How do you pronounce 한글?

ANSWER: /하안글/

The Korean alphabet is called Hangeul (한글), a name that only began to be used in the early 20th century. Before that it was called Hun Min Jeong Eum (훈민정음), which literally means the proper sound to teach the people. Korean dictionaries say 한글 is a pure Korean word meaning great (한) script (글), but if that is true, then why is the 한 in 한글 pronounced with a long vowel sound: /한:글/?

According to Korean Wikipedia HERE, the word 한글 was first coined in 1913 by a Korean linguist named Ju Si-gyeong (주시경 - 周時經), a man who lived from 1876 to 1914. Koreans generally claim that the 한 in 한글 is the pure Korean prefix that means big or great, the same prefix used in the Korean words 한가위 (추석), 한걱정 (big worry), 한근심 (big anxiety), 한길 (a main street), 한동안 (for quite a while), 한숨 (a deep sigh/breath), and 한턱 (a big treat). However, the problem with that claim is that the 한 prefix in all those words are pronounced with a short vowel sound, not with the long vowel sound used to pronounce 한글 and 한국 (韓國), which is the Sino-Korean name for Korea. That suggests that the original meaning of the word 한글 was most likely Korean (한- 韓) script (글), not great script.

By the way, in North Korea, they call the Korean alphabet 조선글, which just happens to also mean Korean (조선) script (글).

In Korea, the day they celebrate the creation of 한글 is called 한글날, which is pronounced /한:글랄/. If you pronounce it correctly, you will probably impress many of your Korean friends.