Japchae

[Joel S. Berson]

At 1/9/2012 01:43 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
>First syllable seems like "chop" or "chahp" (some may hear
>"jop"/"jahp"), second like "cheh" (something like "chay").

Well, I guess that's somewhere between "tie" (my take) and "way"
(Benjamin's, perhaps).  No wonder the Romanization is a problem!

>I guess most
>Anglophones pronounce "Hyundai" (which has the same final vowel) as
>rhyming with "Sunday",

What do I know?  What have I heard?  I pronounce it rhyming with "to
die" (a car to die for?  to die in?).

>so I guess the same final "-ay" /ej/ sound should
>be [just as] OK in the current word too.
>
>Any expert, please feel fee to correct me; I am near-totally ignorant of
>Korean myself. I note that there are various Romanizations, with
>imperfect standardization. I note also that restaurateurs and cooks and
>waiters are usually not language teachers or linguists.

A good point, even if I could remember the last time I heard "jap
chai" pronounced by waiters -- normally only I have to say it, and
they are polite enough not to correct me.

Joel

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