Do some preliminary research on what interests you about the target culture and describe how this topic relates to language. Do you need any special vocabulary or linguistic knowledge to engage this topic? If so, have you included objectives in your learning plan to engage this topic?
**This journal post is intended to help you formulate foundational preparation (scaffolding) for your final presentation.**
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Throughout the semester, I have watched my interests in historic and sociolinguistics of Indonesian fold in a multitude of other languages. It feels impossible to understand Bahasa Indonesia without folding in a mini-study of Dutch, Arabic, Javanese, and Malay.
Bahasa Indonesia is a relatively young language, adapted from Malay and intended to serve as a national language for the superglossic archipelago. Indonesians are often multilingual, between Bahasa Indonesia, native languages, regional lingua francas, and global lingua francas. This multilingualism influences not only the linguistic landscape, but the language itself. Loan words from Dutch serve as a reminder of colonial history, formal and informal registers are similar (albeit much less complex than) Javanese, and Arabic influence is attributed to the prominence of Islam.
In my reading of Language Policy in Superdiverse Indonesia, I've been especially fascinated by the intentionality of language planning, as well as the breadth of change in the last century. Since its inception, it's cycled through three or four spelling systems and seen a wide shift in syntax. These language changes are often seen as a distancing from other languages, for example, the Van Ophuisen spelling was dropped in order to distance Indonesian from its previous Dutch colonization. Syntax was once similar to that of Arabic with sentences beginning with verbs, but was changed under the perception that the new syntax could allow for more "complex thought." As technology progresses, we see the newest loan words coming from English, although this has come with its critiques.
More important to me than fluency in Indonesian has been my ability to engage with Indonesian artifacts from a linguistic lens. Because my interests are at times beyond my language skills, I've been reading many articles and transcripts that include English transcriptions. This has allowed me to engage with more complex texts while still expanding on my language skills.
What interests me most about Korean culture is the interpersonal relationships and family dynamics because my extended family lives in Korea so I would like to know more about how they interact with each other and how I can best interact with them. This relates to language because language used in a family setting is likely to be different in vocabulary, tone, and formality than the textbook Korean that I’m used to. I am more used to speaking in a non-formal language so I would like to get used to more formal language and learn in what context I should use each type.
Other interpersonal relationships I’m interested in is how speaking and texting in Korean to family differs from friends, professors, coworkers, and store clerks. I have included objectives in my learning plan to practice speaking in different contexts and scenarios with my learning partner. For example, one week we might meet and speak to each other entirely as two friends attending college together, while another week we will speak like a grandma and her grandkid or a store employee and a customer. I hope this will help me distinguish the differences between speech with different people as well as learn the unique vocabulary that goes with each group of people.
What interests me about Korea is how fast it went from a developing country to a major pop culture reference production center with its Kpop, Kdramas, plastic surgery capital, an so much more. Given that the US pop culture and media is very relevant in multiple foreign countries, it surprises me how Asian pop culture like anime and manga have also infiltrated younger generations growing in popularity.
The Korean language plays a pivotal role in South Korea's thriving plastic surgery industry. In a culture that highly values physical appearance, the Korean language is full with terms related to beauty and aesthetics, such as "미모" (mimo, meaning beauty) and "성형" (seonghyeong, meaning plastic surgery). These linguistic expressions reflect the societal emphasis on physical beauty. Thus, the Korean language serves as both a linguistic tool and a cultural backdrop that underpins the growth and influence of the plastic surgery industry in the country, shaping perceptions of beauty.
K-Dramas and K-pop have also crept their way into US pop culture with films and television like Squid Games or The Parasite as well as music groups like BTS, Black Pink, and more.
The Korean language plays a pivotal role in the global popularity of K-pop music and K-drama television series, both of which hold profound cultural significance. K-pop, with its melodies and energetic performances, effectively utilizes the Korean language alongside English lyrics, making it accessible to an international fanbase. In this way, the Korean language serves as a vehicle for conveying the cultural essence of K-pop, uniting fans from diverse linguistic backgrounds in their shared enthusiasm for Korean popular music.
Similarly, K-dramas, known for their compelling narratives and emotional depth, provide a window into Korean society and traditions. The Korean language, spoken authentically in these dramas, not only maintains their cultural authenticity but also offers viewers an immersive cultural experience. As audiences worldwide engage with the stories portrayed in K-dramas, they become exposed to the nuances of the Korean language and gain insights into Korean societal norms, thereby deepening their appreciation for Korean culture. Overall, the Korean language, popculture, and values acts as a crucial bridge, facilitating cultural exchange and fostering a global appreciation for Korean culture.
What interests me about South Korean culture is their education system. As a university student, it is highly probable that the majority of koreans I will be interacting with will be students. As such, I think I should learn enough vocabulary to discuss studies and career aspirations with other students. It is not as simple as simply memorizing a bunch of vocab as I should have a proper grasp of what their education may have looked like to better understand them. Instead of just learning the vocabulary that is relevant to my educational experience, I should also learn vocab relevant to my korean counterparts. For instance, perhaps I learn of Hagwon's and thought of them as just a tutoring center like in the US, but I would be missing their cultural aspect.
Hagwons are a private-for-profit education institute that provides tutoring in various subjects and has become a staple in a korean student's routine. After school ends around 4pm, the students head to these cram schools where they continue studying until around 10pm and midnight. Since college admission is dependent on the college entrance exam College Scholastic Ability Test, it is almost essential for students to attend Hagwons to score competitively on the exams.
I have been focusing mainly on learning how to communicate with other students by introducing myself, my studies, and disucss career aspirations. I don't think I need any special lingustic knowledge but I do need to learn more student-centered vocabulary and do more research on what it is like to be a student in South Korea.
What interests me about Korean culture is what young adults in their 20s do for fun in their free time. Two activities that are popular nationwide are ‘PC bangs (PC방)’ and ‘Noraebangs (노래방),’ which directly translate as PC rooms and Song rooms. PC bangs are internet cafes where Koreans can go to use high-end gaming computers to play computer games. Noraebangs are private Karaoke rooms that can be rented for a small group of friends.
This topic relates to the Korean language since these activities are staples of Korean culture. Simply learning about these activities at a surface level does not require any additional language knowledge. However, to engage in them would require special knowledge. Going to a noraebang would require learning popular Korean songs and familiarizing myself with the lyrics. Playing games in a PC bang would require learning Korean gaming terminology. For instance, learning how to call out enemies on a map to teammates.
As part of my learning objectives for this semester, I plan on learning more about these activities. While I do not have anything specific planned for learning special vocabulary, I plan on learning more about it once I have sufficiently improved my basic Korean linguistic knowledge.
What interests me the most about Hungarian culture is the origin, history of the language and its roots. Even though Hungary has a perfect location in Eastern Europe, surrounded by Romania, Austria, Croatia, its language has no similarity to the ones spoken in the neighboring countries. After some preliminary research I have learnt that the Hungarian language, also known as Magyar, belongs to the Uralic language family, a group of languages primarily spoken in Eastern and Northern Europe. It is important to notice that within the Uralic family, Hungarian falls under the Finno-Ugric branch, along with languages like Finnish and Estonian. The researchers have found roots of Hungarian to the ancient Finno-Ugric people who inhabited the Ural Mountains region in modern Russia. As a consequence we can see certain similarities between Hungarian and other Uralic languages.
Hungary was proclaimed a kingdom just in 1920! In other words, it finally received complete independence and peace around 100 years ago. Centuries before 1920 Hungary was facing enormous challenges and was conquered multiple times by the neighboring countries. It makes me think that it might be the reason why the Hungarian language is among the top-4 hardest languages in the world. Maybe Hungarian is just a mixture of different dialects. I find the below piece as very valuable information which enormously contributes to my study of Hungarian language and its culture.
“The origins of the Hungarian language can be traced back thousands of years, with influences from various cultures and historical events. The linguistic ties between Hungarian and other Uralic languages demonstrate the shared heritage and cultural connections among these communities. It is believed that the Uralic-speaking peoples migrated from their ancestral homeland in the Ural Mountains, spreading across the vast region over time. These migrations led to the development of distinct Uralic languages, including Hungarian, as different groups settled in various territories. Throughout history, Hungary has been influenced by neighboring cultures, resulting in linguistic interactions and the borrowing of words. For instance, during the early medieval period, the Hungarian tribes migrated to the Carpathian Basin, where they came into contact with Slavic, Turkic, and Germanic-speaking populations. This contact contributed to the enrichment of the Hungarian vocabulary through loanwords and cultural exchanges. Despite these external influences, Hungarian has maintained its distinct linguistic features and grammar, setting it apart from other Indo-European languages prevalent in the region.” (PoliLingua)
The Hungarian language has indeed some unique characteristics. Even though it inherited a lot from the other cultures, it has a lot of exceptional features of its own. I call Hungarian ‘the language of puzzles’, meaning that words are formed by adding affixes to a base form. It allows us to create complex word structures and precise expressions of meanings just in a few words. For example, ‘házamban’ means ‘in my house’ - 3 English words are compacted into just 1 Hungarian word. ‘Házamban’= ‘ház’ (house) + ‘-am’ (suffix which identifies that something is ‘mine’) + ‘-ban’ (suffix which identifies that something is ‘inside’). This is just an example which shows that Hungarian is ‘the language of puzzles’. At first, one might get confused among all these suffixes, endings, and structures, but once you actually learn, and memorize the specific parts of the words it becomes much easier. This is just one of the things that fascinates me about the Hungarian language. I think it has played a significant role in shaping Hungarian culture, literature, and national identity. It is a powerful symbol of Hungarian heritage and connects the people to their historical roots.
Source: https://www.polilingua.com/blog/post/origin-of-hungarian-language-Its-similarity-other-languages.htm
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