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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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 Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:10 am Post subject: Why "why"? |
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Have you ever noticed when you call on a kid to answer a question, they always say "why?"
Me: Charlie?
Charlie: Why?
I figure it's just the way Koreans acknowledge a person when they are called. But it cracks me up. It always has a certain "oh god, why me! why are you picking on me!" quality. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:57 am Post subject: |
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Yes, it's Konglish. In Korean they say "��?" in response to being called on in class. I think it's cute, too, but try to encourage them to say "what?" Saying "why?" is just one more bad habit to break.  |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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The one that gets me happens in one-on-one conversations:
Me: Where do you go to school?
Student: Me?
Me: Do you want to drink a beer?
Student: Me?
You get the idea. |
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ulsanchris
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: take a wild guess
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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Personally I find it a little bit rude when they answer why, especially if they say it in a whiny voice. I know they don't mean it as rude because thats how they answer naturally in Korean.
What I try to do is get the students to answer by saying "yes."
They should learn how to give the appropriate response in English. If later on in life they have extensive dealings with foriegners, they might not fair to well if the answer with "why" to every question. |
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waterbaby
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Location: Baking Gord a Cheescake pie
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Asking "wae" is the typical Korean response when someone calls your name (Why did you call me?), whereas we're more likely to say "what?" (What do you want?) So you're right, it is just the way they acknowledge being called upon. I think your kids are just doing a literal translation. |
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Blind Willie
Joined: 05 May 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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| waterbaby wrote: |
| Asking "wae" is the typical Korean response when someone calls your name (Why did you call me?), whereas we're more likely to say "what?" (What do you want?) So you're right, it is just the way they acknowledge being called upon. I think your kids are just doing a literal translation. |
I asked, this is exactly why they do it. |
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trevorcollins
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 8:23 am Post subject: |
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| Blind Willie wrote: |
| waterbaby wrote: |
| Asking "wae" is the typical Korean response when someone calls your name (Why did you call me?), whereas we're more likely to say "what?" (What do you want?) So you're right, it is just the way they acknowledge being called upon. I think your kids are just doing a literal translation. |
I asked, this is exactly why they do it. |
She already answered the question. Your opinion doesn't further validate it. |
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Iwanttoberich
Joined: 11 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| trevorcollins wrote: |
| Blind Willie wrote: |
| waterbaby wrote: |
| Asking "wae" is the typical Korean response when someone calls your name (Why did you call me?), whereas we're more likely to say "what?" (What do you want?) So you're right, it is just the way they acknowledge being called upon. I think your kids are just doing a literal translation. |
I asked, this is exactly why they do it. |
She already answered the question. Your opinion doesn't further validate it. |
I also asked a close Korean friend and she told me that answering "wae" is the typical Korean response and is thus answered as "why" in Konglish, I think it's just a literal translation.
Have you asked anyone ? Or just speculating ? |
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Gord
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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| trevorcollins wrote: |
| She already answered the question. Your opinion doesn't further validate it. |
The sheer amount of misinformation people claim as correct on this forum is staggering. People confirming things is the best safeguard is use here. |
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trevorcollins
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Gord wrote: |
| trevorcollins wrote: |
| She already answered the question. Your opinion doesn't further validate it. |
The sheer amount of misinformation people claim as correct on this forum is staggering. People confirming things is the best safeguard is use here. |
I would assume someone who's been married to a Korean for years would have a more valid insight concerning this than someone who is just basing their answer on guess work and hearsay. Wouldn't you ? It's the equivilent of a Mathmatics professor explaining a complex formula and then having a second grader agree with the theory. Not particularly useful, helpful or often overly accurate. |
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Ryst Helmut
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Location: In search of the elusive signature...
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| trevorcollins wrote: |
I would assume someone who's been married to a Korean for years would have a more valid insight concerning this than someone who is just basing their answer on guess work and hearsay. Wouldn't you ? |
Being married to a Korean...heck, not even 10 years living in Korea would make a difference...I know several non-Korean speakers who have resided in Korea for ages and/or have married a Korean and speak next to schmuck-all of Korean, let alone being able to explain it.
It'd be like assuming that a person who has been teaching in Korea for ages actually knows about teaching pedagogy. Not necessarily a sound assumption.
!Shoosh
Ryst |
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matthewwoodford
Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Location: Location, location, location.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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In general a lot of errors Koreans make in English comes from L1 interference or in other words because they're literally translating from Korean.
Want to learn Korean? Listen to the way Koreans speak English and you'll pick up some tips. That's not original actually cos Richard Harris said it in Roadmap to Korean.
Two other examples that spring to mind are the overuse and misuse of the words 'delicious' and 'funny'. They're trying to translate ���ִ� and �����ִ�. Try explaining why they can't or that English has no direct equivalent of �����ִ�.  |
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ladyandthetramp
Joined: 21 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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| matthewwoodford wrote: |
Two other examples that spring to mind are the overuse and misuse of the words 'delicious' and 'funny'. They're trying to translate ���ִ� and �����ִ�. Try explaining why they can't or that English has no direct equivalent of �����ִ�. |
Sorry to be anal...
Not �����ִ� but ����ִ�. |
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Gord
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| trevorcollins wrote: |
| I would assume someone who's been married to a Korean for years would have a more valid insight concerning this than someone who is just basing their answer on guess work and hearsay. Wouldn't you ? It's the equivilent of a Mathmatics professor explaining a complex formula and then having a second grader agree with the theory. Not particularly useful, helpful or often overly accurate. |
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Gosp
Joined: 13 May 2004
Location: 85% There.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| waterbaby wrote: |
| Asking "wae" is the typical Korean response when someone calls your name (Why did you call me?), whereas we're more likely to say "what?" (What do you want?) So you're right, it is just the way they acknowledge being called upon. I think your kids are just doing a literal translation. |
No wae. |
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