Does the liaison always happen in Korean?

Question

I wonder if a liaison always happens in Korean or not. I mean the last consonant in the previous word is absorbed into the next vowel.

In French, there is a rule on which word the liaison happens, and thus it does not always happen.

But in Korean, is there any chance to have an exception to the rule, depending on the words involved?

Also, does the liaison happen even if it is used with a space?

So far, all the sentences I read seem to always use a liaison. But is there any rule on it or can I assume that the liaison is always used in Korean?

Answer 1

Depends on how you define "liaison" in Korean. In French, the final consonant is often dropped when the word is pronounced on its own.

• grand /ɡʁɑ̃/ (The d is dropped)

In Korean, this never happens. What happens instead is the final consonant is simplified when the word is pronounced on its own. (Square brackets [ ] denote the pronunciation)

• 옷 [옫]

• 낮 [낟]

• 꽃 [꼳]

• 부엌 [부억]

• 팥 [팓]

• 무릎 [무릅]

Refer to https://korean.stackexchange.com/a/2667/109 for more info on this topic.

But in Korean, is there any chance to have an exception to the rule, depending on the words involved?

When there is a vowel following a word with a final consonant, the final consonant is always moved to the following syllable, except when there is a pause between the two.

• 옷에 [오세]

• 옷 위에 [오뒤에]

• 옷 pause 위에 [옫.위에]

The pause is not written in writing, and people can arbitrarily insert them between words for emphasis, or for clarification.

• 범인은 이 사람입니다. [사라밈니다] "The perpetrator is this person."

• 범인은 이 사람! 입니다. [사람.임니다] : Emphasis added to "이 사람"

• 제 이름은 박준연입니다. [박쭈녀님니다] "My name is Parm Jun-yeon."

• 제 이름은 박.준.연.입니다. [박.준.연.임니다] : Pause added between each syllable to clarify the spelling of the name

Also, does the liaison happen even if it is used with a space?

Yes, as I have demonstrated with the "옷 위에" example above.