Discussion Post #3

[Elliott Lee]

This week we began discussing and reading about the structure of language. Looking at Jean Aitchison's diagram of the structure of language and this week's reading, helped me to analyze and break down my language of study. In my specific field of study, I see signs of phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics. I realize that the Korean language is very similar to that of American English, especially in the aspect of phonology. In the Korean language, sarcasm is a big part of the way people talk to each other, just like in the English language. Therefore, it is comforting to understand a complex idea like sarcasm in another language, because it is similar in a more familiar language. So, it is important to understand the structure of a language in order to accurately and simplify learning a different language. By breaking down the structure of a language, we are able to recognize similarities and differences in language and use that to further our understanding of the language. In my own personal experience, it is important to learn words in the target language (phonetics), then be exposed to how it's used in sentences and how it would usually be said (phonetics), and then once you are comfortable with the words and phrases to then get into the grammar (syntax). Though I do not have too much experience in language learning, by studying the structure of language, I am beginning to notice small similarities in both Korean and English I never had before, which has already begun to help me in my journey to better my Korean speaking language. With this knowledge, I am considering adding to my lesson plan to read books about the grammatical structure of the Korean language, because I never had formal teachings on grammar.