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'L' sound in korean names?

Forum Index > BW General
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1 2 3 Next All
caldo149
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States469 Posts
September 14 2009 09:31 GMT
#1
I was talking to one of my friends who is realtively fluent in Korean, and when I was reading some names like Lee Jaedong (이제동) and Lim Yo Hwan (임요환) he said that there wasn't an L sound in either of their respective names... like, it's supposed to be Ee Jaedong and Im Yo Hwan. I didn't believe him at first, since I didn't think TLPD would be wrong and a like a bazillion fans would be wrong either, but based on this guide he's right, there is no L sound at the beginning. Why is it spelled with an L in English letters if there's no L sound? I am thoroughly confused =/


Hellions are my homeboys
GTR
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
51507 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 09:35:30
September 14 2009 09:33 GMT
#2
It's how Westerners have romanized their name.
Don't ask me why.

FYI the closest hangul character to 'L' is ㄹ.
Commentator
p4NDemik
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
United States13896 Posts
September 14 2009 09:44 GMT
#3
We can't have those vowels running around all naked without being bundled up with consonants - that's just madness!
Moderator
caldo149
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States469 Posts
September 14 2009 09:46 GMT
#4
On September 14 2009 18:44 p4NDemik wrote:
We can't have those vowels running around all naked without being bundled up with consonants - that's just madness!


Madness? ...THIS... IS... KOREAN!
Hellions are my homeboys
Hittegods
Profile Joined April 2007
Stockholm4641 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 09:59:49
September 14 2009 09:59 GMT
#5
Ee Jaedong Han timing?
This neo violence, pure self defiance
yoodeok
Profile Joined April 2009
United States101 Posts
September 14 2009 10:03 GMT
#6
Short answer: The reason is that back in the day, Yi/이 was Lee/Rhee/리, and Im/임 was Lim/림. These days, the language has shifted, such that you don't see the L/R sound anymore very much, save some place names, such as Gwangan-ri/광안리.
Dad works for Samsung -> automatic rabid Samsung KHAN fanboy. Buy LG and I'll cut you
7mk
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Germany10157 Posts
September 14 2009 10:19 GMT
#7
On September 14 2009 18:46 caldo149 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 14 2009 18:44 p4NDemik wrote:
We can't have those vowels running around all naked without being bundled up with consonants - that's just madness!


Madness? ...THIS... IS... KOREAN!



lolololol

@OP it's not like TLPD is "wrong" now because you're still supposed to write Lee, not sth silly like Ee. That would just look stupid ^^
beep boop
alffla
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Hong Kong20321 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 10:32:46
September 14 2009 10:32 GMT
#8
hmph i dont evne know why. but if they were chinese their last names would be romanized as Lee / Li and ...Lim / Lam lol.

does that help..? at all? o _O
Graphicssavior[gm] : What is a “yawn” rape ;; Masumune - It was the year of the pig for those fucking defilers. Chill - A clinic you say? okum: SC without Korean yelling is like porn without sex. konamix: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!
7mk
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Germany10157 Posts
September 14 2009 10:43 GMT
#9
On September 14 2009 19:32 alffla wrote:
hmph i dont evne know why. but if they were chinese their last names would be romanized as Lee / Li and ...Lim / Lam lol.

does that help..? at all? o _O


So in chinese, do you also not pronounce the "L" ?

Bruce Ee? :p
beep boop
Terranlisk
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Singapore1404 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 10:45:26
September 14 2009 10:44 GMT
#10
On September 14 2009 19:43 7mk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 14 2009 19:32 alffla wrote:
hmph i dont evne know why. but if they were chinese their last names would be romanized as Lee / Li and ...Lim / Lam lol.

does that help..? at all? o _O


So in chinese, do you also not pronounce the "L" ?

Bruce Ee? :p

no.... Bruce Lee/Li
aka myheronoob
7mk
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Germany10157 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 10:46:23
September 14 2009 10:45 GMT
#11
On September 14 2009 19:44 MyHeroNoob wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 14 2009 19:43 7mk wrote:
On September 14 2009 19:32 alffla wrote:
hmph i dont evne know why. but if they were chinese their last names would be romanized as Lee / Li and ...Lim / Lam lol.

does that help..? at all? o _O


So in chinese, do you also not pronounce the "L" ?

Bruce Ee? :p

no....


what exactly is this answering
is this a "no, you do pronounce the L" is it a "no you don't pronounce the L" or is it a "no you stupid dumbass Bruce Lee is an american name"

Which one? ^^

edit: ah ok ninja edit :p
beep boop
kaleidoscope
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Singapore2887 Posts
September 14 2009 11:12 GMT
#12
Bruce Lee? We still pronounce them with the "L".. (aka Lee Xiao Long)

For korean, yep, the 이 is known as Lee, but the with the "L", it fits the chinese surname of Lee.. Partially since korean are once from China..
대지따라 돌린게 시간이다.. 흘러가고 돌아오지도 않고..
alffla
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Hong Kong20321 Posts
September 14 2009 11:14 GMT
#13
On September 14 2009 19:45 7mk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 14 2009 19:44 MyHeroNoob wrote:
On September 14 2009 19:43 7mk wrote:
On September 14 2009 19:32 alffla wrote:
hmph i dont evne know why. but if they were chinese their last names would be romanized as Lee / Li and ...Lim / Lam lol.

does that help..? at all? o _O


So in chinese, do you also not pronounce the "L" ?

Bruce Ee? :p

no....


what exactly is this answering
is this a "no, you do pronounce the L" is it a "no you don't pronounce the L" or is it a "no you stupid dumbass Bruce Lee is an american name"

Which one? ^^

edit: ah ok ninja edit :p


hahah in chinese "Lee" sounds like.. "Lee" LOL but in korean is "Ee" .

koreans and chniese share many same last names but the language is different. maybe the romanization of korean names came from how chniese names were romanized? lol o_O i actually have no idea about this topic just bullshitting.
Graphicssavior[gm] : What is a “yawn” rape ;; Masumune - It was the year of the pig for those fucking defilers. Chill - A clinic you say? okum: SC without Korean yelling is like porn without sex. konamix: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!
dasanivan
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States532 Posts
September 14 2009 11:24 GMT
#14
On September 14 2009 20:12 kaleidoscope wrote:
Bruce Lee? We still pronounce them with the "L".. (aka Lee Xiao Long)

For korean, yep, the 이 is known as Lee, but the with the "L", it fits the chinese surname of Lee.. Partially since korean are once from China..



koreans are mostly mongolian in origin, not chinese. but cultural things like name and language have lots of chinese influence.


snowbird
Profile Blog Joined October 2005
Germany2044 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 11:56:24
September 14 2009 11:55 GMT
#15
A general rule for words of chinese origin that start with an 'r/l' is that the initial 'r/l' is dropped if followed by 'i' or 'y' in South Korea (not in North Korea). This is also true for the name '리/이' (Lee) [李]. So originally there was an R/L, it's just that the language has evolved and they dropped it. So that's the connection between Ee and Lee.

There are romanization rules but for names people often make up their own romanizations for aesthaetic reasons. Lee is the most common romanization of the name '이', but sometimes you'll see Yi, I, Ri, Rhee (like 이승만/리승만 Seungman Rhee, first president of South Korea), etc...

If you'd go by the rules, the romanization should be Ee, but that looks kinda stupid.

@riotsnowbird
50bani
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Romania480 Posts
September 14 2009 12:03 GMT
#16
Yeah the language must have changed a lot, I guess. Koreans still use Chinese characters to spell their names occasionally, and 李 seems to be the one for both Chinese "Li" and Korean "이" .
Did you people find it interesting that the name of the president who killed himself recently was romanised as "Roh" when it should have been "No"? Why did they do it like that?
I'm posting on twoplustwo because I have always been amazed at the level of talent that populates this site --- it's almost unparalleled on the Internet.
520
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States2822 Posts
September 14 2009 12:04 GMT
#17
이 = 李
임 = 林

As far as the hanja for Korean names are concerned. The characters, separately, are pronounced 리 and 림 respectively, but they are not pronounced in South Korea. However, in the North, 리 and 림 are both pronounced and spelled that way.
Writer
Scorch
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Austria3371 Posts
September 14 2009 12:13 GMT
#18
Slightly off topic: Is there no sound for F/V/W in Korean? They always say "pesseli" instead of science vessel, "depiloh" for defiler, "ribo" for reaver etc.
520
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
United States2822 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 12:24:07
September 14 2009 12:18 GMT
#19
On September 14 2009 21:13 Scorch wrote:
Slightly off topic: Is there no sound for F/V/W in Korean? They always say "pesseli" instead of science vessel, "depiloh" for defiler, "ribo" for reaver etc.

Yes, for F/V. There is a W sound in Korean.

ㅍ, the Korean equivalent of the letter "p", is used for v's and f's.
Writer
zeppelin
Profile Joined December 2007
United States565 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-09-14 12:26:20
September 14 2009 12:26 GMT
#20
On September 14 2009 21:18 scintilliaSD wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 14 2009 21:13 Scorch wrote:
Slightly off topic: Is there no sound for F/V/W in Korean? They always say "pesseli" instead of science vessel, "depiloh" for defiler, "ribo" for reaver etc.

Yes, for F/V. There is a W sound in Korean.

ㅍ, the Korean equivalent of the letter "p", is used for v's and f's.


and b's! (sometimes)
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