Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Triban]

I already know that, they pronounce the double consonants harder. What makes it difficult, however, is sometimes they pronounce the single consonants harder for emphasis, which makes them sound like double consonants. Do you see what I am saying now?

I still prefer characters that have a more discernible sound/mouth/tongue positioning.

I am not saying the language is at fault, it's their language they can do whatever they want.

I am simply stating this, in combination with a ridiculous amount of endings/modifiers, is why Korean is difficult to ever master and why Koreans have difficulty understanding you.

[Zyzyfer]

Dude every language modifies loan words to their own pronunciation. English is no exception. Ketchup ain't English but speakers of the origin language won't have a clue what you're saying when you ask them to pass it (sorry, first word that came to mind).

[Triban]

Yes, every language does that. So why can I understand what they mean when they say world-uh or pija but they cannot understand what I say when I say world or pizza? Americano...Amerlicano. It doesn't make sense. I never said anything about anyone being stupid, I just don't understand why they can't make the mental leap that world might be the same as world-uh.

King of the Hill you say? I direct your attention to :
http://alao.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/king-of-the-hill-tv-31.jpg

If a Chinese person (ketchup inventors) said k�-chiap (鮭汁) or a Malay said kĕchap, I am fairly certain I would know what they were saying, even out of context.

[Zyzyfer]

Because you're making an effort to learn Korean. They probably aren't trying to learn English.

If they are, they have some atrocious listening skills.

[Triban]

Honestly, if someone came up to you and said pija or world-uh...you really couldn't make the mental leap? If not, I apologize.

And actually, tomato KETCHUP, is an American recipe created by Sandy Addison.

And they were taught English for 10+ years. No excuses.

[Zyzyfer]

[Fox]

I think Triban's point about Koreans at times having a hard time understanding loanwords from English when spoken by a native speaker of English is quite correct. I've had the exact same experiences, invariably with loan words. 센터 and 터미널 are especially difficult for taxi drivers to understand in my experience, as are the longer words referencing types of coffee, or any word that ends up with more than one ㅡ in it. Mind you, I usually don't have much of a problem with actual Korean words. It's the English loan words that they have a hard time with. I don't think it's because Koreans are stupid or because they aren't trying. I just don't think most of the words they've appropriated from English fit well into their soundset, and the resulting words are such an unnatural addition to the language that they really do need to be pronounced with an atypical, exacting level of care to be understood.

[Zyzyfer]

[Triban]

Fox is correct.

[World Traveler]

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/languages/korean/faq/korean-vs-japanese.html

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/languages/korean/faq/korean-vs-chinese.html

[PeteJB]

I'd imagine Mongolian is the hardest Asian language to learn simply because of the lack of resources for learning it.

[cert43]

Are you of Asian descent? If not, then why weould you have any interest in these languages

Sorry if that sounds raciest, but there are plenty of other useful ( and easier) Romanji languages ( such as Russian, Spanish, French)....

[Triban]

Because Korean is a world language.

[Fox]

[samd]