Chairman
"The language used in literacy works should be exact in its expression. In literacy works the most appropriate expression for a particular object is one alone. Finding it among many other similar ones is exactly the writer's skill."
In order to further develop and enrich our language as required by the present time it is essential to have a clear understanding of the similar meanings represented by the particles and apply them correctly to the practice of language use.
The joining particles of our language such as "myo" and "myonso" have something in common in terms of their grammatical meanings, but apply to the practice in different ways.
Our language has some synonymous and replaceable particles and this is when either primary meaning or subsidiary meaning will be the same.
However, "myo" and "myonso" have more profile of synonymy than the other particles as they represent their primary and secondary meanings in identical ways.
The meanings of these particles are described in the "Korean Language Comprehensive Dictionary"(Social Sciences Publishing House, 2008) as below.
― particle "myo"
a. It plays the role of joining on equal footing.
e.g.: dadakchimyo (impending) duichimyo(turning over) busojimyo(crumbling)
A block of rocks crushes the valley. (from long epic "Mt. Paekdu")
b. Agglutinated to verbs, it represents simultaneous happening of a certain event with the similar meaning to the particle "myonso".
e.g: burumyo
Singing this endless happiness
People are living in good amity
(from the song "The leader's noble will has flowered red")
c. Used in the form of predicate of substantives, it indicates parallel reference without clarifying as an annotative particle.
e.g: morimyo
It was because there came the grandfather Jomduk whose hair and also dangling whiskers turned so white as to brighten the yard. (from the novel "Mangyongdae")
d. Used in the form of "myo…myo" in the verbs, it refers to the successive happening of more than two events.
e.g: ggwemyo malmyo
With his feet half in and the other half out of the shoes he rushed into the lower room to inform that people had appeared in the front mountain.
(from the novel "Rimggokjong")
― particle "myonso"
a. Usually used in the verb, it refers to the continuity of a particular event and also its simultaneity with the follow-up event.
e.g: saengakhamyonso
Thinking of this happiness of today
We sing of the solicitude of the great leader
(From the song "The boundless honor of being led by the great leader")
b. Used with adjectives in the form of predicate of substantives, it refers to simultaneity of a particular state.
e.g: bulgumyonso nurun saekgal (red and also yellow colour), Yun Hui, a student and also a musician
As seen above, the meanings of the particles "myo" and "myonso" have something in common and also different.
The common point is that the two particles mean simultaneity of certain events. Therefore the two particles are replaceable with each other in a sentence in some cases, but not in most cases.
The difference is found, firstly, in the fact that their main reference of simultaneity includes certain properties.
e.g: a) Giving on-the-spot guidance to a certain people's army unit the great General looked around its vegetable garden. (from short novel "Scent of flowers")
b) Looking up to the noble virtue of modesty and benevolent mien of the great General in admiration, the officials shed warm tears of emotion of admiring (from the short novel "Scent of Flowers")
The particle "myonso" used in the example a) refers to the simultaneity of "give on-the-spot guidance" and "look around", but to be more accurate, the action represented by the latter verb happened in the continuity of the action represented by the former, the preceding action is continuous to some extent.
However the particle "myo" in the example b), agglutinated to the verb "do not do", refers to the simultaneity with the verb "shed". In other words although the main reference of the particles is simultaneity, it is so hard to say for sure that their meaning in the sentence is exactly the same that it is recommended to make a distinction between them by defining the particle "myonso" as referring to continuous simultaneity and the particle "myo" as referring to coordinative simultaneity.
The difference is found, secondly, in the fact that their secondary meanings are also different.
c) dalmyonso
When it comes to vegetable, the sweet and also moist radish is indispensable for elegance of food. (from the short novel "Scent of Flowers")
In the above example the particle "myonso", agglutinated to the adjective "sweet" refers to array of states. In this example it is not simply an equal array with "sweet" as main meaning and "moist" as secondary meaning but an array secondary meaning subordinate to the primary meaning.
d) munuihamyo
When you come across the old people on the way, you must near and bow to them, and see them off inquiring after their health.
In d) the particle "myo" refers to consecutive array of three different actions.
As discussed above, the two particles are different in their secondary meanings as the particle "myonso" refers to array of states and the particle "myo" to the array of actions.
When the particle "myo" is replaced with "myonso" in the above sentence, its concrete meaning will be different.
e) dalmyonso – dalmyo
When it comes to vegetable, the sweet and moist radish is indispensable for elegance of food.
In the above example the particle "myo" refers to the grammatical meaning of equal array of states different from meaning of "myonso"
f) golumyonso
I read a book while walking.
g) golumyo
I read a book walking.
The two particles in the above two examples refer to the simultaneity of the two actions, representing their modes of happening. As for the meaning of mode, the particle "myo" includes the meaning of continuity while the particle "myo" includes the meaning of array.
The difference is found, thirdly, in the fact that they are agglutinated with the positional particle in different ways.
The particle "myonso" can make up compound particles such as "-jamyonso,-ramyonso,-damyonso,-ndamyonso" etc which are in wide use.
h) ramyonso
Jin Ju said that it was really a big ambition but adding that it was too big for ability went on to say that getting cable carrier and rope would be so difficult and also it needed setting up such supportive poles in various points in the open land that it would be wasteful. (from the short novel "Fruit of Affection")
i) damyonso
The other day Choe Tok Sin heard about my husband's path of life and envying him for having walked straight path as young expressed regret over having wandered about his whole life until finally he took that path as old.
The difference is found, fourthly, in the fact that they are agglutinated with non-positional particles in different ways.
The two particles can possibly be agglutinated to the non-positional particles such as of voice, respect, time and aid but to the particles of voice and respect in different ways.
The particle "myonso" can not be agglutinated to the particle of time while "myo" can freely.
j) myo
The anti-Japanese Heroine Kim Jong Suk safeguarded the great leader amidst the flames of hard-fought anti-Japanese armed struggle organized and led by the great leader and made a great devotion to the sacred cause of the country's liberation.
As in the above example, the particle "myo", when agglutinated to the particle of time, highlights the meaning of precedence and subsequence.
The particle "myonso" can be agglutinated with auxiliary particles "do, nun, buto, ggaji" while the particle "myo" can hardly.
k) doimyonsodo
I felt touched by his comradeship but also felt disappointed about his not accepting my favor. (from the short novel "Fruit of Affection")
In the above example the particle "myonso", agglutinated with the auxiliary particle "do", refers to the grammatical meaning of contrast. It is impossible to replace it with the particle "myo".
The difference is found, fifthly, in the fact that they refer to the array of objects and events in different ways.
The two particles can be agglutinated to the form of predicate of substantives to refer to the array of objects, but it is not always the case.
l) myonso
He is always taking good care of the members of his work-team as a team leader and also like an eldest sister.
m) myo
The dewy grass leaves swaying on the side of the road and also the view of the filed with green and fresh vegetables came into his sight. (From the short novel "Scent of Flowers")
The reference of the particle "myonso" is confined to only two-object array while that of the particle "myo" can go beyond it.
n) myo
The house had in it a pounding club for no use at the moment, cracked kit, a very huge caldron and also a broom.
As seen in the above example, the two particles can refer to the array of objects in different ways and thus the possibility of their inter-replacement seems unnatural.
The conclusion from the above analysis is that the particles "myonso" and "myo" are in the synonymous relations representing the grammatical meaning of simultaneity but they are used in the language practice in different ways.
In the future too we should further deepen the research into the subtle differences of synonymous particles of the Korean language and make a great contribution to further developing and enriching our beautiful and expressive language.
