>Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 11:42:10 -0500
>From: Young-Key Kim-Renaud <kimrenau@...>
>Subject: RE: Hangul script type: (was Re: [OT] ANN: Site about scripts)
>Sender: Young-Key Kim-Renaud <kimrenau@...>
>To: william bright <William.Bright@...>
>MIME-version: 1.0
>X-WebMail-UserID: kimrenau
>X-EXP32-SerialNo: 50000136
>Status:
>
>Dear Bill,
>
>The message I sent last Friday to your list, [qalam@yahoogroups.com], did not
>go through, clearly because I am not a member of the group. I would
>appreciate your forwarding my message, as I would like the LIST to have the
>sequel to their discussion, if you have not already done so.
>
>Thanks for your help!
>
>Yours,
>Young-Key.
>
>=====Message sent to qalam [qalam@yahoogroups.com],william bright
>[William.Bright@...], "Kim Chin W." [cwkim@...],
>[gkl1@...],coulmas [coulmas@...],grammatim
>[grammatim@...],songkj [songkj@...], Friday, November 09,
>2001 7:28 PM=====
>
>Hi Bill,
>
>Thanks for your kind remarks on my work and for sharing the interesting
>exchange.
>
>As you say, the Korean alphabet was an invention. However, the word
>"independently" may have been subjectively interpreted by different parties.
>In my opinion, no invention--especially modern--is "ex nihilo." Likewise, for
>the invention of the Korean alphabet, only some fanatics would claim such.
>Because King Sejong, its inventor, was such a scholar who tried to do all the
>research necessary and definitely wanted a writing system that would fit the
>Korean language and that would be better than and different from anything he
>knew, the invention could be truly original.
>
>Another matter--possibly of more concern to me--is that your remark may be
>read by those who are not familiar with Korean han'gul as a statement that the
>claim for its invention is chauvinistically motivated and not scientifically
>based. So, if some foreigners share the "invention hypothesis," they would be
>"Korea sympathizers." In fact, there are Korean scholars, although an extreme
>minority, who want to be "original" and say the Korean alphabet is not a pure
>invention. More significant, there is almost no serious modern--foreigners
>included--specialists of writing systems who are very familiar with Korean
>han'gul, who say it is anything but an invention and a very original one, too.
> It is really not a matter of different symbols, but the very (extremely
>modern) linguistic idea behind the creation of the writing system that makes
>han'gul so different from any other writing system, 'Phags-pa included. Even
>Gari Ledyard, who highlights the 'Phags-pa connection, never spares his
>admiration for the originality of the Korean alphabet. As you know, Ledyard's
>and other important articles by various specialists appear in *The Korean
>Alphabet: Its History and Structure*, which I edited (Univeristy of Hawaii
>Press, 1997).
>
>Cordially,
>
>Young-Key Kim-Renaud
>Professor of Korean Language and Culture and International Affairs
>Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
>The George Washington University
>801 22nd Street, N.W. (Academic Center, Rome Hall 467)
>Washington, DC 20052
>Tel: (O) 202-994-7107, (H) 703-527-0115
>Fax: (O) 202-994-1512, (H) 703-527-2520
>E-mail: kimrenau@...
>http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~kimrenau
>http://myprofile.cos.com/kimreny76
>
>>===== Original Message From william bright <William.Bright@...>
>=====
>>>*The* alphabet was invented once. It has many descendants, which are
>>>scripts. Most of these are still alphabetic, and some have evolved to
>>>have other properties.
>>>
>>>Hm. Waitaminnit. The Koreans invented an alphabet independently....
>>
>>---------
>>it's not entirely clear that the koreans invented their alphabet
>>"independently", since they were acquainted with hPhags-pa, which can be
>>classified as an alphabet. so this may be considered a case of "stimulus
>>diffusion": the koreans invented their own alphabetic symbols, but they may
>>have got the idea from somewhere else. this is a bit like the case of the
>>yiddish alphabet, where the vowel symbols were derived from hebrew
>>tradition, but the idea of using them alphabetically came from the stimulus
>>of germanic, slavic or whatever.
>>
>>the role of hPhags-pa in the development of the korean alphabet is very
>>controversial, and in korea it arouses passions. the view traditionally
>>held by koreans, and by some western scholars who are sympathetic to korean
>>tradition, is that the korean alphabet was invented "ex nihilo"; but other
>>western scholars consider it obvious that hPhags-pa at least had an
>>influence.
>>
>>there's an excellent discussion of this controversy by prof young-key
>>kim-renaud in "my" journal *written language & linguistics* 4:2, which will
>>hit the news-stands any day now. i will send a xerox copy of the revised
>>proofs to anyone who requests them from me by email. cheers; bill
>>
>>--
>>William Bright
>>Professor Emeritus of Linguistics & Anthropology, UCLA
>>Professor Adjoint of Linguistics, University of Colorado, Boulder
>>Editor, Written Language and Literacy
>>Editor, Native American Placenames of the United States
>>1625 Mariposa Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
>>Tel. 303-444-4274
>>FAX 303-413-0017
>>Email william.bright@..., williamobright@...
>>
>>William Bright's website: http://www.ncidc.org/bright
>

--
William Bright
Professor Emeritus of Linguistics & Anthropology, UCLA
Professor Adjoint of Linguistics, University of Colorado, Boulder
Editor, Written Language and Literacy
Editor, Native American Placenames of the United States
1625 Mariposa Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302
Tel. 303-444-4274
FAX 303-413-0017
Email william.bright@..., williamobright@...

William Bright's website: http://www.ncidc.org/bright