Hello and welcome back to another journal~
I’m continuing to study and research more about Korea, but instead of regurgitating all of the information, I thought I’d share more about my progression and some of my “highlights” from the past couple of weeks!
I mentioned previously about how I was a guest speaker for my art professor’s upper-level class and that I got the opportunity to teach the students about the Korean alphabet to form their names. Afterwards, the professor invited me to lunch for the following week and I responded with an excited “yes”. At first I wasn’t sure if our conversations would be in Korean or English since, of course, we use only English in class, but as our discussions proceeded, I found that we smoothly transferred from English to predominantly Korean. It was very nice to be able to speak in my first language with a professor for the first time since even with my friends, we tend to mix the languages into Konglish. We got to know each other a little more and she even shared her academic experiences from Korea.
I also noted that I wanted to get used to texting in Korean and it’s been going pretty well so far! I actually attempted this same goal in previous years but never really stuck with it because I type so much faster in English. I told my mom my goal for using only Korean when I’m texting her so that she could keep me accountable and correct any of my spellings or grammar. She has a teaching background so she’s been patient with me and my slow thumbs, but I can see the progress already. Whenever I want to say a particular word but don’t know the best translation, I’ll text the English word in Hangul and she’ll respond back with the Korean word. I’ve also found myself “speaking” differently when I text. If we were speaking in person, I’d naturally speak in a formal yet casual way, but due to the formal vs informal language in Korean, I found myself being more conscious of using formal language when texting. Additionally, I’ve been texting my aunt in Korean too! This just happened to occur without any particular goals because I was used to texting with my mom. While I attempted to do this with my dad, he’s been wanting to get better in English, therefore, most of our texts are in English with him attempting to use some new internet acronyms.
My sister’s now a first-year in college and with roommates and hallmates in her room and lounge, we’ve been communicating in Korean whenever we FaceTime. This is actually very unlike us because although we know and use both languages, we communicate in English. I’ve noticed that it’s when we want a more private conversation we use the language that the surrounding people can’t understand well. It’s funny how we did this in Korea by using English and now we do this but with the scenario flipped.
Comments
Im jealous of you and your sister's ability to speak in secret in Korean. I am learning Catalan but I speak spanish and I am the only one in my family that does so I have never had this experience although it sounds so fun! I think texting is a great way to practice different types of conversations (formal and informal) because it will definitely bring you closer to becoming completely fluent in Korean, as you can effortlessly switch between formal and informal, which I am sure native speakers have no issue doing. Also, you and your dad can totally help each other! He can teach you korean while you teach him english. It would be interesting if you only texted him in Korean and he only texted you in English!
Hi!
This sounds amazing! I am so happy that your professor was willing to act as an informal learning tool. I hope that everyone in class was responsive to your lesson.
Texting in another language is always fun to learn. Since you speak formally to your mom and aunt, do you still find yourself encountering slang the way we would use in English language texting? Perhaps, if you want to practice writing informally in Korean, you could text your sister in Korean. Then your conversations would be totally encrypted!
Best,
Rosa