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Homer Guest
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2003 5:03 am Post subject: |
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The sign had nothing to do with what I think about English education here. It is a bad mistake for this school and for the other institutes that post English signs that are spelled poorly. However, I would not classify this as "incredible" or "outragous" or anything like that.
A bad mistake that reflects badly on the school yes. An Earth rocking catastrophy of epic proportions nope. I reserve my outrage for things that are truly outragous.
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| Perhaps you also share this ethos of mediocrity Homeboy, otherwise you wouldn't post such nonsensical responses. |
Now Philip, I was merely making fun of the situation and you chose to turn around and throw personal insults at me. Thats unfortunate....
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| There's a culture of mediocrity in this country, and these rediculous signs are symptomatic of this. |
And then you drop this, a broad and sweeping judgement on the level of competence of an entire country.
I wonder, do you apply the same outrage to similar phenomenon of mediocrity in your home country? Or, is it just outragous or unbeleivable here?
If I were you I would not venture out too far on the ice with that "cutlture of mediocrity" argument, it wouldn't float for long.
Last edited by Homer on Sat Oct 18, 2003 4:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jove
Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Location: Over the hill
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2003 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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I was walking down the street one day in late spring, when I very attractive woman came walking by wearing a rather short jean skirt. It may have been the first sight of bare legs of the summer or perhaps I'm just a mysoginist (especially since I can't spell the word), but I turned as she passed to get one last look. Well, what do I see, but the words "Tasty" written in bold, white letters right across her rearend. Couldn't have agreed more.  |
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gypsyfish
Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2003 4:40 am Post subject: |
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| Jove wrote: |
It may have been the first sight of bare legs of the summer or perhaps I'm just a mysoginist (especially since I can't spell the word), but I turned as she passed to get one last look. Well, what do I see, but the words "Tasty" written in bold, white letters right across her rearend. Couldn't have agreed more.  |
Can't spell it? Did you know that 'misogynist' means a woman hater? |
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gomurr

Joined: 04 Feb 2003
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2003 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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I tend to agree with the majority of the post on this topic. I was teaching the government employees here in Ye-Cheon in preparation for the Archery event at the Unversiade. Anyway 2 weeks prior to the event, a couple of them asked me to go around with them at the archery field and other historical sites in order to check the signs and reading boards for incorrect spelling or just downright terrible grammar. I remeber one that sounded like something out of Shakespeare.
"hereth lieth Ryu, Hyun-su"
"Governess of all that he seeeth beforst him"
I just about cried laughing so hard at that one. And when I explained it to the guys from my adult class, they had a good laugh too. Anyway the signs got changed and I made an extra 100,000 won for good services rendered. |
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maxxx_power

Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Location: BWAHAHAHAHA! I'M FREE!!!!!!!
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2003 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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| some waygug-in wrote: |
I'm sure a lot of Koreans actually believe that they understand English better than most of the foreign teachers that they hire. They are very arrogant about what they "know" and it is quite comical to watch some of them try and feign fluency.
Cheers |
One of my old supervisors would get very angry when I would correct her English. She would say, "My major Englishee literature!"  |
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matthewwoodford

Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Location: Location, location, location.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2003 2:28 pm Post subject: Konglish error |
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I agree it's irritating to see total disregard for proofreading or even common sense, especially from English teaching institutes. It can also be irritating to see spelling and grammar mistakes from English teachers posting here. On the other hand, as native speakers we know what *kinds* of spelling or grammar mistakes really jar, we know how slang is good sometimes, and we know when error correction is pedantic and when it's essential: Koreans cannot be expected to know all that.
'I'm Baker' is one that really gets my goat too. But look how successful a brand it is: from a marketing point of view it was a good choice of name. *Sigh* - If only Koreans could tell the difference between Konglish and English...Maybe if it's the boss or the professor you want to impress and their English is all beeped (btw is there censorship on this board? who are we protecting???) up too then it makes sense to abide by their standards rather than the standards of the waygook teacher.
By the way is that New York Fries fast food place still open in Chongro? The blurb printed in English on all the sheets on their trays proudly states 'Our fries are not normal!'.
Matt |
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philipjames
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2003 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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A few months ago one of those evangelical groups in Itaewon on Saturday nights gave me a pamphlet proclaiming "Jesus is Load".
Christ almighty. It's just too incompetent for words. |
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Homer Guest
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2003 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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Philip,
All this time and energy you spend aggravating yourself and waorking yourself up into this rightous outrage...its gonna take years off your life, you might even lose your hair, get ulcers...and for what?
Put the problem in perspective...  |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 10:06 am Post subject: Re: Konglish |
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| philipjames wrote: |
The coffee cup on my desk reads: "My heart leaps up when I he Hold A Rainbow in the sky..."
This is absurd in so many ways. 1) The annoyingly inconsistent use of capital letters. 2) The impossibility of holding a "Rainbow in the sky". 3) The inexplicable use of ... at the end of the sentence. 4) The absense of "and" between "I" and "he". 5) The use of such child-like sentiments between people who appear to be dating, (and therefore being at least in their late teens.)
Aargh! |
It was a bad mistake but it was intended to quote William Wordsworth.
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So it be when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The child is the father or the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
(written in 1802) |
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CBrown
Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: the 5th largest city in the country
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:07 am Post subject: |
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| Here's a funny one I just saw here in the good ole' US of A. I work at a bicycle shop, we have a narrow, racing saddle with a warning label (made in Taiwan): "Warning, This is not a joy." The problem is that I'm not sure if it really was a mistake. |
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Demophobe

Joined: 17 May 2004
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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More often than not, it's the printer/lithographer that makes the mistakes.
I did the pamphlet for our school and when we got a sample back from the printer, he had made all kinds of mistakes....I corrected them, but even when we got our shipment, there was a new error.
The printers aren't careful enough, making proof-reading efforts in vain. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:08 am Post subject: |
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Another thought,
Does anyone much care what is written on notebooks, clothes, coffee cups, pencil cases, etc... especially when it is a foreign language?
Just us few waygooks notice and get a kick out of it.
engrish.com |
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jaderedux

Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Lurking outside Seoul
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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My all time favorite....
bus with big ol' sign that says quite happily ....
I LICK ENGLISH!!!!!
No shortage of teachers I am guessing.
Jade |
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steelhead

Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Location: Seoul formerly known as Victoria
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 3:19 pm Post subject: my fav's |
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Here are a couple quick ones.....
On the website for the new Bullet Train ...... there is a chart of the facilities in the various cars.... and shows you where you can find the
"Toiler" just incase you have to relieve yourself
The other weekend we were at COEX... and outside of the mall was an
"AMBLUNCE" spelled of course forward.. which backhome is usually backwards so drivers can read it in the rearview. |
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Thomas
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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I've got a good one for you all:
In my 2nd year here, I put together a whole bunch of worksheets and lesson material for my adult classes... my Korean co-teacher came up with the grand idea of taking the collection to the printer's and gettting it done up as a small book, which we would then sell to the teachers for cost (w2000) and I wouldn't have to make copies (and the schools could show them around as "what we do"). I turned in all of the material, but my co-teacher lost the cover sheet... so instead of asking me for a new print out, he made his own and had it printed up as the cover. It read:
English Teacher's
with my education center, phone number and name boldly printed under it.
You can imagine the questions I had to deal with..... |
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