This week, we learnt about some basic grammars in Korean, especially the verb to be 이다 in Korean. Unlike English, Korean makes no distinction for the choice of verb to be (am, are, is) between first-person, second-person and third-person subjects. Only a single verb to be 이다 is used. However, there should be different forms of "to be" added after different nouns, which is based on the vowels and consonants in the previous nouns. If the noun ends with a vowel, use 예요 or 야. If the noun ends with a consonant, then use 이에요 or 이야. For example, 버스예요 (It is a bus), 지갑이에요 (It is a wallet). Besides, only 이다 or its modified forms are attached to nouns. Korean adjectives are verb-like and do not require 이다 for sentence construction. The subject of a sentence can also be omitted if it is understood by the context, and verb is always at the end of a Korean sentence. For example, "It is a book" could be written in 책입니다, 책이에요. 책인다, and 책이야. While they are express e same meaning, 책 (book) is the noun in the sentences.
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After learning all the vowels and consonants, we practiced reading some Korean words. This week, we learnt the vocabulary of vegetables and fruits. For example, fruit names: 사과 - apple, 포도 - grape, 바나나 - banana, 버찌 - cherry, 키위 - kiwi,배 - pear, 토마토 - tomato, 레몬 - lemon. Vegetable names: 파 - spring onion, 버섯 - mushroom, 고추 - chili pepper,두부 - tofu, 감자 - potato, 부추 - chives, 대파 - leek, 무 - radish. At the beginning, it was really hard for me to combine both vowels and consonants together to come up with the pronunciation, especially when there were two vowels in a letter. I had to look at each vowel and consonant's pronunciation every time. However, as I practiced more, I became more familiar with the consonants and found some rules in the combination of words. There are certain words that follow after each nouns so when I see the first vowel I could guess the pronunciation of the whole. Also some Korean pronunciations are very similar to Chinese pronunciations and meanings, so once I understood the meaning of each letter, it became easier for me to memorize and use the law in other words.
I read an article talking about the reasons why Korean dramas are so addictive. According to the article, about 41 percent of South Korea's population watched the military-themed drama "Descendants of the Sun". In comparison, the sixth season finale of the "The waling dead" drew in 14 million US viewers, which is 4.4 percent of the population. In my opinion, K-dramas made me so addictive because of the following reasons. First of all, the central character is almost always the heroine , not the hero as happens in most TV dramas elsewhere. It is then not surprising that these dramas appeal so strongly to women viewers who make up most of the audience for K-Dramas. Secondly, the actors and actresses are attractive and they act surprisingly good. By now I have come to recognize some of them and delight in trying to remember where I had last seen them . For most of K-drama lovers , the heroine and hero must be attractive and good actors, otherwise we switch and try to find something else. In addition, the soundtrack that lingers long after the drama has ended. When the soundtrack plays, I can't help but relive my favorite drama moments. It might have been years since the drama first played on the screen. However, it makes no difference because the moment the soundtrack comes on, you are transported back to another time and place. Finally, in the end of the drama, things always turn out well. No matter how many tribulations the heroine goes through , in the end she emerges triumphant. Although sometimes, the director gives surprising ending and tries to make the story unpredictable.
Reflect on how knowing a language's history can help you learn the language.
Knowing a language's history can definitely help you learn the language because you get to understand the origins of the language and the people that use it. For instance, I think Czech is one of the roughest-sounding languages that have hard sounds on certain letter such as the c, z, h, and v sounds. In contrast, Korean is one of the smoothest sounding languages with almost sing-song type styles. This comes from the history; Korea is always been the front runner of innovation, but holds a deep respect for elders and having a soft tone shows that respect. In contract, Czech Republic went through difficult times in the past centuries with World Wars and this roughness is reflected through the language.
I taught my Chinese friends the structure and pronunciation of complicated vowels. As I mentioned in journal #4, I first taught them the eight basic vowels ㅏ = a, ㅓ = eo, ㅜ = u, ㅗ = o, ㅑ = ya, ㅕ = yeo, ㅠ = yu, ㅛ = yo. They did a pretty good job memorizing the basic vowels since these pronunciations are similar to the Chinese alphabetic system. However, it became more challenging when I introduced the complicated vowels: ㅜ + ㅣ = ㅟ = wi. ㅗ + ㅏ = ㅘ = wa. They could not just memorize the pronunciations like they did for the simple vowels because there could be so many different combinations of vowels. Not only did they need to figure out the pronunciation of each simple vowel in the complicated vowel, but they also needed to know the change of pronunciation when two vowels combine together. Some pronunciations might be eliminated when two vowels combine together and some pronunciations might change to some other similar ones. For example, ㅗ + ㅣ = ㅚ = oe , which sounds like “way”. Therefore, in order to master the Hangul system, memorization is not enough and we need to watch more TV shows and listen to more Korean dialogues to understand those idiomatic pronunciations.
Reflect on your experiences of (trying to) read and write in your target language.
Trying to read and write in Czech is extremely difficult for a non-native because they often shorten words and the grammar is difficult to grasp. In one of my exercises, I read a Czech article and could only make out two words in every sentences. When writing, I have no trouble writing basic sentences, but they do not always express what I want to feel and I found myself getting a little frustrated when I couldn't be as specific as possible about my interests or past experiences.
Respond to the readings.
I really enjoyed the readings about bilingualism because it reflects exactly how I feel; having a mixed identity can be beneficial and have long-term strengths, but it can be confusing and it takes a while for me switch between languages. Additionally, it sometimes feels like I have two different identities and mannerisms depending on the language I am using. As of now, when I speak in Czech, I am reminded of the type of culture they have there; the people are reserved, but loyal and respectful. There is a loss of national pride, but the people are scrappy and can do anything as long as they set their mind to it. That is the type of mentality I like to have when speaking Czech because it reflects when I speak it.
This week I prepared for the oral examination for my Self-directed language in Czech. Because professor Howell, a Russian professor who studied at Charles University will be examining me, I want to be able to speak at a high-level. I have been practicing my pronunciation because my normal tonality is much different than my diction in Czech. I believe the examination will be difficult because listening has always been one of my weaknesses, but I know that she will understand my uneasiness first because I couldn't practice with people regularly.
This week, I focused on specifically on numbers. I have always found numbers fascinating because in the English language, we build upon each number such as one, one-hundred, one-thousand. I believe that each language does this, but in the Czech language this is extremely emphasized. Yedna, meaning one, has multiple ending attached to it to increase the value of the number. For example, yednact means eleven, while dvacet yedna is twenty one. This style of adding words upon basic values must have roots in mathematics because people often call math the universal language. When I was studying numbers in Czech, I often myself saying "this is easy" because the system of numbers is similar across languages.
I read an article which talks about the ten reasons why k-pop is so globally popular. According to the article, the creative use of costumes and color in music videos, the storytelling skills in many songs and music videos, the unique, extravagant, and eye-popping personalities, the truly skilled choreography and trainings, as well as the talented and original concept group are some main reasons for the global popularity of k-pop. Admittedly, not only are K Pop artists talented, incredibly hard working and starred in perfectly executed music videos, they often mix other cultures into their songs. Since most students in many Asian countries are required to learn English from an early age, singers frequently mix in English sayings with their lyrics. Also, Korean companies have the resources, capital, and infrastructure to produce and export K-pop more successfully than other Asian countries.In contrast to American artists, Asian music targeting towards young people is heavily focused on "idols" who are not so much singers. Instead of simply enjoying their music, fans of K-pop indulge in an overdose of their favorite idols. Compared to regular American artists, idols are physically attractive, acting in dramas regardless of actual acting ability, appearing on variety programs, and are actively promoted in other countries around Asia or the world. They also perform weekly at different events at amusement parks, university festivals celebrations, other private events. In sum the well-organized training and promoting system in Korean entertainment companies are crucial to the success of k-pop, and for consumers especially young females, there are tons of more reasons to start liking a K-pop artist than maybe an American artist.
Reference: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/wondering-why-pop-popular-here-are-10-reasons.html ;
TurkishCulturalPresentation.pptx
My cultural project is about the relationship between Turkey and Greece through a look at cities in Anatolia and the Balkans. The point is to show how intertwined people and places from Turkey and Greece are so as to prove that we have more in common than different through our past. I look at the Anatolian cities of Karaman, Silifke, and Trabzon, and the Balkan cities of Kommotini and Alexandroupoli. I analyze how they got their names and how Greek or Turkish people are connected to these places despite being in different countries. Ultimately, I just want to showcase that the two cultures are very similar and symbiotic due to thousands of years of influencing each other. Additionally, I really want to travel through Anatolia and so I really wanted to do a project on the cities of Anatolia. Lastly, my sources can be found on the Powerpoint slides.
Reflect on your language learning so far and the relationship between understanding the target culture and the target language. What do you need to improve your communicative competence.
In order to improve my communicative competence, I need to have a strong motivation as well as a deep understanding of the language beyond the words and grammar. The ability to communicate with someone is very different from being able to speak with them. In English, we often dismiss our ability to connect with people on an emotional level, one that shows empathy and sympathy and has more meaning behind the words that we speak. When we switch to a different language, I often notice most language learners, including me, speak at one tone and tend not to emphasize words or change vocal levels and such. I think the ability to communicate with people and use all of the human senses will enhance one's ability to learn the language and culture because you can act and communicate in a way that will be genuine. This semester has taught me that genuinely is important for humans; people don't want to be around people that pretend to be someone that they are not. Self-identity is therefore extremely important when learning a new language. One has to be sure about themselves before they dive into a language because they don't want to lose esteem during the process. However, they should be open to new ideas and have an open mindset because this will help them learn faster and think in different ways about the language and culture. The idea that languages can only be learned as a child is simply not true; you may be busier and you may not be in the environment that uses the language all the time, but with hard work, dedication, and a strong passion toward the language, I believe one can become bilingual and communicate with other people as much as they can with their native language.
The biggest insight I have gained as a language learner is that I am extremely motivated to learn and put myself 100% in the language when I know there are no consequences. When I was first learning English, I think part of the reason why grammar was always so hard to retain was because I felt pressured to master it otherwise I would be a disappointment. With Czech, there was nothing at stake, either I learned it or I didn’t and I think I learned it better because I had many opportunities. I had the option to take advantage of those opportunities and I really enjoyed that free will. I find languages difficult to learn when I don’t have someone else involved in the process. Whether it be the language teacher, fellow students, or even just a friendly person I can chat once in a while. I think part of my lows this semester was when my language partner abroad was too busy to respond to my texts. I will continue my learning by using applications such as memrise, uchat, duolingo, etc. I just found out that Duolingo will be incorporating Czech hopefully by July 2017 so I am very excited. The readings that I found most useful were the how languages die article and why bilinguals are smart article. Both resonated with me for different reasons. The extinct language article made me realize that languages were dying everyday and with that loss comes a loss of culture. Even those Czech is not at risk, I am afraid that because it is not as big as English, Chinese, or Russian, it will eventually lose its relevance in the modern international world. As for the bilingual article, because I am semi-bilingual, I was wondering how much of my ability to switch between languages contributed to my academic and emotional strengths. My ability to see things differently and appreciate different types of approaches and styles was derived from my bilingualism. Finally, I would love to learn more about the connection between all languages. My favorite image was when you showed us the tree with all the languages and how they all tie together. I think the symbolism behind it is is beautiful and I would to learn more about the origins of languages and maybe even how each language interprets others and words and the new identities being created when different languages interact. Because I am Korean, but have largely American upbringing, and have a keen interest for Czech culture, I see a new type of self-identity forming in our generation. People are no longer as polarised as they once were and due to technology and transportation, we are all closely linked than ever.
This week in class we talked about family. This was kind of confusing for me because it just seems like there are so many different words that aren't very similar for all the different relations. For example, there are two words for grandmother but only one for grandfather. It doesn't make sense to me why there is a distinction between the mom of your mom and the mom of your dad, but not the dads of your parents. In Chinese, there is a distinction for both. It is interesting to me how even at the end of the semester as we lear new things, the cultural component of language learning keeps popping up. I would like to know why this is the case for these words and I think this is a big part of language learning that is sometimes forgotten about when you're just learning new vocabulary on your own.
This semester I learned my strengths and weaknesses as a language learner and how to utilize and combat them respectively. I knew from the start of the semester that I have a harder time understanding spoken Spanish and formulating more advanced spoken responses on the spot, so those were the two skills that I focused on the most over the past few months. I actually found understanding the Spanish television that I used to practice my listening skills more challenging than I imagined, but at the same time it was an enjoyable experience. I have to keep Spanish subtitles on sometimes to help me understand what is being said, but only when the person speaking talks too quickly or is hard to understand. I am pretty satisfied with the improvement that I have seen in my listening comprehension skills this semester, and I believe that I have a solid base to continue improving my abilities in the future. In regards to my speaking ability, I am definitely more comfortable having a conversation in Spanish now than I was at the beginning of the semester. My vocabulary and use of more complex grammar still could use some improvement, but I am confident that I will be able to functionally converse in Spanish this summer when I am in Spain, which was one of my goals for the semester. I hope to continue improving my Spanish speaking skills in the future, so I am planning on speaking Spanish on a regular basis so that I don’t get rusty. The one component of language learning that I did not fully appreciate before this semester was the importance of your target language’s culture. The culture shock video along with our reading about the study of culture both were extremely valuable resources in my discovery of this concept. There are so many cultural components that contribute to the effect of a language, and I did not really understand this concept before watching, reading, and discussing these resources. Especially if you are trying to live in a country where your target language is widely spoken, a strong understanding of the culture is necessary to truly feel like a local. Aside from actually learning how to speak and listen to Spanish better, I want to learn more about Spanish culture in general in the future. I focused on Spain this semester, but I am interested in learning about the other Spanish speaking regions as well. Luckily there are a multitude of great resources online, so I don’t think this task will be too difficult. As far as learning the actual Spanish language better, I am confident that the skills I have gained in this course will allow me to craft a learning plan for my next step in learning Spanish, and maybe other languages too.
I am proud of the work I have done this semester because I originally thought it would be extremely difficult to continue my Czech since there is barely any Central European influence in Richmond. However, I managed to find new ways to practice my Czech and I think it was healthy for me as I transitioned back from being abroad. I think being in this class helped me appreciate my experience, but also made me excited to continue learning languages and culture. I think the most important thing when learning a new language is to have a deep passion and connection with the language and looking for ways to integrate it into your life. In some ways, it helps you grow a deeper connection with people and I hope to keep this mentality when continuing to learn independently. This semester, I managed to learn new vocabulary relevant to my newfound career aspirations of working with higher education. Additionally, I was able to learn new words in the field of music and politics, as well as listen, read, and write in Czech. My cultural presentations helped me think about how my experiences helped me use the language today. When I was abroad, my Czech increase drastically everyday because I had to adapt to a new environment. I could see how good I was getting every time I ordered and understood something perfectly at a restaurant or could speak to someone at a bar. Being back in America, it is hard to see that progress because there is nobody on that journey with you. Also, I have tried my best to find stores and restaurants of Czech influence, but there seems to be none in Richmond which means I have to expand my search and hopefully wherever I live in the future will have that Czech culture. I think this semester has helped me satisfy the void that was inside of me when I left the Czech Republic and I am glad I got to learn more about the language and culture as well as learn more about Korean, Turkish, and Brazilian culture as well.
In my first artifact, I did a more in-depth self introduction. In SDLC 111, I can only talk about my name, age, and that I am a student. However this time, I added some new words and sentences that we learnt this semester into my self introduction, for example, my hobbies, my family members, my grade and where I live. I am now also able to ask others' where they from, their age and occupations. Since we have covered a lot on grammars and sentence structures, I am now able to combine the verbs and adjectives together to express what I want to say. In terms of my pronunciations, I am now doing a better job in making proper pauses. In the past, I always read the whole sentence without pauses and with the same tone. Now I pay more attention to the places that I should pause and some significant words that I should emphasize. My learning partner said that I am now talking more like a Korean.
This week, we learnt some more complicated vowels which are based on the vowels that we learnt last week. Most of these letters are called “diphthongs”, which means that there are two vowels in one. Last week, we learnt the four most basic letters: ㅏ = a, ㅓ = eo, ㅜ = u, ㅗ = o.
There are four more vowels that can be made by adding one extra line to each of the previous vowels. By adding this extra line, a ‘Y’ sound gets added to each vowel: ㅑ = ya, ㅕ = yeo, ㅠ = yu, ㅛ = yo. Two more common vowels are:ㅐ = ae (a combination of ㅏ and ㅣ) and ㅔ = e. Though these two vowels have different structures, they sound identical to one another. They both sound like “eigh” in “weigh”.
The remaining vowels are all composed of adding two vowels together to make a sound. The pronunciation for each of them is simply the sound of putting the two vowels together. For example: ㅜ + ㅣ = ㅟ = wi. ㅗ + ㅏ = ㅘ = wa. ㅗ + ㅣ = ㅚ = oe
In the learning activity, I would like to teach the pronunciation of the above complicated vowels. As I mentioned, I am going to first teach the pronunciations of simple vowels and then introduce the structure of complicated vowels which is basically the combination of two basic vowels. I will then combine the basic vowels in different ways to teach different pronunciations.
