Discussion post #10

[Heera Ha]

If I received a research grant to study the Korean language, I would like to research the evolution of current Korean slang and how words are created over time. Recently, I noticed that people are starting to become more open-minded to the creation of new words and meanings rather than being a stickler advocate for the dictionary. For example, "carpe diem" came from a Roman poet named Horace in 23 BC, and the phrase's meaning made a comeback in the transformed version of "yolo", which means you only live once. Similarly, there are many Korean slang words associated with a previous word or history. I've noticed many Korean words use words that are created from combining two words together into one convenient word form (ex:멘붕 (mental breakdown) is a combination of 멘탈 (mental) + 붕괴 (deconstruction or collapse), or uses the English form romanticized in Korean (레알 – Real/Really). When and why did Korean start using English words as part of their slang? I see that English does this with Latin and sometimes French, but it makes sense if you look at English's language families and how Latin and French are connected. I would study this by first assimilating into Korean culture to get comfortable enough to use current Korean day slang. I would also look extensively into Korean's language families, then trace back and question all slang and their origins to see if there is a pattern and how Korean slang and its language has evolved to what it is today. 

[Eliza Sturgeon]

Hey Heera! That's a super interesting idea! I'm always interested in how slang evolves and the different words each language has for a very similar concept. Something I've found interesting in my own language studies is how resistant the French language is to new words. A lot of French slang comes from English because the Académie Française (the body that governs the French language) is very slow to change and very hesitant to add new words. For example, when someone proposed removing an accent mark that literally does nothing to change the pronunciation, the entire French society flipped out and the Académie almost had a heart attack haha

[Annie Lai]

Hey Heera, great post! As someone who doesn't know Korean very well, I think that Korean slang is really interesting. When I watch Korean dramas, it's not something that is apparent to me because the subtitles do not specifically state when slang comes up. I liked that you brought up how other languages started using English words as part of their slang and it made me wonder why that is as well.