Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Corporal]

Does anyone else find it ridiculous that many Korean kids can't even spell their own names in English? Wouldn't you think that would be one of the first things they'd get taught, after the ABCs? And before someone accuses me of being an imperialist and asking me why I can't write my name in Hangul--which I can do, incidentally--well, they're studying English, they should know what their name looks like when written in that language.

(Even bad romanizations are better than nothing. I have a student named On You--an unfortunate spelling that will only give her grief when she's older, thus I'm encouraging her to write it as On Yoo instead.)

Do you make your kids know how to spell their names? Or do you not care one way or the other?

[peppermint]

I find the whole name thing here strange and awkward. I prefer to use Korean names cause it's much better than having adult students named things like "happycamper" and "swami" ( her father was responsible for that one- no English teacher) I'm really uncomfortable giving names to adults anyway.

Then again I had an adorable ten year old named Mi Kok. .

Can't win either way!

[Corporal]

Yeah, but I'm not talking about teaching them to spell Michael or Jenny. I mean teaching them to spell their Korean name in English. You know, like they will all have to, eventually. I don't know why, but few things irritate me as much as when I tell Min Soo to write his name and he says "In English or in Korean?" and I say "In English" (duh, this is English class) and he looks at his friends, smirks, and replies, "I don't know how" like it's a badge of honour. (Dumbass.)

[schwa]

It can be a bit of a revelation for kids the first time they see their names in english letters but I urge caution in transliterating their names if youre not up on conventions -- there are a lot of variables & bad english versions often stick (worst case, when they apply for passports -- theres no turning back).

A lot of the new romanization rules dont really work with names -- or old rules either for that matter -- when it comes down to a foreigner trying to pronounce these names.

Family names for instance. Lee, Rhee, etc -- Ee or I or Y doesnt cut it. Park, Pak, Bak, etc. My son-in-law's name is Seo -- invariably 'Say-o' in the States but its really closer to Suh (still inaccurate), which doesnt look very dignified. Another friend, family name Ham, moved to the US -- hates being addressed like a kind of meat & wishes she'd chosen Hahm. A colleague was told Chee by her professor but wishes she'd chosen Gee or Jee now.

First names, I find most prefer Young to Yeong, Soo to Su, etc. Hyeok-min or Hyuk-min doesnt allow for the consonant shift, better Hyung-min? Yu-sik reads better as Yu-shik. What the heck do you do with the name syllable Eui?

These are just a few examples, but putting names into english accurately & pleasingly is less about following any rules & more about artful re-creation. Not really a project for amateur linguists. I let my kids use Hangeul spellings until theyre able to make an informed decision for themselves.

[ajuma]

I think "Hye" is one of the most MISused Korean spellings. Hye, in my book, is pronounce "Hi"(you know...like "dye"), but the pronunciation is more like "Hay-ee" which is awkward to spell. I encourage Hae as it's much closer.

As for getting students to recognize their names: play a game. Put their names on a card. Put in the the tray on the board or in various parts of the room and have the kids race to find their name. Or play "swat" (with flyswatters). Write several kid's names on the board and have pairs (two teams) "swat" the name that you say. Helps with their reading and recognition!

[Ya-ta Boy]

It is a problem, and I think you need to deal with it with the kids' best interests in mind. If a kid's name is You-Suck, then you need to delicately change it to Yoo-Suk. Or do the best you can.

I see no reason to think it is strange for them have trouble writing their names in English. Their names are not English names.

The best time to teach them how to spell their names is when you are teaching the alphabet and the sounds of the letters.

I am not too sympathetic to someone whose name is Schnicklegrubber complaining about other people's name.

[viva]

In my experience, a lot of the reason that some students don't know how to spell their names in English is because they have seen so many different versions of their English names. They encounter a new way to spell their name in English with every new English teacher that they have. How are they supposed to choose the correct way when a new teacher comes along every year and changes the 'correct way' that they had memorized?

I have a student named Soo-A/ Su-ah/ Sue-A/ Soo-Ah who told me that after seeing her name written in English in so many different ways she has given up trying to romanize her Korean name. She simply goes by Sue now to avoid letting all her English teachers confuse her.

[ryleeys]

I am particularly annoyed by the Korean name "Lee"

When Koreans write this, it's meant to be prounounced like the letter "e"... I personally think it should be spelled "Yi"

But then again, what do I know... my middle name is only Lee. I tried convincing them that if they want Americans to pronounce the name correctly, they need to spell it "correctly"

Fat lotta good that did me.

[FUBAR]

It took the Korea government many years to agree on the spelling of their cities. I think the last correction was done less than 5 years ago. If they can't get it right, I can't see the kids getting it right.

Also, I think that the romanization isn't that easy for them.

ps. Corporal. --- How long till you are asked to resize your avatar?