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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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 Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:02 pm Post subject: An expression I've been seeing too much lately |
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"come back home"
It sounds okay, but it is used in every opportunity.
IE)
"After work, I will come back home."
"Bye-bye, I will come back home."
"I said goodbye to my friends and they come back home."
Why do they need the word "back?" And when you're leaving, you're "going" not "coming." Every time I see it, I correct it just to be a jerk. |
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Jeonnam Jinx
Joined: 06 Oct 2005
Location: Jeonnam
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Every time I see it, I correct it just to be a jerk. |
I don't think you're being a jerk (are you being sarcastic?). You're correcting people's faulty English; nothing wrong with that!  |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeonnam Jinx wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Every time I see it, I correct it just to be a jerk. |
I don't think you're being a jerk (are you being sarcastic?). You're correcting people's faulty English; nothing wrong with that! |
Yet it's not really strictly wrong. It's in the same category as "Have a good time." |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:24 pm Post subject: Re: An expression I've been seeing too much lately |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| Why do they need the word "back?" |
If the speaker were using Korean, wouldn't s/he say doragada (sorry, no hangul on this keyboard)? I'm only a little confident about that guess, but if it's right then it just sounds like a case of speaking English like it's Korean. Big problem for me, the inverse of that. |
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Jeonnam Jinx
Joined: 06 Oct 2005
Location: Jeonnam
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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| But, don't we only use "come back home" when we are actually in our homes and talking to someone at home, not when we are at work or something....? |
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Col.Brandon
Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I get a lot of "good luck to you" in a sing-song voice. What, do you think I'll need it? |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:41 pm Post subject: Re: An expression I've been seeing too much lately |
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| Qinella wrote: |
| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| Why do they need the word "back?" |
If the speaker were using Korean, wouldn't s/he say doragada (sorry, no hangul on this keyboard)? I'm only a little confident about that guess, but if it's right then it just sounds like a case of speaking English like it's Korean. Big problem for me, the inverse of that. |
I think it's just 오다 that causes the problem. 오다 doesn't match up 1-to-1 with the English "go". So you generally say 집에 오다 regardless of whether you're at home or not. Which is odd because Koreans are generally overly fastidious about that stuff. I could be wrong about that, though. I remember being corrected on that point but I forget which way. |
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n3ptne
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Location: Poh*A*ng City
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| But, don't we only use "come back home" when we are actually in our homes and talking to someone at home, not when we are at work or something....? |
If you're at work, and you're "moving" home, but talking to a coworker, then you would be "going home." I
If on the phone to your wife, then you would be "coming home", unless you plan to only do so briefly, at which point you would be "coming back home" because of the implication that you will be leaving again before "indefinately" "coming home."
It isn't really grammar, it's more of a concept in the abstract where two words can, and cannot be used interchangably because of the attached meaning.
Whats the difference between futile, and useless? Grammatically they are interchangable, and in many instances they probably could be used interchangably... but now always. Try explaining that to a Korean, too. |
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Jeju Rocks
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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I think the finger of blame can be pointed at Seo Tai Ji. Before he went into retirement / moved to the USA, he had a song called 'come back home'. Seo Tai Ji used to be huge in Korea and was quite influencial. I think many people picked up that expression and like anything else, went overboard with it.
What bugs me is when I ask someone "what are you doing?"
They reply "We are talking about."
Me: "Talking about..... What????" |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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| n3ptne wrote: |
| Quote: |
| But, don't we only use "come back home" when we are actually in our homes and talking to someone at home, not when we are at work or something....? |
If you're at work, and you're "moving" home, but talking to a coworker, then you would be "going home." I
If on the phone to your wife, then you would be "coming home", unless you plan to only do so briefly, at which point you would be "coming back home" because of the implication that you will be leaving again before "indefinately" "coming home."
It isn't really grammar, it's more of a concept in the abstract where two words can, and cannot be used interchangably because of the attached meaning.
Whats the difference between futile, and useless? Grammatically they are interchangable, and in many instances they probably could be used interchangably... but now always. Try explaining that to a Korean, too. |
Good point. That sort of thing has to be learnt through experience, not TOEIC. And it's harder than Christ to explain. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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One expression I just realised I hate even more: "I can do it."
It summons to my mind a Special Olympics athlete. |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
One expression I just realised I hate even more: "I can do it."
It summons to my mind a Special Olympics athlete. |
There are definitely many phrases that need to be stamped out immediately. But in the mean time, some of them are just damn funny... |
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Gwangjuboy
Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Location: England
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:30 pm Post subject: Re: An expression I've been seeing too much lately |
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| billybrobby wrote: |
| Qinella wrote: |
| RACETRAITOR wrote: |
| Why do they need the word "back?" |
If the speaker were using Korean, wouldn't s/he say doragada (sorry, no hangul on this keyboard)? I'm only a little confident about that guess, but if it's right then it just sounds like a case of speaking English like it's Korean. Big problem for me, the inverse of that. |
I think it's just 오다 that causes the problem. 오다 doesn't match up 1-to-1 with the English "go". So you generally say 집에 오다 regardless of whether you're at home or not. Which is odd because Koreans are generally overly fastidious about that stuff. I could be wrong about that, though. I remember being corrected on that point but I forget which way. |
When I first started learning Korean a coupoe of years back I remember this coming up. I was on the way to pick up some jeans from a department store that had been altered for me and I spoke Korean with the assistant. I was on the way so I said 지금 오고 있어요. (I'm coming) However, my Korean friend I was with said it should have been (가고 있어요 - I'm going). Still occasionally throws me. |
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Troll_Bait
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: [T]eaching experience doesn't matter much. -Lee Young-chan (pictured)
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:05 am Post subject: |
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| Jeju Rocks wrote: |
| I think the finger of blame can be pointed at Seo Tai Ji. Before he went into retirement / moved to the USA, he had a song called 'come back home'. Seo Tai Ji used to be huge in Korea and was quite influencial. I think many people picked up that expression ... |
Exactly!
The song was about a kid who has run away from home, and his distraught parents want to ask their son to "come back home." What a lot of people don't realize is that it's the parents who are saying this. In that case it's grammatically correct. But they use the phrase as if the child had said it, and say things like, "Teacher, I have to come back home now."
Korean pop music has a way of setting Konglish into stone. For example, there's a pop band called "Fly to the Sky."
I did an activity in which my students had to speculate about possible future forms of transportation. In typical K-fashion, no one had any original thoughts. The same thing, airborne cars, came up again and again, probably because of the movie "The Fifth Element." A dozen times, I had to listen to them describe a car that can "fly to the sky."
"... fly to the sky." "... fly to the sky." "... fly to the sky." Arrrg! |
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