Discussion Post #5

I was initially drawn to the Catalan language because of my interest in Football Club Barcelona. I often saw the club’s motto, Més que un club. At first I just assumed it was Spanish. One day I learned that it was, despite the difference coming down to only a letter (Cat. “Més” vs Sp. “Más”), not Spanish at all. Instead it was Catalan, a distinct language with its own history and identity. That discovery made me become interested in the Catalan language and culture more broadly. I also learned about about the historical suppression of Catalan during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, when the language was banned from public use and therefore became strongly associated with regional identity and resistance. The motto, Més que un club ("more than a club" in English), heald real meaning, because the club's stadium was one of the few places locals could speak their language freely. Even today, I have learned through some of my Spanish freinds that the political relationship between…

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Discussion Post #5

For my final presentation, I plan to research Korean skincare and how it has been affected by the culture and language in Korea. Korea has always been known for its skincare, but in recent years, it has become even more popular. I want to look more into the culture of it and where its history began.After doing some research, I found out that skincare has been around since the Silla Dynasty, and it was popular amongst men and women. Its popularity was because the clearness of your skin was important socially. Those with clearer skin were of a higher social class, and it was also believed that, overall, they had better health. Beauty standards have always been very important in Korea, and an extensive skincare routine helped them to reach that level of clear skin. Especially in ancient Korea, many herbs and oils were used on the skin.I will be able to connect Korean skincare to the culture because I can further develop the history of where the skincare originated, what was used, and…

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Culture #2

The LIttle Prince is one of my favorite tale of all time. The Korean musical adaptation of The Little Prince (어린 왕자), based on the original novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and performed in South Korea with Korean lyrics and dialogue.The Korean musical version of The Little Prince (어린 왕자) transforms a globally familiar story into something emotionally and linguistically distinct. While the narrative framework remains rooted in Saint-Exupéry’s philosophical tale, the Korean adaptation places strong emphasis on lyrical expression, emotional nuance, and relational sensitivity. Watching selected musical numbers and dialogue scenes, I was struck by how the Korean language reshapes the tone of the story.One of my strongest impressions was the musical’s use of poetic and metaphorical language. Korean allows for elliptical constructions and subject omission, which creates an atmosphere of emotional openness. In several songs, pronouns are dropped entirely, leaving listeners to interpret…

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Journal Reflection #2

                My experience learning Korean has been going well, but I have noticed that it is going slightly slower than priorly anticipated. With that said, I have truly been enjoying everything that I have been learning. I have realized that the most helpful and beneficial practice that I have been participating in is when I am with Emily. I feel like I have been getting the most benefit when I work with her on the alphabet and pronunciation. My lessons with Emily have also been the most enjoyable.               During my first lesson with Emily, we first focused on the basics of Hangeul. I became familiar with the basic vowels, progressed to the combined vowels, and then learned the consonants. During this lesson, I also learned the strong consonants that change the aggressiveness or the tenses of the basic consonants. Two of the basic vowels sound very similar to me, but other than that, the lesson was quite easy. She also taught me about the ending consonants and how some of…

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