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Korean (Seoul)

Phylum: Koreanic

Genus: Ungrouped

Lat/lon: 37.5, 127.0

ISO code: kor

Consonants

Basic short series

bilabiallabio-velaralveolaralveolo-palatalpalatalvelarglottal
stoppʰ, b̥, ptʰ, d̥, tkʰ, g̊, k
tapɾ
fricativesʰ, sh
affricatetɕʰ, d̥ʑ̥, tɕ
nasalmnŋ
approximantwj

Vowels

Basic short series

frontcentralback
closeɯ̽
near-closeɪʊ̜
close-mido̞̜
open-midɛ̝ʌ
near-openɐ

Long series

frontcentralback
closeuː, ɯː
close-midɘː
open-midɛː
openɑ̟ː

Diphthongs

/ɨi/

Licit initial clusters

Licit finals

p̚, k̚, t̚, m, n, ŋ, ɭ

Licit syllabic templates

(C)V(C), (C)wV(C), (C)jV(C)

Source: Lee, H.B. 1989. Korean grammar. Oxford University Press

Comments: Plain non-aspirated plosives are also called 'tense'; they trigger tone distinctions on following vowels. The usage of the vowel length is decreasing in Seoul; all /e̞/, /eː/, /ɛ̝/, /ɛː/ merge in many speakers.

Contributed by: André Nikulin (andre.n.guzman@gmail.com)