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But since I am a dog, beware my fangs.”

Sometimes, having a little understanding of something, makes it easier to remember. So since I was asked about how to remember bright and dark vowels, I thought I’d discuss it a little! ^^

Understanding BRIGHT and DARK vowels.

If you did not already know, Hangul was created in 1443 by King Sejong and his scholars during the Choson Dynasty. Since Chinese characters were difficult to learn, only privileged aristocrats would be able to read and write (predominantly only male) which meant most commoners were illiterate. Thus, Hangul was developed so that even a commoner could learn how to read and write.

Since King Sejong was quite the perfectionist and idealist, he was adamant that everything needed to work in harmony with the Li principle. King Sejong used the principle of “Heaven, Ground, and Man” to create Hangul. A horizontal line to represent Earth (ㅡ). A dot to represent Heaven (ㆍ), and a vertical line to represent an upright human (ㅣ). 

This ultimately led to the creation of the vowels! The consonants came soon after (their design relating closely to the positioning of the tongue, lips, and mouth when speaking) to develop the completed alphabet.

Following the Yin and Yang principle, bright and dark vowels are a way to create balance and harmony within a word. Only vowels of the same kind can be combined together.

For example, the bright vowel 오 can be attached to 아 to form the vowel 와. But you can not attach the dark vowel 우 to the bright vowel 아.

BRIGHT vowels are considered to be lighter vowels, that sound happier. They are categorised as Yang:

아 / 야 / 오 / 요 / 애 / 와 / 외 / 왜 / 얘

DARK vowels are considered heavier, and have a denser sound. They are categorised as Yin:

어 / 우 / 여 / 유 / 에 / 예 / 워 / 위 / 웨

NEUTRAL vowels:

으 / 이 / 의

Not only can bright and dark vowels only be combined with their own kind (and neutral), but they can also be seen to reinforce the definition of a word!

For bright words, such as Morning (아침), Beautiful (아름답다), Bright (밝다) they all contain a bright vowel.

For darker words, such as Dark (어둡다), Difficult (어렵다), To Die (죽다), they all contain a dark vowel.

Although this isn’t always the case, it is indeed a nice concept to consider!

Using BRIGHT and DARK vowels.

We use bright and dark vowels as a way to understand which vowels to use when conjugating.

BRIGHT vowels are usually followed by another bright vowel.

Example: Using basic, informal present conjugation.

(Dictionary form) 오다 -> (Verb stem) 오 -> 오+아 -> 오아 -> 와

(Dictionary form) 가다 -> (Verb stem) 가 -> 가+아 -> 가아  -> 가 

DARK vowels are usually followed by another dark vowel.

Example: Using basic, informal present conjugation.

(Dictionary form) 먹다 -> (Verb stem) 먹 -> 먹+어 -> 먹어  

(Dictionary form) 열다 -> (Verb stem) 열 -> 열+어 -> 열어

NEUTRAL vowels are conjugated the same as dark vowels.

Example: Using basic, informal present conjugation.

(Dictionary form) 씻다 -> (Verb stem) 씻 -> 씻+어 -> 씻어 

(Dictionary form) 믿다 -> (Verb stem) 믿 -> 믿+어 -> 믿어 

Note: The exception to this rule is when conjugating ~하다 verbs. When conjugating a word stem ending in 하, it is often attached to the dark vowel 여 to form 해. But this isn’t important right now!

The best way to remember which vowels are bright, and which are dark, is to try and think of bright vowels as variations of 오 and 아. If the vowel is not either of these, or a variation of 오 and 아, then you know the rest can be conjugated with a dark vowel.

However, I know that this isn’t always as easy for some, as it is for others. Which is why I get asked how to remember them!

My tip for remembering bright and dark vowels is this:

Bright vowels point to the North (resembling a sunrise) and to the East (the direction the sun rises). Whereas, dark vowels point to the South and to the West (the directions of a sunset).

BRIGHT VOWEL = SUNRISE

DARK VOWEL = SUNSET

Neutral vowels are just straight lines, so we know they are neutral!

Explanation: 

With 오 and 요, the ㅗ and ㅛ face upwards, much like a sunrise! 

With 아 and 야,ㅏandㅑface the right (East), the direction the sun rises from.

So 와, 외, and 왜 each of them have a part of the vowel facing either North or East.

애 and 얘 are simply combinations of 아 and 이, 야 and 이. So the vowels face East, which means they are bright vowels!

With 어 and 여, theㅓandㅕ face West, the direction the sun sets in!

With 우 and 유, the ㅜ and ㅠ face downwards, much like a sunset.

For 에, 예, 워, 위, and 웨, each of them have a part of the vowel that faces West or South like a sunset!

I always find the history behind things incredibly interesting, so I hope you did too. ^^ I also hope that you found this the tiniest bit helpful. If you have any other questions on learning Korean, feel free to ask!

Best of of luck with your studies! 

My last name is culturally important to me

His last name is something like Cox or Boner and it’s just not worth it

I got a doctorate before I met him and don’t want to change it

I don’t want to change my name on all my documents and have people assume I’m stealing my own identity in the early months of our marriage

I would rather keep my own last name out of personal preference

I would rather keep my own last name to make a political statement

HE KNOWS WHEN YOU’RE AWAKE

HE KNOWS IF YOU’VE BEEN BAD OR GOOD

SO BE GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKE

You better watch out

You better watch out

You better watch out

Guys. Article 13 just got passed.

Article 13 just got passed.

Article 13 just got passed!!!!

Article 13 just got passed.

Article 13 just got passed.

Article 13 just got passed!

Article 13 just got passed.

Article 13 just got passed.

I don’t know if I’ve said it enough. So…

ARTICLE 13 JUST GOT PASSED!!!!

I have been on tumblr all morning and haven’t seen one post about it yet! I don’t understand how!

ARTICLE 13 JUST GOT PASSED!!!!

It was a 438 to 226 fucking landslide vote too. (https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/12/17849868/eu-internet-copyright-reform-article-11-13-approved)

They’re voting on it one last time in January 2019, but that’s barely any time to change anything!!!!

You still have time to call your MEPs so PLEASE!!! Do so.

If you’re outside of the EU, sign this petition: https://www.change.org/p/axel-voss-save-the-internet-reject-article-13-and-11?recruiter=839558037&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

If you don’t know what this means, it’s basically then end of how the internet currently is in Europe. Memes? Nope. Youtubers? Bye!

You’d need a license for everything!!!!

And my fellow Americans my be all like, well, what’s the big deal for us? It’s a Europe deal.

No, because the Youtubers there that you love so much? This effects them too! I’m freaking out because Jack, the person who helps my depression go away, may no longer be able to do what he does!

Guys, we need to stop this somehow. Please.

Call your MEPs. Sign petitions. Protest (Peacefully please. Don’t get hurt).

I’m sorry for tagging you guys if you don’t want to be or already know, I just want as many people to know as possible!

I can’t tag everyone, but if you see this, please reblog it. Spread the news. Sign the petition. Call your MEPs. Do what you can to help stop this from passing in January.

A lot of the time when people give advice intended to relieve anxiety, they suggest doing “relaxing” things like drawing, painting, knitting, taking a bubble bath, coloring in one of those zen coloring books, or watching glitter settle to the bottom of a jar.

This advice is always well-intentioned, and I’m not here to diss people who either give it or who benefit from it. But it has never, ever done shit for me, and this is because it goes about resolving anxiety in the completely wrong way.  

THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO when suffering from anxiety is to do a “relaxing” thing that just enables your mind to dwell and obsess more on the thing that’s bothering you. You need to ESCAPE from the dwelling and the obsession in order to experience relief.

You can drive to a quiet farm, drive to the beach, drive to a park, or anywhere else, but as someone who has tried it all many, many times, trust me–it’s a waste of gas. You will just end up still sad and stressed, only with sand on your butt. You can’t physically escape your sadness. Your sadness is inside of you. To escape, you need to give your brain something to play with for a while until you can approach the issue with a healthier frame of mind. 

People who have anxiety do not need more time to contemplate, because we will use it to contemplate how much we suck.

In fact, you could say that’s what anxiety is–hyper-contemplating. When we let our minds run free, they run straight into the thorn bushes. Our minds are already running, and they need to be controlled. They need to be given something to do, or they’ll destroy everything, just like an overactive husky dog ripping up all the furniture. 

Therefore, I present to you: 

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO WHEN ANXIOUS

–Go on a walk

–Watch a sunset, watch fish in an aquarium, watch glitter, etc.

–Go anywhere where the main activity is sitting and watching

–Draw, color, do anything that occupies the hands and not the mind

–Do yoga, jog, go fishing, or anything that lets you mentally drift 

–Do literally ANYTHING that gives you great amounts of mental space to obsess and dwell on things.

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO WHEN ANXIOUS:

–Do a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, or any other mind teaser game. Crosswords are the best.

–Write something. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. Write the Top 10 Best Restaurants in My City. Rank celebrities according to Best Smile. Write some dumb Legolas fanfiction and rip it up when you’re done. It’s not for publication, it’s a relief exercise that only you will see. 

–Read something, watch TV, or watch a movie–as long as it’s engrossing. Don’t watch anything which you can run as background noise (like, off the top of my head, Say Yes to The Dress.) As weird as it seems, American Horror Story actually helps me a lot, because it sucks me in. 

–Masturbate. Yes, I’m serious. Your mind has to concentrate on the mini-movie it’s running. It can’t run Sexy Titillating Things and All The Things That are Bothering Me at the same time. (…I hope. If it can, then…ignore this one.) 

–Do math problems—literally, google “algebra problems worksheet” and solve them. If you haven’t done math since 7th grade this will really help you. I don’t mean with math, I mean with the anxiety. 

–Play a game or a sport with someone that requires great mental concentration. Working with 5 people to get a ball over a net is a challenge which will require your brain to turn off the Sadness Channel. 

–Play a video game, as long as it’s not something like candy crush or Tetris that’s mindless. 

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO DURING PANIC ATTACKS ESPECIALLY:

–List the capitals of all the U.S. states

–List the capitals of all the European countries

–List all the shapes you can see. Or all the colors. 

–List all the blonde celebrities you can think of.

–Pull up a random block of text and count all the As in it, or Es or whatever.  

Now obviously, I am not a doctor. I am just an anxious person who has tried almost everything to help myself.  I’ve finally realized that the stuff people recommend never works because this is a disorder that thrives on free time and free mental space. When I do the stuff I listed above, I can breathe again. And I hope it helps someone here too.