- Reflect on how knowing a language's history can help you learn the language.
Learning to speak a language like Korean requires an understanding of the languages culture and customs, as you need to know not only how to say something, but when to say it, how formal it should be, and what actions you should take while saying it. As I mentioned in my previous post, when someone offers you something it is Korean custom to refuse it the first couple times. This is because when Korea was still developing, many people in Korea were very poor. The Korean people are very proud and they did not want people to think that they were accepting charity. If you were not aware of this custom and you initially accepted a gift people might understand that you are a foreigner and that you might not know this but they might think it is rude. Understanding Korean history and the history of its language can help you learn the customs and peculiarities of the language.
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