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--></style><title>Re: [KS] pre-1895 Korean
grammar</title></head><body>
<div>An Update:</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Apart from Professor Grayson's article mentioned in the posting
of Professor Sang Oak (and another version from 1984), both of which I
have not at hand, there are a couple of dissertations on John Ross
(thanks to Dr. Shulman for pointing this out). Also, the 1989 two
volume Korean Protestant Church history (in Korean language)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Below is an excerpt from a PhD thesis by Choi Sung Il, "John
Ross (1842-1915) and the Korean Protestant Church: The First Korean
Bible and Its Relation to the Protestant Origins in Korea," PhD
dissertation, U of Edinburgh, 1992. Apart from the title that might
sound like a theological thesis, this is in my opinion *highly*
interesting for linguists and historians, if not sociologists. Why so?
Because the author gives a very detailed description and analysis of
the whole process of that Bible translation as a<i> process</i>,
including an evaluation with plenty of explanations of the
translation/s. He demonstrates that, other than what one would have
imagined (at least I had), such a project, the Bible translation, was
actually done by people who may have had a knowledge of Korean
language comparable to maybe a 2nd or 3rd semester student of today
(my comparison). That project serves really as a beautiful example for
leadership structures, group structures, and the delegation of work
issues, and how a seemingly big and overwhelming task such as the
translation of the Bible can be achieved in a short time by a small
group of people where every single member would otherwise be
completely incapable (!) to achieve such a task (at all, not just in a
short time). THAT is pretty fascinating!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Ross King might have been correct with his note about the Ridel
reference ... above PhD thesis author does not even mention the John
Ross grammar from 1880 and/or 1882 as a *published* title. Still, it
would be interesting to also find out more about that grammar and its
prints, if there are more than one. Yet, it seems indeed clear that
the Ridel's _Dictionnaire Coreen Français_ (Yokohama, 1880) was
being used ... and to some degree their _Grammaire Coréene_ as well.
That, however, as this dissertation shows, was just one step in the
process -- as highly fascinating process, that also involved several
Korean native speakers. All described in much detail. ... It seems, by
the way, that apart from John Ross another missionary, John MacIntyre,
had from the Western site just as much if not more work done on the
translation project.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>QUOTE from page 134:</div>
<div>---------</div>
<div>MacIntyre also explains his feeling of that time; "My only
other hope is in Japan, where the study is being prosecuted with zeal,
and whither the Roman Catholic Bishop of Corea is now gone to print a
French-Corean Dictionary".[91] Shortly after that, MacIntyre
seems to have obtained assistance from this very dictionary.[92]
Besides this dictionary, they prepared a Korean grammar and analysis
of sentences, based on the Chinese Classics in the Korean translation
which was published by the Royal Authority in Korea. Through every
possible means, they came to have a final draft of the
translations.</div>
<div>---------</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>How then did their own .... or John Ross' own 1880 or 1882
textbook with grammar fit in there? Obviously this is not even being
mentioned by many scholars -- not even in that just quoted otherwise
really quite well written dissertation from 1992.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Frank</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>--------------------------------------<br>
Frank Hoffmann<br>
http://koreaweb.ws</div>
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