When it comes to writing

Personal letter to a social superior: mixture of 합니다 and 해요 styles 오 선생님께, 선생님, 안녕하세요. 잘 지내시죠? 저도 잘 있습니다. 한국어 강의하고 논문 자료 수집하면서 바쁘게 지내요. 남편과 아이들도 잘 있구요. 그런데 선생님, 한가지 부탁드릴 게 있습니다. 다름이 아니라 제일대 한국어 강사 자리에 지원해 보려고 하는데 선생님께서 추천서 좀 써 주실 수 있나 해서요. 바쁘신 거 알면서도 이렇게 또 부탁을 드리게 됐습니다. 참고하시라고 제 이력서와 그쪽 교 자리에 대한 정보를 같이 었습니다. 선생님 편지 받으시면 잘 받으셨는지 저한테 이메일이나 전화로 알려 주실 수 있을까요? 선생님 연구와 집필에 많은 성과가 있기 바랍니다. 건강하시구요. 그럼, 안녕히 계세요. 김영란 드림 Professor Oh, Hi Professor Oh, how are you? I hope you are doing well. I am doing fine myself. I’ve been busy teaching Korean and collecting data for my thesis. My husband and children are all fine, too. By the way, I have a favor to ask of you. I am trying to apply for a Korean teaching position at Jeil University and am wondering whether you would be able to write a letter of recommendation for me. Even though I know that you are busy, I have ended up having to ask you for a favor again. For your reference, I have enclosed my résumé and the job info. Would you let me know by e-mail or phone when you receive this letter? I hope you make lots of progress in your research and writing. Please take care. Good-bye. Sincerely, Young-nan Kim Personal letter to a niece: mixture of casual styles 사랑하는 조카 성아에게, 그동안 잘 지냈겠지? 논문도 잘 돼 가고? 이모도 새로 시작한 일하랴 한국어 책 쓰는 거 마무리하랴 바쁘게 지내고 있단다. 이모부도 물론 잘 있고. 그런데 성아야, 한가지 부탁할 게 있어. 딴 게 아니라 이모 책 쓰는데 필요한 자료 중에서 여기서 구할 수 없는 게 하나 있는데 네가 그 곳에서 한 권 사서 부쳐 줄 수 있을까 해서. 너 요즘 무지 바쁜 거 아는데 이렇게 또 부탁을 하게 돼서 미안하다. 이모로부터 거한 크리스마스 선물을 기대해도 좋음 책 제 하고 저자, 출판사등은 네 장 받는대로 알려줄게. 그럼 건강하게 잘 지내기 바란다. 엄마 아빠한테 안부 전하구. 안녕. 이모가 My dear niece Sung-ah, I trust that you’ve been doing well. Your thesis is going well too, I hope. I’ve been busy with my new job and also trying to finish up writing the book on Korean. Your uncle is doing fine, too. By the way, I have a favor to ask of you, Sung-ah. Among the materials that I need for my book-writing, there’s one book that is not available here. So, I’m wondering whether you can buy a copy there and mail it to me. Sorry that I have to ask you again like this because I know how terribly busy you are. You can expect a huge Christmas present from me I’ll let you know the book title, the author, and the publisher, as soon as I receive your response. Take care then. And say hello to your parents for me. Bye. Your aunt

1.7 A few minor styles

An important minor style is exemplified by 하네 for a statement, 하나 for a question, 하게 for a command, and 하세 for a proposal. Authoritarian- sounding and old-fashioned, these forms are now used only among mostly male adults of equal social status or by a senior addressing a grown-up junior. Typical cases include parents-in-law speaking to sons-in-law or older professors speaking to college students. 할말이 좀 있네. I have something to say to you. 자네 언제 졸 하나? When are you graduating? 자네 퇴근후에 좀 들르게. Drop by after you get off work. 한 잔 하고 가세. Let’s have a drink before going home. The -네 and -나 endings have taken on special meanings in contemporary Korean: -네 is used to express moderate exclamationsurprise, and -나 is used to express wonderment. 금방 있었는데 없어졌네. It was just here, but it has disappeared. 밤에 비가 왔나? I wonder whether it rained overnight. 감기가 오나? 머리가 아프네. I wonder whether I’m coming down with a cold. I’m getting a headache. A few other minor styles, although still used by older people, are uncommon in contemporary Korean. The styles exemplified by 갔소 and 했소 are archaic and old-fashioned when it comes to letter writing, and they sound authoritarian when used in spoken sentences such as 당장 어떻게 안 되겠소? ‘Can’t it be somehow taken care of right away?’ The -수 variant of this style 갔수, 했수 is used quite casually among older women or to older mothers by their grown-up children. The -리다 ending is employed among very old folks in place of -을게요. 내가 내일 가리다. I will go tomorrow. 이따가 잠깐 들르리다. I will stop by later for a minute. NOTE: The spoken form of 들르다 is 들리다; see 8.3. The -으마 ending has the same meaning as -리다, but is casually used by adults to a much younger person to whom they are close. 내가 하나 사서 보내마. I’ll buy one and send it to you. 아기는 내가 으마. Let me piggyback the baby. The -거라 ending for commands -너라 if the verb is 오다, as in 가거라, 보거라, and 오너라, sounds somewhat archaic but may be used by older adults to a much younger person e.g., a grandparent to a grandchild. It is otherwise heard mostly in historical dramas. Finally, the following styles -나이다나이까, - 느니라, -시옵소서 are archaic and are reserved for historical dramas, poemsproverbs, and prayers. 손님이 찾아오셨사옵나이다. A guest is here to see you. 마님, 부르셨나이까? Ma’am, did you call me? 한 우물을 파야 하느니라. You must dig just one well. Focus your efforts. 부디 굽어살피시옵소서. May God help us.