Replacement
- Coda neutralisation: final consonants are pronounced as only seven sounds, ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅇ (부엌 [부억], 옷 [옫]).
- Nasalisation: final ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ become ㅇ, ㄴ, ㅁ before ㄴ or ㅁ (국물 [궁물], 받는 [반는], 밥물 [밤물]); ㄹ becomes ㄴ after ㅁ or ㅇ (담력 [담녁]).
- Lateralisation: ㄴ becomes ㄹ next to ㄹ (신라 [실라], 칼날 [칼랄]).
- Palatalisation: final ㄷ, ㅌ become ㅈ, ㅊ before a grammatical morpheme starting with ㅣ (굳이 [구지], 같이 [가치]).
- Tensification: plain consonants become tense after ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ (국밥 [국빱]).
Nasalisation and lateralisation are forms of consonant assimilation.
Deletion
- Cluster simplification: only one consonant of a double coda is pronounced (넋 [넉], 닭 [닥], 값 [갑]).
- ㅎ deletion before vowels (좋은 [조은]).
- ㄹ and ㅡ deletion in conjugation (울+는 → 우는, 쓰+어 → 써).
Insertion and contraction
- ㄴ insertion in compounds before 이, 야, 여, 요, 유 (솜이불 [솜니불], 색연필 [생년필]).
- Aspiration: ㅎ combines with ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ into ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ (좋고 [조코], 축하 [추카]).
Norms and teaching
The rules are codified in the Standard Pronunciation Rules, part two of the Standard Korean Language Regulations (1988). Because spelling and pronunciation diverge, learners struggle in listening; minimal pairs, listen-and-repeat drills and moving from words to sentences help.
References
- 국립국어원. (2017). 「표준어 규정」 제2부 표준 발음법. 국립국어원.
- 이진호. (2021). 『국어 음운론 강의』(3판). 집문당.
- Sohn, H.-M. (1999). The Korean Language. Cambridge University Press.
- 배주채. (2013). 『한국어의 발음』(개정판). 삼경문화사.