Happy Lunar New Year

Happy New Year to all those who celebrate the New Year at this time...
恭喜發財!
새해 복 많이 받으세요!

A contentious issue in Korean (really!)

I don't know whether any of you have been following this spirited debate

http://www.koreanclass101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1682&start=0

but I'm one of the parties involved. And it's about the age-old question for students of Korean: "How can you tell the difference between verbs and adjectives in Korean?"

Well, the short version of the answer is that "it ain't easy".

Now, there are people who say that the distinction is clear. I, on the other hand, think that it's not as clear, even though the pedagogical tradition is to say that there are "verbs vs. adjectives". My view at this point basically concurs with those who say that Korean has two types of verbs (i.e. action and descriptive verbs) rather than a verb vs. adjective distinction.

No matter - a distinction's a distinction, right?

Well, yes, but it's not the same type of distinction.

Let me begin by using a language we all know very well - English. And let's start with a couple of easy examples of adjectives and verbs.

Verbs:

The boy sits.

The boy ate some rice.

Adjectives:

The boy is good.

The boy was fast.

Now, with the verbs, we notice one main thing: they can take tense (runs, ate). As for the adjectives, they cannot 1) occur by themselves - they must follow a copular verb (i.e. 'to be'); and 2) take tense marking - the copular verb takes it.

Let's take a look at Korean.

그 남자는 앉다. 'The boy sits.'

그 남자는 밥을 먹었다. 'The boy ate rice.'

그 남자는 좋다. 'The boy is good.'

그 남자는 빨랐다. 'The boy was fast.'

Now, notice that unlike English, the Korean 빠르다 may take tense marking directly, as we can say 빨랐다 with the -었/-았/-였 past tense suffix.

Some of you might be thinking at this point, "This is Korean, not English - this is like comparing apples to oranges." That's exactly my point - we must evaluate Korean on its own terms, rather than impose categories that just happen to exist in other languages. And so far, the evidence shows that there is no formal/structural distinction between 동작동사 ("verbs") and 상태동사 ("adjectives"/"descriptive verbs").

There is, however, a context where a distinction may be noticed - but it's not nearly as obvious as it is in English. This is when these forms modify nouns.

For the 동작동사, we have the following:

앉는 남자 'The sitting boy'

김치를 먹는 남자 'The boy who eats kimchi'

밥을 먹은 남자 'The boy who ate rice'

And for 상태동사, we have the following:

좋은 남자 'The good boy'

싼 밥 'cheap rice'

빨은 남자 'The fast boy' 

Notice we can't say the following:

*싸는 밥 'the currently cheap rice'

(But can you say ?좋을 남자 'the boy who will be good'?)

So the difference between 동작동사 and 상태동사 is that in their noun-modifying forms, the 상태동사 cannot take the present tense -는 (as well as the questionability of the "future" -을/-ㄹ suffixes), while 동작동사 can. 

But notice the one common thread between these two types of predicates: the -은 suffix. They both indicate something that has an established presence for the speaker: for 동작동사 marked with this noun-modifying suffix, these are activities that have already taken place (i.e. have been realized), while 상태동사 marked with the suffix are simply establishing an inherent, realized quality. 

Going back to English, we see that the verb vs. adjective distinction is much clearer. For adjectives, we can just put them before a suitable noun unaltered, and they're fine:

The good boy

The fast boy

The cheap rice

However, for verbs, this would result in extreme ungrammaticality:

*The sit boy

*The ate rice boy

*The run boy

We cannot say the latter sentences because they need either extra marking (i.e. tense, e.g. the sitting boy, the running boy), or they need to be altered syntactically to be grammatical, e.g. the boy who sits, the boy who ate rice, and so on.

What I'm trying to say here is that it isn't clear whether 상태동사 are best described as adjectives as English speakers know them. Just because these capture states and qualities rather than actions does not make them automatically "adjectives" - they have to be clearly distinguishable when they are used in sentences. In this regard, I see 상태동사 as being another type of verb rather than a completely different word category.

But if you disagree, please let me know. Just be sure: don't just rely on what the "semantics" (that is, the definition or meanings) say - you really should provide some grammatical evidence (e.g. evidence [or lack thereof] of conjugation, and so on).

I hope this sparks some discussion.

Porn in Swedish

A friend of mine told me that he is writing a book. He's Swedish, and whenever i have some alcohol, my foreign languages come out. That's why I tried to say "Good luck! (in Swedish of course).

He gave me a blank look. "Excuse me?"

I tried again. ("Lyck a teel!")

Oh! He repeated what I tried to say, with (what sounded to me) a microscopically different accent on the last vowel sound.

He smiled as I repeated it (or tried to repeat it) in Swedish.

"What you said sounded like (Swedish Word)... it kinda means "small novel"... It was actually the name of a soft porn magazine in the 60's..."

Quite a funny mistake! I can't tell you why "small-novel/pornographic-magazine" and "good luck" sound so similar in Swedish, or any other funny stories about the titillating confusion it causes all over the Swedish speaking world, but I've only recently started my Swedish learning properly, so I will let you know when I find out. I actually signed up for Swedish lessons at lingq.com recently... I haven't even had a look yet though!

Stumbling through Swedish reminds me of how I was (how we all are!) when we start a new language. Whenever someone says something, we listen up, getting things wrong, and generally annoying people who speak fluently.

I've had some interesting experiences with Korean recently. I have come to realise that I've passed the stage that i describe above (people don't stare at me blankly when I say stuff any more). I met a Korean guy on Christmas actually, and we were chatting away. And my Korean speaking girlfriend left her phone at home yesterday, and I had to explain to a Korean speaking friend that she'd forgotten it. Usually we have to umm and ahh a lot to get our message across, but I got there!

Here's a secret: whenever I have a phone conversation with someone in Korean, after I hang up, I go to the "calls" section of my phone and look up how long the conversation was. My longest entirely Korean phone call has been 3:12!

I realise this post has been a little rambling (if one were one of those modern kids, one might call it "random!") so sorry, I just feel I've been neglecting TalkWithTheWorld for a while.

[Translation] Girls' Generation - Gee [V]

Hah...I'm putting this here because no one is posting (...or because I hit the wrong new post button on my dashboard. You decide) If ya'll don't want it on here though, I'll take it off >_>




[몰라]
Uh huh, listen boy.
My first love story
My angel and my girls
My sunshine
Oh, oh let's go!

[서현]
너무 너무 멋져 눈이 눈이 부셔
숨을 못쉬겠어 떨리는걸
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

[티파니]
Oh, 너무 부끄러워 쳐다볼수 없어
사랑에 빠져서 수줍은 Girl
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby


[윤아] (어떡하죠) [수영]어떡하죠
[윤아] (떨리는 나는) [수영] 떨리는 나는요
(두근 x 4) 두근 두근 거려 밤에 잠도 못이루죠
[제시카] 나는 나는 바본가봐요 그대 그대밖에 모르는 바보 그래요 그대 보는 날

[모두]
너무 반짝반짝 눈이 부셔 no no no no
너무 깜짝깜짝 놀라 나는 Oh oh oh oh oh
너무 자릿자릿 몸이 떨려 Gee Gee Gee Gee Gee
젖은 눈빛 (Oh yeah) 좋은 향기 (Oh yeah yeah yeah)

[유리]
오 너무 너무 예뻐 맘이 너무 예뻐
두 눈에 반해서 꼭 집은걸
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

[써니]
너무나 뜨거워 만질 수가 없어
사랑이 되버려 후끈한걸 (붙드는걸?)
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

(어쩌면 좋아) [효연] 어쩌면 좋아요
(수줍은 나는) [효연] 수줍은 나는요
(몰라 x 4) [효연] 몰라 몰라 하며 매일 그대만 그리죠
[태연] 근데 친구들은 말하죠 정말 너는 정말 못말려
바보 하지만 그댈 보는 나

너무 반짝반짝 눈이 부셔 no no no no
너무 깜짝깜짝 놀라 나는 Oh oh oh oh oh
너무 자릿자릿 몸이 떨려 Gee Gee Gee Gee Gee
젖은 눈빛 (Oh yeah) 고운 향기 (Oh yeah yeah yeah)

[서현] 말도 못했는 걸 너무 부끄러워 하는 나
[태연] 용기가 없는 걸까 어떡해야 좋은 걸까
[제시카] 두근두근 맘 졸이며 바라보고 있는 나

[모두]
너무 반짝반짝 눈이 부셔 no no no no
너무 깜짝깜짝 놀라 나는 Oh oh oh oh oh
너무 자릿자릿 몸이 떨려 Gee Gee Gee Gee Gee
젖은 눈빛 (Oh yeah) 고운 향기 (Oh yeah yeah yeah) (눈이 부셔)

[모두]
너무 반짝반짝 눈이 부셔 no no no no
너무 깜짝깜짝 놀라 나는 Oh oh oh oh oh
너무 자릿자릿 몸이 떨려 Gee Gee Gee Gee Gee
젖은 눈빛 (Oh yeah) 고운 향기 (Oh yeah yeah yeah)


-Translation-


Uh huh, listen boy.
My first love story
My angel and my girls
My sunshine
Oh, oh let's go!

He's so nice it makes my eyes dazzle
I can't breathe because he makes me tremble
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

Oh, I'm so shy I can't glance up at him
A shy girl falling in love.
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

(What should I do?) What should I do?
(My trembling body) My trembling body
(Ba-bump x 4) I can't even sleep because of my beating heart
I look like a fool watching him from afar.

He twinkles brightly, my eyes are dazzled
I'm suddenly shocked!
My trembling body starts tingling
Our eyes meet and I get sucked in by his sweet fragrance

Oh, He's really pretty, his heart is really pretty
I'm entranced by his eyes
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

He's so hot, I can't touch him
My face is hot and this love is finished (Was I caught?)
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby
Gee gee gee gee baby baby baby

(Anyway, I like it) Anyway, I like it
(My shy self) My shy self
(I'm not sure) Even though I'm not sure I still yearn for him every day
Even though all my friend's said "Can't you just stop?"
I'm still looking at him foolishly

He twinkles brightly, my eyes are dazzled
I'm suddenly shocked!
My trembling body starts tingling
Our eyes meet and I get sucked in by his sweet fragrance

I couldn't speak because I was shy
Should I be less timid? What would be good?
Even though my heart beats strong and I'm fidgeting, I focus on him

He twinkles brightly, my eyes are dazzled
I'm suddenly shocked!
My trembling body starts tingling
Our eyes meet and I get sucked in by his sweet fragrance (My eyes dazzle)

He twinkles brightly, my eyes are dazzled
I'm suddenly shocked!
My trembling body starts tingling
Our eyes meet and I get sucked in by his sweet fragrance

What's been on my mind lately

Today I was talking with one of my new friends from facebook and she said that it was surprising to see someone so serious about Korea since usually people don't know anything about her country. So, I decided to explain myself.

보통 외국인들이 아지아 좋아하면 일본 아니면 중국 대해서 배우기 정하죠?
그런데 저는 어느날에 친구한테 갑자기 한국 음악 받았고 그날부터 한국 대해서 더 알고 싶었어요.
그래서 조금씩 여기 저기 배웠는데
대학교 시작했을때 한국어 열심히 공부하기 시작했는데
그때부터 한국 천천히 사랑 빠졌거든요?
그래서 지금 한국 너무 너무 너무 좋아해요.
그리고 my point earlier was 외국인들 한국 대해서 많이 모르니까, 한국 인기 많이 없죠?
그런데, 저는 어느날에서 세상에게 한국 보여주고 싶습니다.
재 꿈이에요, 전 한국 사람 아니지만.
어떻게 생각해요? 이상해요?
근데 그건 반드시 저 입니다.

Usually when foreigners like Asia, they pick Japan or China to learn about, right?
But one day my friend suddenly sent me a Korean song and since that day, I wanted to learn more about Korea.
So little by little, I learned things here and there.
When I started college I began studying Korean harder and slowly, I actually fell in love with Korea.
So now I really really like Korea.
And my point earlier was that since foreigners don't really know a lot about Korea, it doesn't have a lot of popularity, right?
But, some day, I want to show Korea to the world.
That is my dream, even though I am not Korean.
How do you feel about that? Is it weird?
But that is without a doubt, me.

Tips and Resources for Learning Korean

Sorry for looking a bit grungy in this video. I've been sick for the past couple of days. This video was inspired by TkyoSam.

www.youtube.com/user/TkyoSam
^ Check him out




- Part 1: Learning Hangul -

www.aheeyah.com <--- for lyrics

The easiest way I have found to learn hangul (and the way I did it) is romanizing lyrics. What I mean by this is going to a lyrics site and finding lyrics to a song, then copying it to some word processor and using a picture of the hangul alphabet to "Decode" it.

For example if you have...

하루만 니 방에 침대가 되고 싶어
Haruman ni bangeh chimdaega dwego shipeo


www.lifeinkorea.com/language/Graphics/hangul.gif


- Part 2: Entertainment -

Music: MC Mong, Crown J, Clazziquai, So Nyuh Shi Dae, Wondergirls, Epik High, Nell, Younha, 2AM, 2PM, Dong Bang Shin Ki, BoA, Alex, S.E.S., Rain

Dramas: Coffee Prince, Full House, Goong, Beethoven Virus, Stairway to Heaven, My Lovely Samsoon.

Movies: Chingu, 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant, Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, The Host, Sex is Zero, My Mighty Princess, Please Teach Me English, My Sassy Girl, My Girl and I, Marrying the Mafia

TV: Global Beauties Talk Show, Inkigayo, Star King, Music Bank, X-man, Love Letter, Family Outing


- Part 3: Free Learning Websites -

http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/

http://engdic.daum.net (Korean -> English)

http://alldic.daum.net (English -> Korean)

www.koreanclass101.com

practicalkorean.com

New Year = New Blog?

여러분, 안녕하세요!
새해 복 많이 받아셨어요? ㅎㅎㅎ

저는 이년에 한국어를 더 열심히 공부하고 싶어서 새 한국어 연습 블로그 만들었어요.
매일 업데이트 하려고 해요.

http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/rizuk

NOTE: 사실은 저는 방금 네이버 아이디 받아서 여기서 가세요~~

http://blog.naver.com/rizuk
감사합니다!

읽으세요!

네~ 잘 지내세요 여러분