Business Translations from English into Korean and vice versa

• The Unknown Origin of the Korean Language

  About 78 million people speak Korean, the vast majority of whom live in North and South Korea. Minorities also speak Korean in China, Japan, and India, as well as in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Korean is the official language of Yanbian, an autonomous region in the People’s Republic of China located on the border of North Korea.

  Classifying Korean into a distinct language family has been difficult, so this subject remains a source of controversy in Linguistics today. It’s possible that Korean is an isolated language that cannot be classified into any language family at all.

  Structurally, Korean is closest to the Altaic languages. These languages include Turkish, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Mongolian. One feature of the Altaic languages is that the placement of syllables at the end of a word changes the entire meaning of the word or sentence.

• Korean Script

  Texts in Korea were composed using Chinese characters until the 15th century when King Sejong the Great ordered the development of a Korean script. The result of this order was the Hangul script, which is still used all over Korea today and has become modernised over time.

  The alphabet of this script contains 14 consonants and 10 vowels. These are added to form syllable blocks and then combined with the base symbols. However, what’s unique about the Hangul script is that it can be written vertically as well as horizontally, and both variations are correct. Today, UNESCO awards the King Sejong Literacy Prize for outstanding achievements in the area of literacy.

• Distribution of the language and dialects

  The capital city of Seoul determines the standard language in South Korea, while in North Korea, the standard language reflects the dialect of Pyongyang. In contrast to North Korea, South Korea has many loanwords from English. New words formed by fusing English and Korean are called "Konglish." This development doesn’t apply to the North Korean side, as they use only Korean core vocabulary. The fact that the majority of Korean loanwords come from Chinese can be explained by the close relationship with their Chinese neighbours, as well as the adoption of Confucianism.

• Unique characteristics of Korean

  The Korean language often avoids forming sentences using the second person, and in the third person, people’s names are used along with their titles or relationship-defining terms. Korean contains more honorifics and relationship-specific terms than commonly found in other languages.

  Many parents speak to their first child as "first son" or "first daughter," and older people are generally introduced as "Grandfather" or "Grandmother." To ensure that your translations are adapted to Korean culture, they should be translated exclusively by native-speaking translators like the ones in our network. Only then are your documents guaranteed to hit the perfect tone and communicate with your business partners and clients without misunderstandings.

  Also, we translate from Korean into English and other languages, including certified translations of official documents (such as birth, death, and marriage certificates) for the USCIS and other organisations.

• The History of the Korean language

  The Korean language is believed to be part of the Altaic language family and is spoken by nearly 80 million people around the world. It’s native to North and South Korea but is also spoken in parts of the People's Republic of China, Japan, and by people in the United States and Russia.

  Today, it’s assumed that the Korean language evolved from the dialects of the Buyeo. Out of the language of these tribes, the so-called Middle Korean developed over various intermediary steps and is traceable back to a thousand years before Christ.

  Middle Korean was strongly marked by the influence of the Manchurians and Chinese. At that time in Korea, writing was done exclusively in Chinese characters. In about the 16th century, Middle Korean formed into today’s spoken version of the language.

  Modern Korean

  The North Korean dialect is based primarily on the dialect spoken in and around the capital city of Pyongyang. The language of South Korea is significantly influenced by the dialect in the capital of Seoul. The differences in these dialects are minimal, and inhabitants of both North and South can easily communicate with each other.

  There is only one variant of Korean that isn’t understandable to North and South Koreans, which is spoken on the volcanic island of Jeju-do – a special province of South Korea.

  A Popular but Complex Language

  Korean is currently enjoying a large amount of popularity. Today, many people from all around the globe are learning Korean for various reasons.

  The polite forms, in particular, are very complex and can be confusing for foreigners. Numerous titles or descriptions of kinship relations are used as titles. People studying the language must work hard to use these in the correct situations and context.

  When using polite forms, there is also a cultural assessment of your conversation partner. Therefore, the verbs of the Korean language, for example, are often used in a social context.

  The vocabulary contains loanwords from Chinese, Japanese, English, and German.

• How to get a quote for a Korean translation

  We have the perfect translator for you

  A professional translator knows the intricacies of the language and can translate your text professionally and accurately. He/she always creates the correct tone for your audience and is acquainted with the unique regional characteristics of the language.

  We have these professional translators within our large network! Whether you need a manual or a notarised document translated into or from Korean, we have every expertise and industry covered.

  These include certified translations of birth certificates and the like into English for the USCIS or any other language for immigration or business purposes. Our translators are all native speakers who provide consistently high quality.

  To receive a quote now, use the button below and upload your document for translation.

  Price for Korean translation