Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aldershot]

...is one of my favourite things to do. when i'm teaching, and ask a student what their favourite TV show is, someone usually says, "drama". The next 10 minutes of class is used re-educating them that the proper word is "soap opera".

other konglish myths:

salaryman=businessman
panty=panty OR underpants OR underwear OR boxers
"teacher, my leg is sick" = "my leg hurts"
s-line=that sexy curve on a female (i.e. hourglass figure)
cunning=cheating
manicure=nail polish
promise=date, appointment, busy, excuse
arbiter(WTF?)=part-time job
autobike=motorcycle
handphone=cellphone, mobile
one-piece=dress

any other myths out there? i realize this has probably been posted before, but konglish -like any language- evolves.

[JMO]

I let most Konglish go as it allows students to personalise their language more. Hopefully some day some Konglish words make it over to common English use. Personally I'm hoping for skinship.

[HapKi]

I don't understand your idea of Konglish as "myth." What's a myth about it? They are real, accepted words in the Korean language, either filling a gap or expanding Korean vocabulary. That languages' evolve is natural, as you said.

[aldershot]

[HapKi]

Oh, I'd say that was fact, not myth. Nobody said our job as teachers was easy. A lot depends on your teaching philosophy and your ideas on the function of language. For a communicative competency, konglish usually gets the intended meaning across. For the large percentage of Koreans who don't study English, their konglish use is just "Korean use" to them.

[aldershot]

agreed hapki. but the myth is that konglish is thought to be english, when in fact it isn't.

do others like JMO perpetuate the use of konglish?

[HapKi]

I think konglish should be treated like any other vocabulary. Like you said, you must dispel what they think is English is, and teach the correct form. What you have to ask yourself is how much time in your conversation class do you want to take away from oral production to focus on explicit vocabulary correction? I mean, autobike/motorcycle, handphone/cell phone? Sure we've heard those a thousand times and sure they grate on us like fingernails on a chalkboard, but in my opinion its a bit nit-picky when college level students are still trying to do basic introductions well.

[endo]

I like the cunning-cheating one.

Cheating = bad

Cunning = getting away with something while using your brain

[Vince]

The Japanese use the same word, arubaito, for a part-time job. It's a loan word from German, but they typically think it's English.

[eamo]

Don't you think those words have been absorbed? They are part of the Korean language now. There's no point telling Koreans they should use a different word. Except if they are speaking English, of course, and want to be easily understood.

But in the context of Koreans speaking Korean to other Koreans then we might seem pedantic to correct them on a word that they both fully understand.

[RACETRAITOR]

Konglish is part of the Korean language, not English. "Otobai" is the Korean word for motorcycle, but when you're speaking English, you need to use an accepted English word. Likewise, if you are going to speak Korean, you'll have to use the Konglish words.

[cubanlord]

[markhan]

[VanIslander]

[aldershot]