Social hierarchy is an important part of Korean culture. Therefore, titles and everyday words have variations that are used according to the level of formality required. In this journal, I will use three basic words as examples. Starting with 'hello'- Annyeong hasimnikka is the most formal way of saying hello, followed by Annyeong haseyo. The most informal way to say hello is Annyeong. In case of 'thank you', the most formal way is either Kamasamnida or Gomapsamnida. Gomawoyo and Kamsahaeyo are semi-informal, while Gomawo and Kamsahae are informal. The word 'sorry' differs by formality as well. In formal settings, Jeusonghamnida is the preferred term. Mihanehamnida is less formal, and Mihane is the most informal among the three.
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After finally mastering learning the Hebrew alphabet, its sounds, and the sounds of the vowels I would say that I have learned between 40-50 words. This number is much smaller than I originally would have guessed, but again I am at the Kindergarten level of learning. We are reading a book about a Queen who is looking for her villagers to build her a higher chair. It has been fun to learn the vocabulary from this book, but I can’t help but feel like it is not the most useful vocabulary. Because of this, I have tried to learn more vocabulary on my own that I find to be useful. My realistic goal by the end of the semester would be to learn 80-100 words. I think that I have had to lower my expectations of how much vocabulary I can learn in one semester. My vocabulary goals include things like: being able to converse in small talk while I’m in Israel this summer or be able to understand Hebrew while I am there. I think that with these goals in mind, my vocabulary will be more focused on conversations rather than random sentences.
I have been laying emphasis on expanding my vocabulary and get a feeling for the construction of sentences.
In Hindi the verb is placed right at the end of every phrase. In addition, there are more grammatical rules which differ from German. However, since I am quite good at Latin, I can refer to this ancient language. This helps me to memorize certain phrases better.
Ultimately, my goal is to be able to have short and basic, allday conversations. Basically, I want to be independent while travelling through India. Thus, I need to enwiden my word treasury of words and listen to allday conversation.
As for now, I know approximately 80 words and about five phrases. This allows me to talk about my family, my studies and my daily life back home, in Vienna.
The fact that stroke me the most is that some words commonly used in Hindi are very similar to the Roman languages, French, Spanish and of course Latin, f.i. kamiz for camisa, Spanish, shirt. Also vice versa many words in English or even German are from Indian origin, f.ex. shampoo for capna, Hindi, to massage or Punsch, German meaning hot punch, for panj, Hindi.
Goals for weeks 4 and 5:
-learn greetings
-learn how to describe my family
Resources and activities to achieve my goals:
-learn the common vocabulary from Emily
-use the YouTalk app to practice greetings
-use Rosetta Stone to learn vocabulary on family and greetings
-watch YouTube clips for greetings
How I will evaluate my success:
I will evaluate my success by practicing my greetings until they sound correct to me and then practice them for Emily. I will have her tell me how my pronunciation is and what I need to work on. I will also show her my family tree which I will be using as an artifact and have her evaluate the correctness of my vocabulary on that.
I greatly enjoyed the presentations about different cultures. Especially as a Bangladeshi, it was particularly interesting to see the presentations of Fatima and Nirshiee, who talked about Pakistani and Indian culture. Bangladesh has a history which is intertwined with Pakistan and India and has been a sovereign country for 43 years. As a result, we generally take pride in its sovereignty and like to think of it as being very culturally different from Pakistan and India. However, looking at the presentations made me realize that there are large similarities in culture.
Firstly, the way guests are treated in Pakistan and Bangladesh are almost the same. We also show the guests around the house and take them to each and every room. As a result, a lot of effort is put in the preparation and cleaning of the house before the guests come. Although I have always resented the amount of work we had to do whenever we invited someone to our house, I never thought that it was strange to take guests to bedrooms. However, after Fatima’s presentation, there were some questions about why people would want to take guests to somewhere as personal as the bedroom. This led me to look at my own culture from a different perspective. It made want to find out the reason that we do that and it led me to ask myself several questions. For instance, does it show that people want to appear more open and approachable to their guests? Is it a sign of respect to their guests?
On the other hand, Nirshiee’s presentation demonstrated how people in India have a preference for fair complexion even though it is common for people in India to have darker complexions. In fact the case is not very different in Bangladesh. For instance, when looking for brides one of the first requirements is fair complexion. It is very interesting because frequently a double standard exists in society regarding skin color. Parents almost always look for fair complexioned brides for their sons even though their own daughters have a dark complexion. The preference of lighter complexion is present but not equally prevalent when looking for grooms. This fact has always baffled me as I have seen my own family do it. It made me think if there are any historic implications of this problem.
I did some research on the concept of time in Korea. Time is valued in Korea in the same way as it is done in the US. Organizations and institutions like schools and companies have time schedules for everyone to follow to facilitate smooth operation. One possible explanation for this is that most of the institutions are adopted from the Western example which follow strict time schedule. In fact, punctuality is considered to be a basic condition to be accepted as a respected member in certain communities.
However, in traditional Korean society where there were no such modern institutions, the concept of punctuality did not exist. In fact, in such society, diligence was considered a virtue mainly for women or servants who were in charge of manual household chores. Women were expected to work hard in the kitchen. This attitude is also reflected on the Korea language. The Korean adjective ‘bujireonhata’, which means ‘to be diligent’, applies mostly to women rather than men. Korean also has a variation of bujireonhata, which is only used in case of women: bajireonhata. This refers to the rapid hand movements required for certain work like preparing food, sewing or washing.
There are also certain gestures and body language which are practiced in Korean culture. In Korea, pointing with index finger is considered to be rude. Instead, the whole hand is used to indicate an object. Furthermore, it is thought to be insulting to face the palm upward when encouraging someone to come near since this gesture is used to call animals. In order to call someone, the palm should be facing the ground and a scooping motion should be made with the fingers.
When giving or receiving things, either the object is supported with both hands or the left hand is used to support the right arm extending the object. Although public places such as the subway may be crowded and pushing and bumping may be common, Koreans value personal space in private settings. Therefore, standing too close at the first meeting, shoulder-patting or back-slapping are not acceptable.
Traditionally, Koreans each other greet by bowing which may be followed by handshake. The bow is usually initiated by the person of lower social/economic standing while the reverse is true for handshakes. At social gatherings, it is polite to wait to be introduced and when leaving people say good bye to each individual at the gathering.
Second Cultural Post: Business Meetings
For the second cultural post I decided to research and talk about business meetings.
The first important thing is to make an appointment a couple weeks in advance (3 or 4) from the meeting. Also, most business meetings are scheduled mid-morning (10 AM to 12 PM) or mid-afternoon (between 2 and 4 PM).
Secondly, the punctuality is prime as it is a sign of respect. If you realize that you may be a little late, it is best to call ahead to say so. Only top executives can be late by a few minutes.
Then, it is apparently not unusual for Korean executives to cancel appointments with little or no notice. The cancellation may be due to an unexpected and unavoidable situation. However, if it’s happened before, it may be a signal that they don’t really want to do business or need to delay the process for some reason, and it is up to you to figure that out.
Finally, gift-giving is a common practice when doing business in Korea. The gifts given at the first meeting are intended to acquire favours and to build relationships. Then you will have to wait until your host has presented his gift, you will have to use both hands to accept it in order to be polite. The gifts exchanged should be of similar value, with that of greatest value going to the most senior person.
Over the past few weeks, I have learned a plethora of vocabulary ranging from body parts to family members to days of the week and so on. However, retaining all the words has been a challenge. Because this is a brand new language for me, memorizing these words is not so simple. After discussing learning strategies in class, I think I will start making flashcards to help me study. Also, trying to relate each word to something that is already familiar to me will help. In class we talked about how adding meaning to a word is what will help when recalling the word in the future. My goals for the weeks to come is to learn new vocab every week, but more importantly review words from previous weeks. I have also started putting together sentences, so I want to keep working on that because I know that will be the most useful when speaking.
Throughout the semester, I have been focusing more on learning about phrases than just plain vocabulary. I want to learn Urdu to be able to have a simple conversation and a waiter or a shopkeeper. To be completely realistic, I know anything more than that would be a waste of time for me.
If I count all of the words in the phrases that I've learned so far, they would be close to 70 words. It might not seem a lot, but I can now ask a person how they are and understand them. I can count from one to ten and talk about what I like to do in my free time.
One interesting thing that I've been noticing is that Pakistanis substitute a lot of English words for Urdu ones. When I asked what the word for soccer is, my language partner told me that they just use 'soccer'. It's the same with any number above 10.
I have always been interested in women's issues. Since coming to college, I've been introduced to the term social entrepreneurship. This term has helped me a lot with deciding with what I want to do with my life. More specifically, I've been learning a lot about microfinance and its empowering effect on women in developing countries.
My cultural topic for SDLC 110 will be about microfinance and entrepreneurial women in Pakistan. My goals for the topic is to learn more about:
- Microfinance in general
- Microfinance in Pakistan: history, success rate, etc.
- Entrepreneurship endeavors that were started with micro loans by women
- The cultural aspects of the issue:
- Is it culturally acceptable for a woman to start her own business?
- What are some of the challenges that women face?
- Is it easier for a female or male to get a loan?
- What types of businesses are most popular?
As I have been studying Hebrew and going over the alphabet and familiar phrases I've been remembering a lot of words that I learned as a child. Overall I think I've learned approximately 40 words- between the words I recognize and new words I've learned. I've impressed myself with how many words I actually remember. I hope to learn approximately 80 words by the end of the semester since we are now towards the midpoint of the spring. I will have to alter my goals slightly based on the types of words that come up in the reading.
The book we are reading is about a queen and her chair, so while the text is the appropriate level, I'm not sure how applicable the vocabulary is. I don't know how often I'm going to need to use the word "queen" in regular conversation.
So I really need to get over this fear of speaking in Swedish. It's kind of bad. During one of or sessions this week Louise told us to have a conversation using the vocab we had just learned. It was not too hard to a task but I froze up. And then I forget words because I get so nervous. I think it is mainly because I know my pronunciation is awful, compared to Spanish where I always had real good pronunciation. I think what I need to start doing is making myself have a little conversation (with myself) every week and record it. That way I can practice more speaking and then get used to hearing myself speak Swedish and be able to critique it. We also took a quiz this week. As much as I hate quizzes it really does hold you accountable for what we learned. I am decent with the vocab its again just the sentence structure and grammar aspects I need to work on. Also word choice. A lot of times I will choose one word like ska but in reality it would be better or more correct to choose kommer. I am not quite sure how to figure out how to improve on that, but I guess I will have to look into it.
Here is a recording of my doing greetings, introductions, and describing where I am from.
Shalom (Hello)
Ani Gabbie (I am Gabbie)
Ani mi New Hampshire (I am from New Hampshire)
A recording of me introducing myself
Current abilities:
- Pronounce and identify the consonants and the vowels
- Read and write simple words
- Greet people (formally and informally), say goodbye, thank people and say sorry
- Say some commonly used words and phrases used in korean dramas
- How to address family members
Goals:
1. Interpretive:
a. Listening:
- Understand phrases and commonly-used vocabulary related to personal and family information, shopping, ordering food and directions.
- Catch the main point in short, simple messages, discussions and conversations.
b. Reading:
- Read very short and simple texts.
- Understand familiar names, words and very simple sentences.
2. Interpersonal:
a. Speaking:
- Can communicate in simple and routine tasks such as asking for information, shopping, asking for and able to understand directions.
- Capable of handling short social exchanges and talk about me interests although I will not be able to keep up a conversation on my own.
3. Presentational:
a. Speaking:
- Able to use a series of phrases and sentences to describe my family and about myself.
- Able to describe things using simple adjectives and talk about other people.
b. Writing:
- Able to write the letters of the alphabet.
- Write basic words and phrases related to myself.
4. Grammar:
- Conjugation of the most commonly used verbs in the present.
- Basic sentence structure
- Asking and answering questions
I truly enjoyed learning about different cultural aspects of my peers' self-directed languages. In particular, Krystin's presentation on Hindu weddings in India was very informative as well as visually stimulating with colorful, expressive pictures.Firstly, Krystin let us know that weddings in India are major events and usually last a full week and involve 500-1000 guests. The family is heavily involved in the entire process.
Krystin explained to us that the actual ceremony is immersed in symbolism and ritual. For example, I did not know that the bride is often given a necklace (instead of a wedding ring), and the scarf of the woman is tied to the man’s headpiece. Therefore the bride and groom “tie the knot” in both a literal and figurative manner.
I especially appreciated how Krystin illuminated both the good and bad sides to Indian Hindu weddings. They are beautiful and grand affairs involving family and loved ones. Yet statistics have shown that, "Every 90 minutes a bride is burned in India. 107,000 brides are killed each year in dowry violence." Therefore it is important to note how gendercide continues to be a prevalent issue in India and other parts of the world. This was a great distinction to make for the thesis of her presentation.
1. doktor = f. hastane
2. öğretmen = e. okul
3. eczacı = c. eczane
4. kasiyer = a. market
5. tezgâhtar = ç. mağaza
6. postacı = g. postane
7. garson = d. lokanta
8. resepsiyonist = b. otel
genç = yaşlı
şişman = zayıf
mutlu = mutsuz
tembel = çalışkan
çirkin = güzel
fakir = zengin
uzun = kısa
dar = geniş
This week we are really starting to transition into speaking as much Swedish as possible in our group sessions. I feel pretty well prepared for this because I've been listening to a lot of Swedish books and watching Bron, the Swedish/Danish TV show. I think it won't be a problem to create sentences in Swedish because we've been doing so much practice. I do, however, think it might be a challenge to understand what Louise and Malory are saying in Swedish. But this is going to be great practice I think. Sink or swim!
I have also been learning a lot of grammar particulars outside our sessions and making sure I understand the sentence constructions that I'm reading. Making my own sentences using the grammar rules is helpful. Also, I was listening to a Swedish song the other day and recognized every word in the chorus. I was very proud! Also, I'm getting to the point where I can have a basic conversation about my day and ask my boyfriend about his day (in Swedish) so that's been pretty neat.
That said, the more I learn the more I feel as if I will never stop learning! I was texting my boyfriend the other day in English (and he is entirely fluent) and used a word that he had never heard before that I thought was pretty commonplace. So this just made me recognize that learning a language is a constant and never-ending process so I can never really say that one day in the future I will have learned all of Swedish because that's just not possible!
