Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Guest]

i'm just a beginner learning korean. I'm starting to string sentences together, and I've found that pronunciation becomes easier if I tighten up the jaw a bit..bring the lower jaw a bit forward. if i don't i find getting the rapid succession of korean vowels goes all crazy. its kinda difficult to describe, but I'm wondering anyone's views on this?
Is anyone consciously aware of changing structural position?
I have noticed a lot of the problems related to english pronunciation for koreans, is loosening up (the mouth area). i'm not a speech expert so i'm not sure.

[Ilsanman]

All I can say is, don't approach it like it's English. That's the main reason many of my students speak terrible English. They think Korean and English are similar. They are not.

[Guest]

thats interesting. i never would have thought english and korean are similar which is of course what you are also saying. dutch and afrikaans yes. spanish and french etc..
anyway, my point is i'm not approaching it that way. personally, i reckon language learning institutions should have an extra class of certain speech exercises to help. after all, thats the basis of good pronunciation..to get to the fundamentals first.

[Ilsanman]

I agree, speech exercises help, but I hate reciting. It is not useful for me. Especially at the same time as many other people, who will make me seem worse than I actually am.

Tonight, having a chat in all Korean, all but one time I was understood. A little kid told me my pronunciation was bad, but he could still understand me. That's step 1.

[Mashimaro]

[kimchikowboy]

When I first started teaching here, I noticed that I had some uni students who had a pretty good grasp of the language, but their pronounciation made it almost impossible to understand them. They seemed to be talking without opening their mouths. One actually spoke out of the corner of his mouth, reminding other teachers of Jimmy Cagney.
We use our mouths differently in English. An example of this would be the Western pronounciation of Uijonbu (the place, sorry-- not sure of spelling). Most times I hear Westerners pronounce the first sound like an English "w". For Koreans, it's more like "uh-ee".
Another example is having students try to pronounce "quick". Often it will sound like "kick". They don't have the rounding of the lips that comes with the "w" sound.
Out of curiosity, I asked around about this. I was told by some older Koreans from stricter Confucianist backgrounds that they were scolded for opening their mouths excessively when speaking. So the "w", as well as distinguishing between the "l" and "r" can be problems.
You're closing your mouth more to pronounce Korean seems to support this idea.
I'm not an expert. Those are just my own observations.
Now, however, I do stress that they open their mouths more when the speak in English, and for many, it seems to help. A lot cheaper than getting part of their tongue sliced off, too.

[Mashimaro]

That is really interesting. I guess not everyone is interested in learning korean or the differences in languages, but it would be nice if threads like these got more input... especially when you see threads with pages and pages of absolute drivel

[just because]

I think the problem is mashimoro is that maybe 95% of the foreigners here don't give 2 hoots about learning anything other than survival korean.

They are only here a year and then they are gone hence threads like these don't usually get too involved.

People would rather talk about everyday subjects such as
*chewing gum
*K-girls, how many have you screwed over
*how much can i bitch about Korea today

catch my drift . No wonder people don't want to learn korean.

[dogbert]

There are a number of things native English speakers should pay attention to in regards to their pronounciation of Korean, but two that spring immediately to mind are:

1. Don't pronounce simple vowels as though they were diphthongs.

2. This is for us N/A speakers, especially: don't pronounce the Korean "r/l" the way we typically pronounce the letter "r." I've found that approximating the sound of a "d" works well (that is, lightly touching the tip of your tongue to your forward upper palate).

[just because]

For 2. Dogbert i roll or flick the top top of my mouth with my toungue and it seems to be the right pronunciation.

[dogbert]

[just because]

Well there is the Korean lesson for today folks

[the_beaver]

[FierceInvalid]

Yeah the "��" is difficult. In a situation like ģ���� I pronounce it kinda like a French "r", basically the flick mentioned above, and it seems to come out OK. It's much more difficult for me to pronounce when it's in the last position without a following sound (saying �ѱ��� on its own, for example).

[just because]