Blogs

I have learned that understanding culture and language are two completely different problems. As a native Greek I am well aware of Greek culture and the ‘Greek mindset ‘despite the fact that I have lived in the United States since the age of eleven. I keep in contact with all my family, visit my birth city of Athens in the summer, and keep up with Greek news networks enough so that I can say I know what it means to be Greek. Fully understanding the language is a different task altogether, and one that I have found difficult. The Greek language is complicated due to the differences between ancient Greek, old or “clean” Greek, and modern Greek. Advanced Greek speakers utilize vocabulary from all three language groups, although an emphasis is placed on “clean” Greek. Due to the fact that I am only accustomed to modern Greek, I have made it a goal to become more accustomed to “clean” Greek due to its prevalent use. I have also decided to avoid ancient Greek due to its difficulty and its weak resemblance to modern Greek – it would be as if I’m learning another language. I have sought out this goal through the reading of academic ad historical books that utilize college level vocabulary or “clean” Greek and slowly have built a small vocabulary of advanced Greek. The book I read on the Greek decision to invade Asia Minor in order to include the large Greek population of the region in the kingdom in the year 1919 has been incredibly helpful. The constant use of diplomatic and military terminology was often challenging to grasp but through the use of dictionaries and the help of my language partner I was able to decipher the frustratingly difficult sections of the book. 

My goal of learning academic Greek is not as heavily connected to culture as other language learners’ goals. “Clean” Greek is confined in academia and politics and if spoken to a common man or woman anywhere in the country they will be most probably confused as to why you are speaking to them in such an official manner. The communicative everyday Greek or modern Greek is a language skill that I am fluent in but the ability to write or read advanced Greek is a skill in progress. A greater utilization of online media could be useful since Greek news networks often show politicians speaking in beautifully orchestrated “clean” Greek when they are in formal settings such as the ‘Bouli’ or the Greek Parliament. Thankfully I can access the ERT Greek state news network since it is streamed live online, which makes it an incredibly useful resource. In the end, the only way I will reach my goal is through hard work and continued daily practice and watching the news everyday can be the 24/7 ‘language partner’ that will teach me.

Greek is a language that contains a massive vocabulary and grammatical rules that can discourage experienced linguists. Part of this is due to the fact that Greek is a language that has existed for thousands of years and through the centuries has been influenced by the changing environment of the regions the ancient language was spoken in and the surrounding cultures that have impacted the language with their own. This has made it difficult for me to master advanced writing skills and I still struggle with spelling, although simple writing (like writing messages or letters to family) remains an easy task. My reading has progressed dramatically and I have noticed a great improvement in my comprehension which will be useful in my courses in advanced Greek that I will be taking at the American College of Greece. I read several historical books on modern Greek diplomatic and military history, which exposed me to college level vocabulary for the first time in my life and has inspired me to continue my progress this coming fall and beyond so that one day I can write research papers in both Greek and English. 

I believe both writings make the case that bilinguals are more intelligent. Although, the second reading by Alexandra Ossola makes the case that bilinguals are not necessarily at a great advantage early in their lives due to the lack of vocabulary in a single language compared to monolinguals - despite the fact that if you combine the known vocabularies of both languages of bilinguals it would exceed the vocabulary bank of monolinguals - later in life bilinguals are at a great advantage. The lack of vocabulary in a single language is mended through education and the greater executive function of brains of bilinguals provides evidence for the case that bilinguals are more intelligent. Ossola argues that intelligence is a broad term, but if brain capabilities are increased due to bilingualism or multilingualism then does that not qualify as greater intelligence? Furthermore, it is important to note that the argument does not exclude late language learners and so everyone can attain the benefits of knowing more than one language.

https://docs.google.com/a/richmond.edu/presentation/d/1PrJH7BUccnU7I6WJAuBZ3d0oOUei1HPF6ii6fK5vavU/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1qQWAkZaObUdHdMeFJHRDdraVE0ZGRlVWlTdGItRndaT2M0

Korean%20Language%20History222.pptx

The PowerPoint slides Korean%20Superstitions.pptx 

Korean%20Language%20History.pptx

Blood%20types.pptx

As a language learner I have learned that it is not as easy as I thought it would be to learn a language, especially a language that is absolutely not related to the language I speak. I found it most difficult to understand the sentence structure in Korean and understand how words come together to make a sentence because words are not in the order I am used to. I also found pronunciation very hard because Koreans pronounce words not as they look. 

            Although pronunciation was hard for me, I still really enjoyed trying to pronounce words. I enjoyed it as much as learning how to say new things in Korean. I loved watching K-pop videos on Youtube and being able to record myself on vocaroo as a way to practice my pronunciation. I also really liked BYKI app because it had a lot of good resources for beginners like me. It broke things down simply enough that I could understand it and be able to learn the language. The mango languages app was very useful in the beginning, but it only had so much free Korean stuff, that towards the rest of my learning process, I was not able to use the app unless I paid for it, but I think that what I learned from that app was very useful.

I also really enjoyed the cultural presentations, especially the ones that were also about Korea because I was able to learn more things about the culture that I had not learned before. For example, I had no idea that Korean’s were very into plastic surgery and looking more like Americans. It shocks me that a culture could want to be like another culture in that physical aspect. I was wondering, why isn’t it that they embrace their physical features, as much as other aspects of their culture? I also liked the presentations we had on the origin of the language because it gave me a good sense of how Koreans speak and how they think of language. Some words in the Korean language are said various ways according to who it is being said to. I think it is fascinating that to there are different ways of saying the most basic word “hello” in various ways because of the fact that they highly respect their elders, and they believe their elders deserve a much more respectful word than “hello.”

            Furthermore, I will continue my language learning by making another learning plan with different learning goals. I plan on doing this in the summer so I can continue with my Korean learning, and someday be able to go to Korea and be able to get around easily. The activities I found most interesting were, like I mentioned before, the cultural projects. The readings I liked the most was one how the brain processes languages because I think that it’s fascinating to know how so much information can be processed in different sections of the brain. I also like the reading about bilinguals because I am a bilingual myself, but I don’t know if being bilingual actually means you are smarter, I just think it makes you process things differently.

            Finally, I would like to learn more about the how to read and write in Korean, and I think that could be possible once I learn a few more basic words and especially once I begin to learn the Korean alphabet. Overall, I had an amazing experience learning this language, and I plan to one day become somewhat fluent. 

It is pretty cool how many deaf organizations exist. There are a lot of organizations that help support the deaf in multiple ways.

The National Association of the Deaf: An organization that deals with civil rights of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.

Deaflympics: This is pretty self-explanatory, but these are international Olympic games for the deaf. Deaflympics is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

ADARA: “Professionals Networking for Excellence in Service Delivery with Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.” ADARA allows people who work with the deaf to come together and exchange ideas to enhance the quality of life of the deaf.

American Association of the Deaf-Blind: A nonprofit national consumer organization that has deaf and blind members and also family members, professionals, interpreters, and other interested people. They provide information, services, conferences, advocacy projects, and much more.

There are many, many more, but this is just a few examples of national and international organizations that want to do what they can to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

The first time when I was going to write the Korean language, it was so difficult to remember the shape of characters. The all looked similar in my eyes and I had no idea how to memorize them. Later, I found the online resources and knew there are Korean word structure and basic letters. 

The following are the first set of Korean consonants that you need to get into your brain. There is no easy way to explain them, you just need to memorize them:
ㄱ= k
ㄴ= n
ㄷ= d
ㄹ=r/l*
ㅁ= m
ㅂ= b
ㅅ= s
ㅈ= j
ㅎ= h

Later I learned that there is no perfect way to represent Korean characters using English letters (or sounds). The English letters presented above are the letters that we will commonly find being used to represent their respective Korean letters. While it is helpful (at first) to memorize the general sound of a Korean letter by using the English letter. 

I am not too worry about the grammar and sentence structure in Korean. My purpose of learning Korean is not for academic use, but just for fun and using if for travel purpose. Moreover, as a beginner, it would be more suitable to start with conversational phrase and words. So far, I have learnt most of Korean by watching drama and YouTube video. I do understand that there are formal and informal way of speaking in Korean, which are even essential to beginners, since otherwise speaking without noticing it would cause great offense to others. Though I do not plan to learn systematically about grammar this semester, I do plan to learn some grammars in Korean next year. It would also be helpful if I can make some connection between the grammars in Japanese, Chinese with the grammar in Korean.

The body language differs according to culture. In Korea, people bow a lot-for instance, when greeting someone with안녕하세요?” people bow their heads a bit to indicate respect. There are also ways in which you may indicate respect using your hands.

When giving or taking something from a stranger, someone older, someone of higher status, or someone with whom you have a formal relationship (such as a co-worker) use not one hand but two. If it is difficult to use both hands, you can take the object with your right hand as your left hand holds your right forearm. Koreans also shake hands like this- with the left arm holding on to the right forearm. 

Drinking has its own rich body language. When pouring for someone, or having a drink poured for you, you should always hold the glass or bottle with two hands, arms extended. In the old days, the sleeves of traditional men’s Korean clothing were very long so one had to extend one’s arms out to receive a glass. Also, when drinking in front of a superior, turn your head a bit so that you are not facing him when you take a sip. This is another way of showing respect.

Koreans have become accustomed to this culture of paying respect to others through these various actions and postures.

I think the readings are very helpful to my learning of Korean. At the same time, the third document reminds of how I learn my mother language, Chinese, when I was a kid and the learning process of Japanese. As a language beginner, I started with a fixed sentence and played with it by changing each part of it with different words. I checked my work by saying it to my parents. And from their action, I gradually build an understanding of each word and structure of the sentence. I did the same thing with Japanese, with some alternation. Since I did not formally take a Japanese class before, I watched lots of Japanese drama and animation as my language source. I closed the subtitle and observed the reaction of the characters to get an understanding of the language. I think those are really helpful tool for me to study Korean.

Another thing that I have always believed in is that “isolated words do have meanings”. I remembered that before I come to the U.S., my English teacher encouraged me to speak English more and don’t be too worry about that I cannot speak a complete sentence. People can understand the words with body language. And this is the starting point of every language learning.

Lunar%20New%20Year%20Vivian.pptx

Notes: 

설날 is one of the biggest holidays for Koreans. This holiday seasons typically last three days; 설날 eve, 설날, and the day after 설날. For 2016, it is from February 7th to 9th. At this time, family members get together and spend time together at 큰집 (keunjip) – the house where the eldest brother lives.

The morning of 설날 begins with an ancestral rite, called 차례. A great deal of food is prepared and set in specific places on the table. Once set, family members gather in front of the ritual table and the ceremony begins with deep bows as greetings to the ancestor spirits. The purpose of this ritual is to express gratitude to ancestors and pay for the family’s well-being throughout the year.

세배 is the deep traditional bow of respect to one’s seniors. It consists of deep bows, in which a person kneels to the floor and extends his or her arms outward. It’s slightly different for males and females. Men place their left hand over their right hand, but women put their right hand over their left hand.

After children perform the 세배 to family elders wishing them health and good fortune, they receive some money called 세뱃돈, as well as words of wisdom from the elders.

Every new year’s day, Koreans make the traditional rice cake soup called 떡국 and share it with their family. Interestingly, it is commonly said that one must eat a bowl of 떡국 to become one year older.

New Year Activities in Korea:

Yuttnori, Yeonnalligi, Jegichagi, Tuho, Neoltwwigi, Pengichigi

History%20of%20Korean%20Language%20-%20Vivian%20%281%29.pptx

• The relationship between Korean and other languages is not known for sure, though some linguists believe it to be a member of the Altaic family of languages (Turkish, Mongolian, and Tungusic/Manchu)

Origin of Korean:

• Chinese writing has been known in Korea for over 2,000 years. It was used widely during the Chinese occupation of northern Korea from 108 BC to 313 AD.
• The modern Korean writing system, hangeul, was devised in 1443 during the reign of King Sejong
• Before hangeul, other Korean scripts used a complex system of Chinese characters to represent the sounds of Korean. But because of the differences between Chinese and Korean, Chinese characters could not adequately denote Korean speech
• Only the elite could afford the time necessary to study Chinese, so King Sejong commissioned the invention of a phonetic script both more efficient and more accessible to the common people
• The invention of hangeul marks a major achievement in the history of Korean culture because it has contributed to one of the highest literacy rates in the world (~100%)
• Hangeul Day on October 9^th

Korean alphabet (Hangeul):

• Consists of 24 letters (14 consonants & 10 vowels)
• The letters are combined together into syllable blocks
• Its three main vowels (ㆍ, ㅡ, ㅣ) represent the sky, the earth and man
•  The shapes of the consonants are based on the shape the mouth made when the corresponding sound is made (ㄱ is the shape of the tongue as it forms a ‘g’ sound (add a line, like so ㅋ, for an aspirated ‘g’, and double the letter , ㄲ, for one with a glottal stop)

Hangeul and Hanja:

• Even after the invention of the Korean alphabet, most Koreans who could write continued to write in Classical Chinese. The Korean alphabet was associated with people of low status (i.e. women, children and the uneducated).
• During the 19th and 20th centuries a mixed writing system combining Chinese characters (Hanja) and Hangeul became increasingly popular. Since 1945, Chinese characters in Korean writing has diminished significantly.
• Now, most modern Korean literature and informal writing is written entirely in hangeul, however academic papers and official documents tend to be written in a mixture of hangeul and hanja.

Direction of Writing:

• Until the 1980s, Korean was usually written from right to left in vertical columns.

Modern Korean

• Today, the majority of texts are written horizontally with western spacing and punctuation. 
• Roughly half the Korean vocabulary consists of words derived from Chinese, mainly through the Confucian classics.
• Today South Koreans generally use a hybrid writing system in which words derived from Chinese are written with Chinese characters, while Korean words are written in hangeul.

Korean%20Fashion%20-%20Vivian%20Lee%20%281%29.pptx

Notes: 

- For my culture project, I explored fashion as well as fashion trends in South Korea.

- In recent years, Korean fashion has greatly evolved, due to several factors such as more inspiration from the West, country’s industrialization and economic growth, social media/technology, and the Korean Wave “Hallyu,” which is the  spread of South Korean Culture.

- Some history on Korea’s fashion trends and fashion industry:

- Korea’s developing economy has also had a profound effect on fashion.  After the Korean War, South Korea’s economy grew and the country achieved economic growth through exports of goods. The industrialization allowed the expansion of the fashion industry and currently Seoul, Korea has the fourth fastest growing luxury goods economy after India, China, and Hong Kong.

- "Korean Wave" has been affecting the fashion world, and Korean celebrities are starting to have a real influence in fashion, especially through Korean dramas and K-pop.

- K-pop fashion has gained much more attention as more people are now admiring K-pop idols sense of style. For example, in Girl’s Generation’s MV “Gee.” They wore T-shirts combined with colored skinny jeans. It was one of their most popular songs, and it caused colored jeans and white T-shirts to become the new fashion style of the year in 2010.

- Also, when Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun wore a pair of Jimmy Choo Abel court shoes in the Korean Drama My Love From The Star, the response was so strong they had to reorder thousands of extra pairs to cope with the demand.

- Couple Looks:The phenomenon, which took root in the Nineties when Korean TV stars started matching clothing, and it still remains pretty popular with young couples and newlyweds

- New trends come in very quickly, the young generation are really sensitive to them, especially because aesthetics are important in Korea. Also, with technology, social media, and online shopping,  as soon as a fashion trend on the internet, it becomes a thing.

- Currently, South Korea maintains a unique fashion style that has become an acknowledged influence in worldwide trends.

Throughout this course, not only was I able to improve my Korean skills, but was also able to further my understanding the Korean culture and learn other cultures from our class discussions and presentations.

Being enrolled in self-directed learning was a great opportunity for me for I was able to specifically choose and focus on what areas I wanted to improve on by setting goals for myself after finding out how I learned best by completing the Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences surveys. These surveys also helped me understand how I learned best and how I could expand on my learning for other courses as well which was very helpful. Moreover, although I lived in Korea until the age of 8, I didn’t know the full history behind the Korean writing system (“Hangul”) until this course. I knew that King SeJong created Hangul and that his face was on a Korean won bill, but didn’t know why, how, or when, he created Hangul until I researched for our language presentations. 

I really enjoyed watching and learning from everyone’s cultural presentations. I gained both language and cultural exposure from Greece, Korea, Pakistan, Turkey, and Israel. In addition to improving my communicative competence, I think understanding the culture is an essential part of speaking the language, and I believe that this course did a good job in making connections between the Korean language and the culture.

I also enjoyed all the readings in this course, particularly the one on bilingualism and revival of a language. I learned the importance of stabilizing a language by having a group of people who speak the language so the language doesn’t die out. I realized that when a language dies out, people lose cultural identities, richness, and diversity of humanity's linguistic heritage. A language contains the words and sounds that a particular group uses to describe and interact with the world, and thus forms an essential part of that group's identity. In order to preserve that identity, many people are trying to preserve languages from dying out just like we are trying to prevent endangered species from going extinct to maintain diversity in the ecosystem. The readings in this course also made me more appreciative and curious about different languages, especially because I never really thought about linguistics or languages in general until this course.  

In the future, I would like to learn more about the history of languages and how the grammatical structure was established for various languages. When I took Chinese in middle school, I realized that the grammar was somewhat similar to Korean. I’ve heard similar things about Japanese grammar too. I think it would be interesting and fun to explore the history and the similarities and differences between the grammatical structure of different languages.This opportunity as an autonomous learner gave me the chance to improve and advance my knowledge and understanding of my first language, and it has been very fulfilling. Throughout the semester, I have definitely improved my reading skills through the use of an audio book. 

I want to continue working on my Korean, and I plan to enroll in SDLC 111 next semester if my schedule allows. Even if I can’t take SDLC 111 next semester, I plan on improving my Korean with all the resources I have found online and with the skills I have learned as a self-directed learner in class.  

After reading these two articles discussing about whether bilinguals are smarter or not, I gained many new ideas about this topic. In the past, I always believe that bilinguals are smarter than single language people. However, according to BIalystock, the real problem is that bilingual brains differ in their use of executive function — a system that helps the brain access particular regions or memories when prompted. "A person needs executive function to switch between tasks or look for a friend in a crowded restaurant. When less developed, executive function also makes adolescents more reckless," stated by Bialystok. Then I start thinking that maybe bilinguals people only have a better executive functions instead of smarter brains. But later the article states that "even if the relationship between bilingualism and actual intelligence is unclear, executive function can help people do a lot of things that may make them seem smarter, such as doing more things at once and cancelling out distractions". I think this makes more sense for me. It is hard to really test the intelligence of a person. We always judge a person is smarter or not by his/her behaviors or opinions. Therefore, I assume that if a person can handle two languages well, she/he should be smarter in some ways.