Araea (letter)

Araea (letter: ㆍ; name: 아래아) is an archaic vowel letter of the Korean alphabet, Hangul. It was associated with either an open-mid back unrounded vowel ([ʌ]), an open back rounded vowel ([ɒ]), or an open-mid back rounded vowel ([ɔ]). While the letter is no longer used in modern Hangul orthographies for the Korean language, it is used for the Jeju language.^[1][2]

Writing systemHangul

TypeAlphabet

Sound values[ʌ]; [ɐ]; [ɔ]

InUnicodeU+318D, U+119E

Quick facts Usage, Writing system ...

Araea
ㆍ
Usage
Writing system	Hangul
Type	Alphabet
Sound values	[ʌ]; [ɐ]; [ɔ]
In Unicode	U+318D, U+119E
Other
Korean name
Hangul	아래아
RR	araea
MR	araea
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

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Its name, araea (아래아; lit. 'lower a'), is derived from the fact that it is an a-like sound (like ㅏ) but came later in alphabetical order than ㅏ, and thus placed on the bottom of charts for the learning of Hangul (panjŏl).^[3]

The letter disappeared from use in two stages: first with its merger into ㅡ in non-initial syllables around by the 16th century, and second with the merger of ㅡ with ㅏ in initial syllables by the 18th century.^[4][5] Still, it continued to be a part of orthography even into the 20th century, long after its sound had disappeared from the language.^[1] The colonial government's 1912 Hangul Orthography for Use in Elementary Schools [ko] and 1921 Summary of the Hangul Orthography for Use in Elementary Schools [ko] allowed its continued use for Sino-Korean vocabulary. However, the 1930 Hangul Orthography [ko] prohibited it.^[6] The Korean Language Society's 1933 Unified Hangul Orthography [ko] also called for its prohibition; its use largely ended with this orthography.^[7][1][8] Its role has since been replaced with either ㅡ or ㅏ. Still, even into the 1960s, there were stores in South Korea that advertised cigarettes (now spelled "담배") as "담ᄇᆡ".^[1] The letter is still used for the Jeju language, where it is pronounced [ɔ] or [ʌ].^[2]