Here’s yet another thing that sets Korean apart from all the other foreign languages I’ve ever attempted. I find myself accidentally using Korean language conventions in English and in my native language of Marathi more and more these days. And I don’t mean things like certain words or exclamations (아이씨, 아이고, 대박! etc.) – rather,Continue reading “Accidental Koreanizations?”
멘붕
I get the sense that words in Korea come and go like fashion statements. Obviously, since I don’t live in Korea and I don’t hear Korean around me all the time, it’s hard to pick up on current slang; when I do encounter one inadvertently in a variety show or drama, it usually requires aContinue reading “멘붕”
Nine Korean words I wish existed in English
I’m in constant danger of using these words in the middle of an English conversation. 1. 역시: The best English equivalents I can come up with for this word are “naturally,” “obviously,” “as expected,” and “of course” but I still find that situations where that sounds odd in English. 역시 is such a pithy answerContinue reading “Nine Korean words I wish existed in English”
The “F” word
Oh, you all know the one I’m talking about. As language learners, I think we’ve all thought about fluency at one point or another. It’s to be expected. For many people, fluency is the ultimate end goal of their language studies, often driven by external motivation (e.g. wanting to watch TV shows without subtitles, understandContinue reading “The “F” word”
Random Thought
I watched Hello Baby for a whole fifteen minutes before realizing that I was watching without subtitles. It was awesome. I still like subs even though I can usually understand the gist of what I’m watching without them. I rarely have time to watch dramas and reality shows and when I do, I want toContinue reading “Random Thought”
Technical language
When I was an undergraduate working in the lab, my former boss was Spanish but was very strict about everyone using English and only English in his lab, which I can understand. Research is a collaborative effort and it doesn’t help anyone if you’re alienating other members of the lab by using a language theyContinue reading “Technical language”
Unfakeability
So today, as I was taking the bus back home, I inadvertently overheard the couple sitting behind me having a very interesting conversation. The girl (her native language was probably Spanish, by her accent) was talking about the challenges of taking Japanese and Chinese courses at the same time. She clearly had an interest inContinue reading “Unfakeability”
아쉽다
Interview Week came to an end on Friday. It was an exciting time for me because I still have vivid memories of my own graduate school interview circuit (has it really been a year since then?!) and I was definitely looking forward to experiencing it from the other side of admissions this time around. MostContinue reading “아쉽다”
Tips on reading in a foreign language
So this post is a sort of addendum to the post I made a while back about my experiences reading 해를 품은 달. Unfortunately, for the time being, my Korean “studying” has dwindled down to reading a page or two every night out of the couple Korean books I own. I haven’t touched a grammarContinue reading “Tips on reading in a foreign language”
Happy 1st Birthday
…to my blog! I started blogging about my Korean studies on February 20, 2011. I’m not sure what’s more surprising – the fact that Korean is now, in all veracity, an irrevocably integral part of my daily life and existence (dramatic, but true) or the fact that I’ve somehow managed to harp on about how muchContinue reading “Happy 1st Birthday”
반짝반짝 한국어 