Korean Language

    The first impression of mine towards Korean Language is that it is a language that combine both circles and strokes as their wording. Moreover, it looks so much like our ancient chinese words; In this, I mean it looks alike with the ancient words that our ancestors engraved on the cave walls thousands of years ago. Korean words look so much like drawings instead of artistic word forms, and it always confuses me when it comes to the differences between Korean and Japanese wording. Realizing that it could be my prejudice on Korean Language, I decided to have interviews with my Korean friends, Lee Kwang Sung and Kang Suk Jin about their Gugeo (national language).

     First of all, I would like to thank both of them for contributing their precious time during the whole process of interviewing. I had an interview with Mr Kang after finishing our gratifying meal in his restaurant. Although I only asked him about some phrases in the video, we did continue to communicate verbally and also in written forms through emails. In the video, we can see that Mr. Kang, like a typical Korean, is shy when it comes to expression. I asked him a couple phrases and requested that if he could translate it for me. Those phrases are as below:

1. How are you?
Formal speaking: Jal ji nae syut uh yo? or Yo jeum uh dduh sae yo?
Informal speaking: Jal ji nae?

2. Thank you.
Formal speaking: Kam sa ham ni da.
Informal speaking: Ko ma wa.

3. I love you.
Formal speaking: Sa rang hae yo.
Informal speaking: Sa rang hae.

    Later, I had an interview with my Korean friend, Lee Kwang Sung. Same as the interview with Mr Kang, I communicated with Lee verbally and also in written forms. Below is the conversation of Lee and I:

Lee and his Korean friends

Me: How do u feel about your own mother tongue, Korean?

Lee: I'm proud of my mother tongue. It's not made by others, I mean foreigners. So, this language is the best to represent our cultures, customs and etc.

Me: What are the differences you notice between English language and Korean language?

Lee: Korean has more vocabulary than English. English is better to express our feelings than Korean. I think it's because of the accent. English:"~~~~~",Korean:"--------" (In this, I believe Lee was trying to say that Korean language is monotonous while English speaking presses on the tone.)

Me: What is the hardest part when it comes to learning Korean?

Lee: When making a sentence because the sequence of words is different. There are so many vocabulary like I mentioned and for foreigners, pronounciation can be difficult.

Me: Can u tell me the progress when Korean first learning Korean? For example, do you learn alphapet first, then numbers, and so on so forth?

Lee: I'm not quite sure about that. I think we learn the words (vocabulary) first.

    Finally, I requested Lee to translate the below phrases into "informal" and "formal" speaking for me.

1. Good bye.
Informal: Jal ga,an nyung
Formal: An nyung he ga seh yo

2. How much is it?
Informal: E guh ul ma ya?, juh guh ul mah ya?
Formal:E guht eun ul ma ib ni gga?,juh guht eun ul ma ib ni gga? Gagyuk e udduh gye dwe yo?

3. I miss u.
Informal: Nan nuh ga geuri wo.
Formal: Nan dang shin e geurib seub ni da.

4. What is your phone numbere?
Informal: Nuh hand phone bun ho ga mo ya?
Formal: Dang shin ui hand phone bun ho neun moo uht ib ni gga?

    After the interview, I strongly feel that it is my lost  to have prejustified Korean Language. Through the interview, I am surprised that Korean do not focus so much on the speaking tone while most of the languages in the world do. Furthermore, I realize that Korean Language is not just circles combine with strokes; In fact, it is a hard- to- learn language in terms of vocabulary and word sequences. Other than that, I realize that Korean is serious about their social status differences in which it can be seen through their daily language usage. For example, youngsters should speak to the elder people in a formal speaking way. Informal speaking is only used when one is talking to his or her friends or to those whom have the same social status.

Written by: Catherine Goh HuiLoon.