Hangul (Korean Alphabet) and Its Double Consonants

choi

(1)
(a)
(i) hangul
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul
("Hangul was created in 1443 CE by King Sejong [世宗] the Great")

table of content:
section 11        Morpho-syllabic blocks:
        11.1        Letter placement within a block
        11.2        Block shape
        11.3        Linear Korean


section 11        Morpho-syllabic blocks: "letters [in Korean alphabet] are grouped into syllabic or morphemic blocks of at least two and often three: a consonant or a doubled consonant called the initial (초성, 初聲 choseong syllable onset), a vowel or diphthong called the medial (중성, 中聲 jungseong syllable nucleus), and, optionally, a consonant or consonant cluster at the end of the syllable, called the final (종성, 終聲 jongseong syllable coda). When a syllable has no actual initial consonant [ie, starting with a vowel], the null initial ㅇ ieung [ieung is the korean NAME of this letter; when ㅇ is 終聲, it is pronounced as 'ng'] is used as a placeholder.

(ii) Pronunciations of letter/consonant ㅇ vary, depending on whether it is 初聲 or 終聲. ㅇ is not alone.
Section 3 Letters., section 3.1 Consonants has a top table demonstrating that as 初聲, letter/consonant ㅅ is romanization: s (and so pronounced), and ㅆ, romanization: ss (pronounciation will be discussed in (2) below). However, as 終聲 both ㅅ and ㅆ will be romanized as t and so pronounced.

(b)
(i) zero consonant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_consonant
(sectional heading Use: "In Korean hangul")
(ii) This explains why
(A) in han-ok 한옥 韓屋, 옥 has (zero) consonant ㅇ atop vowel o (ㅗ) and k (ᆨ);
(B) Korean barbecue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_barbecue
(고기구이 gogi-gu-i meat roast)
has the fourth and last block 이 consisting of (zero) consonant ㅇ and vowel i (|).  

choi

(3) double consonants in hangul.

An example is ssam  쌈
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ssam

ㅆ ss  (in contrast to another constant ㅅ s)
ㅁ m

https://www.koreanclass101.com/l ... 3%85%86-ssang-siot/
https://teacherabby.tistory.com/50
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_(phonetics)

https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-vowels/

(4) Both Korean and Japanese use 子音 for consonant -- pronounced ja-eum (romanization of hangul 자음) and shi-in, respectively.  (The cpounterpart, a vowel is 母音 in both languages, pronounced mo-eun (romanization of hangul 모음) in Korean and bo-in in Japanese.)

ㅈ j
ㅏ a

ㅡ  eu (a vowel whose romanization is eu, and whose pronunciation is same as vowel of brook (with a short u, in comparison with a long u in loot; Korean vowelㅔ is romanized as e and pronounced like the vowel of yes; en.wikipedia.org for hangul readily acknowledges that "hangul" in English should be romanized as "hangEUl").
, tspelling )
ㅁ m

(5)
(a) As 初聲, there is consonant ㅅ (romanization: s) and, derived from it, ㅆ (romanization: ss).  The pair is various named in English:
simple and tense (as in en.wikipedia.org for hangul under section 7 Letter design, section 7.1 Consonant design);
plain and tense (as in en.wikipedia.org for Korean phonology; see below)
lax and tense;
lenis and tense
, whereas some others identify ss as one of the five "double consonants," transliterated from ssang ja-eum 쌍자음 雙子音 (which is hanja (한자 漢字), not Chinese).

(b) The difference between s and ss is hard for me to pin down, but definitely concern two element: aspirated or air puffed out (in s) or not (in ss; honestly I do not know how to pronounce s without puffing air out but rather holding it, the air, in the mouth. despite our familiarity with English pairs such as p/b, t/d, tʃ/dʒ, and k/g) AND pitch.
(i) aspirated consonant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirated_consonant
("In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of breath")
mentions Chinese but gives no example.

The consonant q is one of six aspirated consonants of Mandarin Chinese.

Both English verb aspirate (accent on the first syllable) and aspire are derived from the same Latin verb aspirare to breathe or blow upon OR to aspire)
(ii) voice (phonetics)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_(phonetics)
(section 2 In English (which is sectional heading): view only the table with the sub-heading: Voicing contrast in English stops listing four pairs of consonants: p/b, t/d, tʃ (as in chin)/ dʒ (as in gin), and k/g, where the first in each pair is unvoiced or voiceless and the second in the pair voiced.)
(iii) voicelessness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voicelessness
("In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating")
(iv) In English at least, aspirated consonant is voiceless consonant.

(6) The pitch might be a bit easier to understand.
(a) Korean phonology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_phonology  
(section 1 Consonants; section 1.1 Plain + section 1.3 Tense)

Section 1.3 Tense   succinctly states "the primary distinguishing feature between word-initial 'lax' and 'tensed' consonants is that initial lax sounds cause the following vowel to assume a low-to-high pitch contour, a feature reportedly associated with voiced consonants in many Asian languages (such as Shanghainese), whereas tensed (and also aspirated) consonants are associated with a uniformly high pitch."
(b) I double-check and conclude the quotation is correct, with
Sunghye Cho (U Penn) and Yong-cheol Lee (Cheongju Univ), The Effect of the Consonant-Induced Pitch on Seoul Korean Intonation. Linguistic Research 33: 299 (reproduced at website of Institute for the Study of Language & Information (ISLI), Kyung Hee University)
isli.khu.ac.kr/journal/content/data/33_2/5.pdf
(abstract: "The results of the present study show that the pitch range of an Accentual Phrase (AP) is higher when it starts with a high-pitch inducing segment (aspirated or tense) than when it starts with a low-pitch inducing segment (lenis, sonorant, or vowel)" )
(i) Cheongju University  淸州大學校
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongju_University
(1947- ; private; based in Cheongju 淸州, capital of North Chungcheong province 忠淸北道)

忠淸道 Chungcheong-do was split into 北道 and 南道 in 1896. 忠淸道 got its name from cities of 淸州 and 忠州, both of which are now located in 忠淸北道.
(ii) Kyung Hee University  慶熙大學校 (1949- ; private; one campus is in Seoul; the university changed its name in 1960 after 慶熙宮 in Seoul (per ja.wikipedoia.org), whose English spelling is Gyeonghuigung)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeonghuigung