The Korean manual alphabet is used by the
Deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
who speak
Korean Sign Language
Korean Sign Language or KSL ( or ) is a sign language used for deaf communities of South Korea under the North-South Korean border. It is often referred to simply as , which means signing in general.
KSL is currently one of two official language ...
. It is a one-handed alphabet that mimics the shapes of the letters in
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
, and is used when signing
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
as well as being integrated into KSL.
Consonants
The only letter with motion as a component is ''ssang siot'' (), which starts as two crossed fingers pointing down and then snaps open.
Vowels
Note that the difference in orientation between ''eo, yeo'' and the diphthongs based on them, ''e, ye'' is not significant.
See also
*
Korean language
Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...
*
Korean sign language
Korean Sign Language or KSL ( or ) is a sign language used for deaf communities of South Korea under the North-South Korean border. It is often referred to simply as , which means signing in general.
KSL is currently one of two official language ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korean Manual Alphabet
Korean language
Manual alphabet