Korean edit

Etymology edit

From 반(半) (ban, half) +‎ (mal, speech).

Pronunciation edit

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈpa̠(ː)nma̠ɭ]
  • Phonetic hangul: [(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?banmal
Revised Romanization (translit.)?banmal
McCune–Reischauer?panmal
Yale Romanization?pānmal

Noun edit

반말 (banmal)

  1. crude language
  2. talking down to

Usage notes edit

The term 반말 (banmal) describes various truncated forms of speech where particles or suffixes are dropped, usually resulting in a loss of the suffixes that reflect social differences. The 해체 (haeche) style of speech is a common example of 반말 (banmal).