Korean Job Discussion Forums

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

Oh what have you Americans done to our wonderful language, English??

This is a TORTOISE, by the way. It walks slowly, on land. It is not the same as a turtle. It retains a different name from its swimming cousin, to distinguish it. It symbolizes slowness and liesurely pace, as well as determined methodical persistence: it also has a long lifespan and could be seen as wise, old and experienced, which is why it is the correct ingredient in our centuries old folktale.

Ok. This is a TURTLE. It swims. It lives in the ocean. It has flippers, not legs. It is actually very, extremely different from a tortoise. Which is why it actually has a different name. It is the very image of grace and speed underwater: try swimming after and catching one if you want to test out the analogy.

OK. Now, this is a HARE, as featured in our ancient fairy tale. It is has long legs and is very fast, which is why it was chosen to illustrate speed in our ancient folklore.

And this is a RABBIT. it is smaller, and much, much,much slower than a hare. Which is why it would not be given the same name as a hare, or be included in a story designed to illustrate speed.

What other words of ours have you changed and rendered meaningless?

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

Another one!

This is a TAP. Not a faucet. I don't even know what a faucet is or how it is pronounced. fawcett? fossit?

And this is a CUPBOARD. not a closet. "Closet" is just another dumb made-up word. maybe you misheard someone say ' close it" one day and decided the thing was called a closet.

simpleminds · Joined: 04 May 2006

When I saw the title of the thread I thought; crikey, another mutilation of the English lingo! I thought I was the only one who gets peeved!

How about 'trolley cart' for 'tram'? A trolley cart is what you put your groceries in, a tram is the steet car on railroad-like tracks.

VanIslander · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:57 am Post subject:

So you are saying you can catch a rabbit?

And I never had a pet turtle?

This is so confusing. Is the difference really that clear?

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

[quote="VanIslander"]

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

jennateacher · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:02 am Post subject:

I am American and I know of the story of the Tortise and Hare. I have seen many bastardisations of clasic tales here in Korea.

In the dialect of English I use the cupboard is where you would keep dishes or food, Above or below the counter. A closet is a very small room used for storing clothing or coats. A pantry is a small room like a closet but for keeping food items.

We all use the same laguage a bit differently.

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

What? You are suggesting there is a significant difference in the use of English in North America compared to how it is used in England. I need to sit down and catch my breath my head is reeling! Rolling Eyes

endofthewor1d · Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Location: the end of the wor1d.

if a turtle has flippers, then it would even be slower in a land race. at any rate, i never liked that story. even when i was a kid i had a problem with it. if the idiot hare didn't decide to take a nap at the finish line, he would have won the race. slow and steady didn't win the race at all. extreme arrogance and oversleeping won the race.
i can see that story crushing the confidence of a lot of children. what happens after the first few times they try their best and come out dead last because the other kids opted to not sleep at the finish line?
maybe it would have been better if instead of going to sleep, the hare started running backwards, mocking the tortoise, and tripped in a hole or something, and was unable to finish the race. seems a little more feaseable to me. maybe that's how i'll tell it to my daughter.

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

Julius, it sounds to me like you just got done reading a story that has been dumbed down for EFL students. (do a comparison of "the turtle and the rabbit" and "the tortoise and the hare" on google, with quotations. I always heard tortoise and hare. But I bet if you ask any of your students what either of those animals are, you would be met with blank looks. Really, what is the difference? Could a rabbit not beat a turtle in a race? Must you be a zoologist in order to glean the moral of the story?

Also, I would not call that thing a closet. Don't know anyone who would look at that and say 'closet'. I would call it a pantry or a cupboard, since it has foodstuffs inside. Maybe some dummy out there posted that picture on the internet and labeled it 'closet', or maybe you googled 'cupboard' and decided that some people call it a closet; I do not know. But I do know if you google 'closet', you will not find a picture like that, at least not in the first 5 pages of results.

Finally, if you do not know the word 'faucet', that is just absurd. You don't know how to even say it? Hopefully you do not teach phonics. Razz

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

endofthewor1d · Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Location: the end of the wor1d.

sock · Joined: 07 Oct 2006

frankly speaking · Joined: 23 Oct 2005

I too was raised in America and I have always called the story, "the Tortoise and the Hare.

Since it was originally a greek story and the greek translation for rabbit and hare are the same word, then it really doesn't matter if someone calls it the rabbit and the turtle.

The picture you should is typically called a cabinet or cupboard. I have never in my life as an american heard any americans call it a closet.

But I guess the british are right about everything and how dare any nation modify the language to fit their culture.

It sounds that the OP is just pissed off that more people don't talk like him. You really need to adjust. I don't get upset when you say plaster instead of adhesive bandage. Do you really put plaster on a wound.

British didn't invent the language they modified it from the many vernaculars of Latin.