The Vegetarian: a way to study Korean and win awards - BBC news

image copyright AFP picture caption there were six books up for the prize - this year awarded for a single work, for the primary time

South Korean writer Han Kang has won the man Booker foreign Prize for her novel The Vegetarian, however shares the prize with the translator of the e-book, Deborah Smith, who most effective began learning Korean in 2010. The BBC's Steve Evans in Seoul asks how tough Korean in reality is to gain knowledge of.

There could be some who argue that Sejong the notable, at his prime in 1444, may rightfully deserve a cut from the proceeds of the person Booker foreign prize.

The king's statue stands on the coronary heart of Seoul these days and he's preserving a publication.

graphic copyright Getty pictures picture caption King Sejong the notable, whose statue sits on the coronary heart of Seoul, decreed that a new alphabet should still be created for his individuals.

round that point, he changed into shrewd satisfactory to decree that a brand new alphabet should be created for the language of his topics. At his royal guide, what is now known as Hangul in South Korea and Chosongul in North Korea became invented "for the guideline of the people".

it's an alphabet of a mere 28 letters, in distinction to the 3,000 or so chinese language characters. Korean had been spoken earlier than but only written in the course of the chinese language script.

due to King Sejong, the individuals got the means to examine and write with no trouble.

And on account of this, one saying goes: "a wise man can acquaint himself with the Korean characters before the morning is completed; a dull man can study them in the space of 10 days."

Is Korean definitely any less difficult to be trained than other languages?

Linguists from time to time say that no language is inherently less demanding to gain knowledge of than others. Prof Ro bert Fouser, previously of Seoul countrywide college, says: "The degree of difficulty in getting to know Korean depends upon which languages the learner already knows."

graphic copyright Getty photographs graphic caption Hangul, Korea's phonetic alphabet, became supposed to give its americans the skill to examine and write without problems.

We locate languages effortless to learn when they are close to the language we already be mindful. Prof Fouser referred to that Korean has borrowed many words from chinese: "the two languages for this reason share a standard vocabulary, but a special note order and grammatical constitution.

"chinese newbies of Korean might also discover Korean grammar as complex as an English-speaking learner however would little question find the vocabulary effortless to learn."

but what about English-speakers? The foreign carrier Institute, which teaches languages to American diplomats, places Korean within the "specially complex" class.

It reckons that an English-speaker wants 575 to 600 hours of lessons (over 23 or 24 weeks) to learn languages with similarities to English (Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish), but 2,200 hours to attain a similar typical of "generic expert skillability" in talking and re ading Korean.

but do not be put off

Donovan Nagel, a linguist and translator from Australia who has mastered more than a dozen languages, advised the BBC he learnt Korean whereas he turned into in Korea for simply over a 12 months. He said he become "communicating pretty well after three or 4 months and changed into 'conveniently' fluent by means of the eight month mark".

picture copyright EPA picture caption The book makes a speciality of the pressure that a girl's decision to turn into vegetarian - and her husband's refusal to accept it - puts on their marriage

There are professionals and cons: the grammar is simple. "For the most part Korean is continually pronounced exactly the way or not it's written, not like English which is crammed with phrases that sound nothing just like the method they appear on paper". suppose "Leicester" or "Hermione" or, for that be counted, "plough" and "cow" or "laughter" and "slaughter" or "take a bow" but "tie a bow".

The verbs in Korean, he says, are a cinch: "Many Korean verbs are basically simply nouns connected to the verb to do. for example, to be happy is literally happiness + do = doing happiness."

however translation isn't simply getting to know a language. it is also a artistic process and this is why the translator of The Vegetarian may share the prize.

The Vegetarian is a ebook about about a woman who gives up eating meat in a quest to reject human brutality, however proves a controversial decision and he or she becomes subject to the cruelty of her househol d. It became described by means of the judges as "uncanny mix of splendor and horror".

it's told in three voices, from three perspectives and the judges mentioned it discovered "completely the right voice in English".

One Korean reader of the novel in both languages advised me that the English version is, in its personal means, nearly as good a examine as the long-established. He likens translation to a violinist enjoying a tune hummed via someone else - the vibrato and decoration change the original work, occasionally for the stronger, once in a while for the worse.

photo copyright EPA graphic caption It became the first book Han Kang (appropriate) had published in English

Deborah Smith said she had tried to catch the "rhythm" of the book: "if you are translating a pretty good work of Korean literature, then your translation needs to be a very good work of English literature, and there's no use quibbling over syntax if this is best going to be drawback".

The translator deserved the prize. So would King Sejong.