PinkDiamond wrote: Is that why Kamzie laughed at me the other day, when I called her Bak Ha? It's what's written in the Viki subs, so that's what I call her. But apparently her name is Park Ha??? Her American friend makes it sound like Bak Ha, too. *scratches head*
*disclaimer* my understanding of hangul is minimal at best, i'm talking kindergarten*
i think the Pak/ Bak confusion comes from the fact the hangul character that makes the "b" sound can also make the "p"
when i look up the korean surname "park" and find the hangul it does seem that it should be pronounced with a "b" since the character is in the initial position. (i saw once that it should be a "p" unless proceed by vowles but i have seen many other places that say it's "b" unless it's in the final postion) however i dont know where the "r" comes from b/c the name written in hangul does not have that character in it, the the "b" "a" "k" characters.
when i listen to korean people actually pronounce this to me it always sounds somewhere in between p/b. it's the same with the other consonants in hangul that can be pronounced either way.