Korea (1909) pg. 302-304
^ "...The Chinese Bible is to Corea what the Latin was to 'Old England;' and Corean literary men can understand it as well as can Chinese. But I am not surprised at the information that the rudest translation which has been made would have been far more easily understood by even literary [able to read Chinese characters] Coreans than the Chinese version. This results from the beautiful flexibility, the manifold expressiveness, and the accurate rendering of shades of meaning of the Corean verb; while their verbal mode of punctuation connects clauses, subsidiary and main sentences, more closely and definitely than any language I know. John. The United Presbyterian magazine: "The Corean Version of the New Testament; How I came to make it. Part II." (1883) pg. 209
^ "The most characteristic feature of the Corean language is the complex mass of inflection and agglutination whereby the verb is modified to express time, mood, condition, co-ordination and subordination, interrogation, official rank, etc.—in short almost every varying shade of thought or action. Scott, James. A Corean Manual. (1893) pg. 71
^ "The importance of this work can be understood from the facts that Corean is the language of about twelve millions of people, subject to only slight and unimportant provincial differences, and that all the people, because of the remarkable simplicity of its phonetic alphabet, can read. If, therefore, this translation is to the Corean literary man what the Chinese version cannot be, it goes to the women of that country, and to the lowliest and illiterate poor to speak to them plainly, in language which all understand and employ in daily life, of the wondrous love of Him who is the Saviour of the world. John. The United Presbyterian magazine: "The Corean Version of the New Testament; How I came to make it. Part II." (1883) pg. 209

[1] "Indeed, the beautiful flexibility of the Corean verb, can find no equal in the west among modern languages; old Greek being the only language it appears to me, which can compare with it. " The Passing of Korea (1909) pg. 302-304

[2] "...The Chinese Bible is to Corea what the Latin was to 'Old England;' and Corean literary men can understand it as well as can Chinese. But I am not surprised at the information that the rudest translation which has been made would have been far more easily understood by even literary [able to read Chinese characters] Coreans than the Chinese version. This results from the beautiful flexibility, the manifold expressiveness, and the accurate rendering of shades of meaning of the Corean verb; while their verbal mode of punctuation connects clauses, subsidiary and main sentences, more closely and definitely than any language I know. John. The United Presbyterian magazine: "The Corean Version of the New Testament; How I came to make it. Part II." (1883) pg. 209

[3] "The most characteristic feature of the Corean language is the complex mass of inflection and agglutination whereby the verb is modified to express time, mood, condition, co-ordination and subordination, interrogation, official rank, etc.—in short almost every varying shade of thought or action. Scott, James. A Corean Manual. (1893) pg. 71

[4] "The importance of this work can be understood from the facts that Corean is the language of about twelve millions of people, subject to only slight and unimportant provincial differences, and that all the people, because of the remarkable simplicity of its phonetic alphabet, can read. If, therefore, this translation is to the Corean literary man what the Chinese version cannot be, it goes to the women of that country, and to the lowliest and illiterate poor to speak to them plainly, in language which all understand and employ in daily life, of the wondrous love of Him who is the Saviour of the world. John. The United Presbyterian magazine: "The Corean Version of the New Testament; How I came to make it. Part II." (1883) pg. 209

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