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Fourth Artifact

Brad: Kakak perempuanmu tidak sudah menikah. Makanya itu dia bertanya kamu kapan akan menikah.

Jangankan calon istri pun pacar. Saya tidak punya salah satu. Karena itu, saya tidak bisa menikah

Brad: Ah, Masa! Anda tidak berencana memiliki keluarga? Anda mempunyai karir sangat bagus. Dan soal materi Anda? Jangankan mobil pun rumah Anda sudah punya. Apa yang Anda tunggu?

Wayan: Mungkin, hidup saya terlalu sibuk. Jangankan menghabiskan waktu untuk sebuah keluarga, mengurus diri sendiri pun saya tidak punya waktu.

This artifact demonstrates my understanding of the correlative structure jangankan...pun. This structure expresses surprise that "not only X, but even Y is the case." Moreover, by using this structure, the speaker is expressing disagreement with his or her conversational partner's assumptions. In this passage, Wayan is expressing his disagreement with Brad's statement that he cannot get married in the near future. For example, Wayan tells Brad, Not only do you have a great career, but you have a car and a house. Therefore, Wayan is disagreeing with Brad's assumption that he cannot get married in the near future. 

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Sixth bi-weekly report

My goals/objectives for these past two weeks:

  • Complete chapter 10 “Sumatra” in Indonesian Grammar In Context;
  • Spend two hours each week reviewing my notes
  • Meet with my language partner to work on my reading, writing, and speaking skills;

Reflection:

I spent about 2 hours each week completing a chapter.

I finished Chapter 10 in Indonesian Grammar In Context. I learned the following:

  • The per-an nominal form
  • The correlative structures baik...maupun and jangankan...,...pun;
  • The ke-an verbal form; and
  • The peN-an nominal form

The chapter included a variety of activities: Oral tasks, written tables and charts, and writing exercises. In addition to these activities, I took grammar notes and listed new vocabulary words.

I spent two hours each week reviewing my notes.

Chapter 10 included a variety of activities: Oral tasks, written tables and charts, and writing exercises. In addition to these activities, I took grammar notes and listed new vocabulary words.

In addition, I met with my language learning partner for 4 hours -- 2 hours/week. Our time was spent on engaging in oral conversational activities like role play and dialogue chats, as well as going over new grammar points and vocabulary.

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I have looked at a wide array of cultural topics throughout my Turkish learning experience. I started off last semester by learning some of the features of the collective Turkish culture and its different attributes. I also learnt a lot of interesting cultural phrases and expressions that are used only in Turkey and cannot be directly translated. I learnt about the time culture of Turkey and about how confusing it can be for Western people. I also learnt about the Turkish writing system and how it switched from Arabic to latin alphabet. I also looked at tea and coffee culture in Turkey since it has some unique rituals surrounding it. I reflected upon what sort of cultural shock one can experience while traveling and living in Turkey. I went over the most common expressions used in Turkey and tried to come up with English equivalents, which by the way, in some cases do not exist at all. As I got more familiar with Turkish culture, traditions and habits, I moved on to learning more about Turkish history and politics and learnt more about Ottoman empire, its history, Armenian Genocide, transition to the new Turkish republic and vast changes brought by Ataturk(Father of the Turks). I also continued with looking at some aspects of modern Turkish politics as well as identifying most popular touristic attractions and archeological sites in Turkey. Having had the goal of being able to communicate in the country as a tourist, I also paid a close attention to Turkish shopping culture and possible haggling.   

I think, during this period of time, I have acquainted myself with the most common attributes of Turkish culture and traditions. I finished the semester with a cultural presentation about Turkish archeology and tourism, which was extremely useful in terms of understanding more of the Turkish history. 

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110 Cultural Post #6

Konark_Sun_Temple_Wheel-56a484033df78cf77282cbf5.jpg

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-concept-of-time-1770059

Hinduism has a very different releationship with time than the traditional Western, linear tradition. Much of Hinduism relates to a circular view of time and life overall, as seen in the various reincarnations of the main Hindu gods, and of the cycle of moksha (reincarnation). Time in Hinduism is cyclical and constantly revolves around creation and destruction. Everything is timeless and exists simultaneously. This all gets a little more metaphysical than the average Western understanding of time, though! On a more literal note, it is possible to just tell time in a normal conversation without getting into deep philosophical conversations. The Sanskrit way of telling time involves saying the number and then adding “vaadanum” to it to mean “o’clock”. For example, ekam is 1 and ekavaadanam is 1 o’clock. The ‘m’ is dropped because this is initially nasalized and it follows the rules of sandhi, which basically mean adding/dropping letters with combinations to be easier to say. There’s a lot of sandhi rules but lets not get into that now!

There tend to be more estimations in time and people tend to be less strict about being on time in modern Indian culture, from what I’ve experienced/read about. For example I’ve found that people are more likely to round the time to the nearest half hour or quarter hour than an American or European. So they would round 5:10 to 5 whereas a Westerner might be more likely to give the precise minutes. There’s also less of an obsession with being precisely on time or early and it’s much more acceptable to be late without worrying about giving a grandiose excuse. In Nepal, I found that people often blamed traffic for being even an hour or two late, even if they were walking there! I don’t know how much this plays into the nonlinear concepts of time, but I suspect it has something to do with it.

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113 Self Assessment

I will talk mention the task and how well I did on the Self-Assessment.

Ability to hold a fluid conversation: I am able to hold a casual fluid conversation

Fluidity of conversation regarding hobbies: This is something that I still struggle with since it is a specialized topic.

Speaking about weather: This is something that I have not really gotten to this semester. We used different descriptive words but not about the weather.

Description of surroundings: This is something that I learned about a lot. Since Youngmin showed us many different learning methods, using charades. This was an effective way.

Description of news: I have been reading the news articles for some classes with Youngmin. This has helped a lot about the summarization of news.

Translation of tv: This is something that I have been pretty good at, but it has improved this semester because of the increase in the listening skills of Korean.

Casual Korean conversation: I have done this very well, because of the way the class was structured. Since there was a lot of conversations going on, it improved my Korean drastically.

Korean audio: This is something that I have trouble with because my listening in specialized topic is a little difficult. 

News article: This is something that improved, because of the way the class was structured. Since Youngmin and I started reading news paper articles as a part of class, the skill improved drastically.

Business article: This was still slightly difficult because of the specialized language. I am going to try and increase my knowledge in this field.

Menu and order: This is slightly easier, but I still have trouble understanding the food. I still have to understand what the food item is. I still find myself relying on pictures.

Speaking about major: I have learned a couple of vocabulary words related to my Accounting major which helped in this topic.

Background: This was hard, because my background was very diverse. However, there was a speaking portion on my final exam that I studied for, which helped a little.

Favorite food: This was particularly easy, because it was something that I am interested in. 

Speech about hobbies: This was harder, because it was a speech. More formalized speech was harder, because I need to form complete sentences.

Writing to parents: This was medium difficulty because I text my parents weekly and helps me to reinforce my speaking.

Introduction: This was moderately difficult as well, because it was a diverse background and required some thorough explanation.

Short story: This is easier, because it requires creativity and if I can't find something that works, I can change the story to match my Korean level.

Research paper. This was something hard, because research papers will require a lot of knowledge and research in Korean. Since it is a specialized topic, it was something that I cannot do at my current level. 

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113 Artifact 4

For this artifact, I wrote a reflection on a favorite American movie.

친구들이 보고 싶다고 해서 인샙션 을 보았다. 이 영화가 재미있다는 소문이 많아서 보고 싶었다. 이 영화는 사람들이 다른 사람들의 꿈 안으로 들어가서 아이디어를 넣어서 사람들의 행동을 바꾸는 영화다. 어떤 사람이 다른 사업하는 사람의 아들의 꿈으로 들어가서 사업을 망치는 것이다. 이 영화의 제일 재미있는 장면은 호탤에서 싸우는 장면이었다. 나는 액션 영화가 좋아서 그 장면이 기억에 남았다. 이 영화에서 꿈은 현실이 아니다는 것을 배웠다. 

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Cultural Post #2

Korea is really big on their formal language. This is especially true in the work force and towards the elderly. If you do not use formal language with them, it is seen as a sign of disrespect and is usually associated with major consequences. There are even different gestures a person must do when meeting with a person of higher authority or a person who is older than you. When drinking with them, you must look the other way, for it is a sign of disrespect if you drink alcohol right in front of their face. It is also rude to look at them directly in the eye when talking to them. I personally thought this was interesting because it is the opposite in America. In the states, it is seen as a sign of respect to look at others directly in the eye. It shows them that you are paying attention and are focused on that individual. 

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Cultural Post #1

I am interested in learning Korean because, although I grew up in a Korean family, I only know how to speak the language conversationally. I would like to know how to read and write properly this semester. I mostly want to do this for when I go back to Korea. When I first visited South Korea, it shocked me as to how much I still have to learn about their language. I would constantly get feedback from natives saying that I was being rude or that my grammar was wrong. Therefore, I would like to learn the proper way of reading and writing so that when I go back to Korea, I won't make the same mistakes as I did the last time. 

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Journal #7

A language usually becomes extinct when another language is dominating and out competes the passive language. This can be seen in history when a country colonizes another area. The colonized area will be under another government system, and may be forced to speak another language. This in turn makes their dominant language the passive one and then slowly over generations, their native language becomes extinct. Linguist can help preserve a language by offering a diversity of language classes to students. Keeping a good record and documentation of potentially endangered languages will also be very helpful, especially when they are looking to revive the language. Therefore, a language can be revived, as long as there is documentation and a demand. There must be some purpose in reviving a language to garner attention. 

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Journal #10

During my presentation, I think I did an okay job. It was harder than I thought to teach about a basic thematic unit of my target language. It was difficult to make sure everyone understood the concept, especially since it was a language they were not familiar with at all. For me, because I focused on the Korean government, I thought I successfully relayed concepts to others by comparing it to the American governmental system. Therefore, if I were to teach a semester-long course about the subject, I would definitely try to relate my concepts to something that the students would be familiar with. I also think that I would teach at a slower pace because many people may not understand a concept as quickly as others might just because it is so foreign to them. 

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Journal #3

For South Korea, the Hofstede dimensions were 60 in power distance, 18 in individualism, 39 in masculinity, 85 in uncertainty avoidance, 100 in long term orientation, and 29 in indulgence. I thought the dimensions were mostly true according to my experiences in South Korea. I especially thought the individualism and masculinity were true. When I went to Korea, I encountered a culture shock of how feminine the guys were. Unlike in America, where guys tend to shy away from femininity, guys in South Korea seemed to embrace it. If a guy was walking down the street wearing a pink shirt and had make up on, most people would see him as being fashionable and trendy. Additionally, I find it true that South Korea has a very collectivist mindset. When a person would be praised for their work, a lot of times their family would also be praised. I find this to also be relevant in my life right now especially when I was applying to universities my senior year of high school. Whenever I got accepted to a good school, my parents would be complimented for raising me up and allowing me to get accepted into the university instead of the praise being on all of me. 

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113 Cultural Post 5

During this semester, I learned many things about Korean culture in terms of cinema and cuisine. I learned many things about the westernization of Korean food and how Korean movies became so relevant in the United States. I learned what kind of movies Americans like and why it has become so popular in the United States. This was partly due to the reason of increasing immigrants from South Korea. The adoption and popularization of Kimchi was due to the huge influx of immigrants as well. However, with these increases in popularity, came another genre of food, fusion. This created a new, different taste for people in America and South Korea. I have learned why Kimchi is so prevalent in South Korean households and how it even got to my table and hundreds of millions' dining tables. 

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113 Cultural Post 4

For this cultural post, I am going to write about the prevalence of Kimchi in American culture. Since Kimchi's popularity increased, there has been a lot of fusion food with Kimchi. There are Kimchi burritos, tacos, and even fries. There are also many different types of Korean fusion restaurants that are popping up around the country. Even in Richmond, there are places like Zzaamm and J Kogi. These places serve many different Asian inspired cuisine, but incorporate Kimchi into many of their dishes. With the popularity of Kimchi, its store presence has increased. It has made its way into some American grocery chains. Since Kimchi requires very delicate handling, special Kimchi refrigerators are a necessity in Korean households. These Kimchi refrigerators have even made it into Best Buy store lots. With the increasing popularity of Kimchi, more and more cuisine and accessories will become readily available. 

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