Today is Hangul Day in Korea, which commemorates King Sejong's creation of the Korean phonetic alphabet. This terrific post from Language Log tells us why this is a big deal.
During his thirty-two year reign and before his death at age fifty-two, Sejong (one of my political heroes) also composed epic poetry, invented the pluviometer (rain gauge), and created a musical notation system for Korean court music. This 얌전한 아주머니 can't quite bring herself to put her lips to a glass of 막걸리
(makkeolli) in honor of the occasion, but the makkeolli-McCawley association suggested by Language Log is apt and brilliant.
I love the word 'pluviometer'.
Posted by: Amy | October 14, 2005 at 05:28 PM
It's a great word, isn't it? From the Latin for rain, pluvia, so saith the OED.
Posted by: Chan S. | October 17, 2005 at 07:36 AM