In my journey to learning Korean, I have found it to be extremely interesting and challenging because of how different it is in sound and formation compared to the previous languages I have been or currently exposed to such as French, Spanish, and English. At first, I started learning some random words that are used in daily conversation like “Please” and “Thank you” (“Putak-hamnida” and “Kamsa-hamnida”). However, eventually I ran into a road block when my mind began to overload on words. This is when my language partner helped me by demonstrating some connections in words. In other words, he began to break down phrases and words to basic meanings in order to show me commonality and differences. For example, I thought the only way to say “I” in Korean was “J/chen” because I learned “I am well” (J/chen chal ji-nae yo). However, if someone wants to say “I am sad”, they do not start the phrase with “j/chen” but rather “chun”. The whole phrase is “chun k/gi-bbo-yo”. One can use “chun” as “I” for other emotions besides “sad” like mad and happy. So in Korean, there are exceptions and rules that many who are unaware can easily commit. My language partner and other articles have explained the importance of Korean language to the culture. There are different ways of speaking or addressing someone who has more power (social standing) or older. The language is very intertwined with honorifics which are a grammar formation to convey honor and respect. There are special nouns and verbs used to show respect and honor to social superiors. Without honorifics, one can offend a lot of people in Korea. An example of this can be seen in the way you greet someone. The formal (honorific) way to say hello to someone older or higher socially is “annyeong haseumnikka”. Meanwhile, a way to greet others while still maintaining a level of formality is “annyeong haseyo”. The complete informal way to greet a love one or friend is “annyeong”.
One aspect in learning a language for me that makes it difficult is my mind makes to many connections with phrases or words that I learned. However, through the help of my language partner, I can stop myself from making these false and erroneous connections and stick to the proper and correct way to speak Korean. A technique that has helped my communicative competence is writing down the phrases or words several times in a notebook. Another aspect that I can improve my communicative competence is pronunciation. This can be difficult for me because Korean uses a lot of sound that are hard and different for me. Compared to the other languages in my arsenal, Korean, I think, requires slightly more discipline in enunciation and annunciation. I think listening to my friends speaking Korean and Korean music can elevate my speech pronunciation as oral listening is a technique that helps drill sound and noise into my mind. Conditioning my ears to familiarize the Korean vocal is a way to increase my communicative competence.
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