Category: 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

Caveat: Commerce

Background Noise / Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

So. After more than five years in Korea, I did something new today: I used an entirely Korean website to purchase something using my cellphone account. I suspect I’m a bit behind the curve on this. The reason I’m behind the curve has to do with my being one of those personalities that actually reads the fine print on online purchase agreements, combined infelicitously with the fact that there’s a hell of a lot of fine print associated with making purchases online in Korea – in Korean, of course, about which I have some degree of perfectionistic anxiety.

So to do this online commerce thing, I have to break through some barriers. First, I have to just relax and keep hitting the “확인” [hwagin = continue] and “동의” [dongui = agree] buttons obliviously. Second, I have to use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (Korean e-commerce is still hogtied by some very old regulations that keep it stuck in an unhappy marriage with ActiveX – 15 years ago they were very forward-looking and progressive and enabled Korea to bootstrap its current internet success story, but now they are quite annoying). Third, I have to have something I really want to buy.

This last barrier was surmounted because I’ve been listening to more and more Korean music and feeling less and less comforatble with my piratical ways. For my non-Korean music, I’ve been using Amazon’s mp3 store, which now works from Korea (it didn’t used to) – my account is tied to my US credit card. But for Korean music, Amazon is ill-stocked. And I’ve been put off by the lack of finding a comfortable English-option website whereat to download music legally, for pay. They simply don’t exist, in my experience. You’ve got to break down and pretend to be a Korean. Download it using IE, using “phone cash” from your cellphone account.

So that’s what I did. And now I’m the proud owner of an mp3 track that cost me… lemme see… about 138 won, including taxes. That’s 13 cents. 대박 [daebak ~= kewl].

picture

What I’m listening to right now.

케이윌 [keiwil] (K.will), “이러지마 제발”[ireojima jebal] (Please don’t…).

The video, by the way, is… interesting. It all goes along swimmingly, entirely compliant to K-pop cultural norms, until the last moment, when… er… what’s going on there? Any thoughts, anyone? Is Korean pop taking a first step out of the closet? Or would that be an overdetermined reading for what is, essentially, intended to be a bromance?

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: 기지도 못하면서 뛰려고 한다

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

기지도 못하면서 뛰려고한다
crawl-PRENEG-TOO cannot-do-IF run-TRY-PRES
[Someone] tries to run if [he/she] cannot crawl first.

picture“Trying to run before you can walk.” Or, maybe, this is kind of like the proverbial “Putting the cart before the horse.” This seems to happen a lot in Korea. They need to remember this proverb when running a business. Just a thought.
I slept badly last night. Good thing today is Sunday. I plan to be very lazy today – I have substantial skills in this area.
picture

Caveat: 그만해요

Background Noise / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

What I’m listening to right now.

G.NA (지나), “그만해요” [geumanhaeyo = stop that].
picture가사.

그만해요 해요. 그만해요 해요
그만해요 해요. 그만해요 해요
그만해요 해요. 그만해요 Oh
나에게 실수인줄 몰라
넌 항상 맨날 했던 행동을
또 아무렇지 않은 듯이 해
이렇게 의미 없는 시간 하루하루 지나
되돌릴 수도 바꿀 수도 없을 만큼 지나
더 해줄 말도 없는데 자꾸 붙잡지 좀 마
이젠 너와 나는 it’s over now
자꾸만 이렇게 돼 또 자꾸만 반복이 돼
그만해 이제 그만해 이제
지겨워 이런 시간 또 지겨워 이런 사랑
그만해 이제 더 이상 필요 없어 너와 나는
그만해요 해요. 그만해요 해요
그만해요 해요. 그만해요 Oh
몇 번째 싸움인지 몰라 왜 그런지 몰라
우리 서로가 뭘 했는지 기억도 안나
이렇게 의미 없는 만남 한 번 두 번 지나
설레임 없이 생각 없이 또 하루가 지나가
더 웃을 일도 없는데 자꾸 연락하지마
이제 너와 나는 it’s over now
자꾸만 이렇게 돼 또 자꾸만 반복이 돼
그만해 이제 그만해 이제
지겨워 이런 시간 또 지겨워 이런 사랑
그만해 이제 더 이상 필요 없어 너와 나는
지금은 아닐거야 지날거야
시간이 더 지나면 괜찮아 질거야 오
몇 번을 생각해도 이건 아냐
이젠 그만해 더는 못해 너와 나는
it’s over now
자꾸만 이렇게 돼 또 자꾸만 반복이 돼
그만해 이제 그만해 이제
지겨워 이런 시간 또 지겨워 이런 사랑
그만해 이제 더 이상 필요 없어 너와 나는
그만해요 해요. 그만해요 해요
그만해요 해요. 그만해요 Oh

picture

Caveat: 구르는 돌에는 이끼가 끼지 않는다

한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

picture구르는돌에는 이끼가 끼지 않는다
roll-over-PRESPART stone-LOC-TOPIC moss-SUBJ gather-PRENEG not-PRES
Moss doesn’t gather on a rolling stone.

“No moss gathers on a rolling stone.” Wow – this proverb is such a close translation that I suspect it’s a translation.
I thought that perhaps it was biblical, but it’s apparently not – it’s attributed to Roman writer (and proto-stand-up-comic) Publius Syrus. Or is it self-evident enough that it evolved separately in the sinosphere (China/Korea/etc.)?
picture

Caveat: 곡식은 익을수록 머리를 숙인다

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

곡식은        익을수록                 머리를     숙인다
grain-TOPIC ripen-“increasingly-as” head-OBJ bow-PRES
As grain grows more ripe the head bows more.
“With age comes humility.” I guess that’s true. I’ve been feeling my age a lot, lately. It’s humbling when it’s not humiliating.
picture
Van Gogh, “Wheat Field With Crows.”
picture

Caveat: 가랑비에 옷 젖는 줄 모른다

한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

가랑비에     옷       젖는          줄   모른다
drizzle-IN clothing be-damp-PART line not-know-PRES
[Like] not knowing [about] damp clothes on the line in a drizzle.
“The little things add up over time.” That can be true about negative things or positive things, but clearly this is referring more to the negative. I wonder how closely it might correlate, alternately, with the straw that broke the camel’s back? I should ask someone.

Caveat: 이빵꾸똥꾸야!

Background Noise / Banalities & Journaling / My Drawings & Paintings / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

My students taught me a phrase: “이빵꾸똥꾸야!” They said it means you hate something – the thing you’re talking to – a kind of vocative “I hate you.”
But a little bit of looking around the internet adds some information. It’s “little-kid” talk, originated in a TV show from a few years ago. And roughly, its more literal meaning might be “you farty butt.”
Great thing to know how to say.
I drew some comic characters today.
picture
picture
What I’m listening to right now.

Icon of Coil, “Love As Blood (Implant Remix).”
[UPDATE 2020-03-21: link rot repair]
picture

Caveat: 절약이 돈 버는 것

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)


절약이       돈     버는              것
thrift-SUBJ money make[money]-PART thing
Thrift is a money-making thing.
“A penny saved is a penny earned.” Well, yes, the whole frugality thing, right?
I have good days and bad days, on that. Certainly, I try to live within my means, even as my “means” have been cut by about 75% over the last half decade. I made the decision, at some point, that money wasn’t the main thing in my life. But it still has to be dealt with – managed.

Caveat: Reduplication

Language & Linguistics / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

Here are some more examples of reduplicative (or semi-reduplicative) phenomimes and/or psychomimes that I recently ran across. I’ve written about them before (twice).

I’ve given up trying to determine which are technically phenomimes and which are technically psychomimes – the boundary between them seems awfully fuzzy. I suspect things dealing with mood and feeling should be called psychomimes and those dealing with taste (such as most of those below) should be called phenomimes. But aren’t tastes feelings, too? (The -하다 [-hada] are just the verbal-making suffix).

  • 섭섭(-하다) [seopseop] = to be disappointed, to be sad
  • 새콤달콤(-하다) [saekomdalkom] = to be sweet and sour
  • 쫄깃쫄깃(-하다) [jjolgitjjolgit] = to be chewy
  • 바삭바삭(-하다) [basakbasak] = to be crispy
  • 아삭아사(-하다) [asakasak] = to be crunchy
  • 살살 [salsal] = softly

[Update (2015-10-08): I decided to create a consolidated list of examples, which I can update periodically.]

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: 쇠뿔도 단김에 빼라

한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

쇠뿔도            단김에   빼라
bull’s-horn-TOO at-once dodge-COMMAND
Dodge the bull’s horn at once.
“Strike while the iron is hot” is the translation offered for this expression on various websites and Korean-English dictionaries. I don’t like how no one tries to actually translate the literal meaning of the proverb – they just offer “Strike while the iron is hot.” But there’s no striking, no iron, no hotness – not in the actual Korean proverb. What there is is a bull’s horn and some kind of dodging or evading or removing. 단김에 seems to be a variant of 단결에 “in a body, in combination, in solidarity”  and therefore “at once.”

Caveat: 짖는 것은 무는 것만 못하다

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

짖는       것은         무는       것만        못하다
bark-PART thing-TOPIC bite-PART thing-ONLY can’t-do
That which barks isn’t sufficient to bite.
“One’s bark is worse than one’s bite.” The ~만하다 ending means “is sufficient to” in one of my grammar books, so I decided that ~만 못하다 must mean “isn’t sufficient to” – but what I’m not confident about is how this works when attached to the periphrastic ~는 것 “that which ~”. I just kind of ignored that aspect in the second half of the sentence.
Speaking of bark worse than bite: my boss. Just sayin’.

Caveat: 어떤 사람에게는 좋은 것이 다른 사람에게는 싫은 것

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

어떤           사람에게는        좋은          것이
what-way-PART person-TO-TOPIC is-good-PART thing-SUBJ
다른           사람에게는        싫은       것
is-other-PART person-TO-TOPIC hate-PART thing
A thing good for one person [is] a thing hated by another person.
“One man’s meat is another’s poison.” And other proverbs in similar vein.

One of my most-liked students, who had quit Karma last year, has resumed at Karma this week. I’m so pleased.
picture
picture

Caveat: 좋은 일은 좋은 일로 보답을 받는 법

한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

좋은       일은        좋은       일로     보답을      받는          법
good-PART work-TOPIC good-PART work-BY reward-OBJ receive-PART rule
The rule that a good deed receives a good reward through good work
“One good turn deserves another.” But I noticed this isn’t really a sentence – it’s a noun phrase centered on the noun 법 (rule) – it can also mean process. That’s something that’s striking about so many of these proverbs – they’re not grammatical sentences. This is true of English proverbs, too – e.g. “An eye for an eye” – there’s no verb, see? It can make them harder to figure out the translation.
If you’re feeling down, do something nice for someone.

Caveat: 자라 보고 놀란 가슴 솥뚜껑 보고 놀란다

한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

자라    보고     놀란               가슴   솥뚜껑      보고     놀란다
turtle see-AND surprise-PRESPART heart kettle-lid see-AND surprises
A heart that is surprised by a turtle is surprised by a kettle lid.
“Once bitten, twice shy.” I could never have deduced this proverb’s English equivalent without the online translation being provided – I didn’t get the syntax, especially the fact that in this case the present participle ending on the first serial verb (“see and be surprised”) is doing duty as a relative clausifier – which is allowed of course.

Caveat: 시도하지 않으면 얻는 게 없다

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

시도하지         않으면     얻는          게           없다
attempt-PRENEG not-be-IF get-PRESPART NOMINALIZER there-is-not
If nothing is attempted [then] there is no getting.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I was puzzled by the particle 게 for a long time, until finally I decided (perhaps correctly, perhaps not) that it was a contraction of 것이, which is a nominalizing particle (attached to the preceeding present participalized verb) with a subject case marker. The grammar was hard, but the meaning pretty obvious.
I’m going to gain nothing this weekend, because I’m venturing nothing. Bleah.

Caveat: 세 살 버릇 여든까지 간다

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

세     살   버릇   여든까지       간다
three year habit eighty-UNTIL goes
A three year habit goes up to eighty.
This means that old habits die hard. I’ve been struggling with trying to drop old habits (mental habits) and gain new, better habits. For example, I had a habit of trying do something with Korean proverbs in this blog, for a while, but then I lost that habit. So I’m trying to bring it back. It’s hard.

Caveat: karma ledger Dream

Banalities & Journaling / Life in Korea / The Wonders of Work / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

It’s the beginning of Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] weekend. I received the following text message from my boss last night on my phone.

넉넉하고 풍요로운 마음으로 카르마 가족 모두에게 감사의 인사를 드립니다. 짧은 연휴지만 소중하고 사랑스런 가족 친지들과 즐겁고 행복함만 가득한 한가위 되시기를 진심으로 기원합니다  카르마원장 드림

I more or less understood it, but this morning I sat down to decipher it in detail. I plugged it into googletranslate and got this:

Karma family to say a special thank you to all generous and prosperous mind. A short holiday, but a dear and loving family and friends filled with happy and joyful Chuseok become is my sincere hope that karma ledger Dream

Which is somewhat approximate, but the conclusion, “Karma ledger dream,” is a bit of a howler.

Here is my own effort at a slightly more systematic translation. First, a word-for-word breakdown.


넉넉하고       풍요로운           마음으로          카르마  가족
generous-AND abundant-be-PART heart-THROUGH Karma Family
모두에게      감사의     인사를          드립니다.
everyone-TO thank-GEN salutation-OBJ give-FORMAL
짧은        연휴지만
brief-PART holiday-BUT
소중하고        사랑스런       가족    친지들과
important-AND beloved-PART family acquaintance-PLURAL-WITH
즐겁고      행복함만         가득한     한가위
joyful-AND happiness-ONLY full-PART harvestmoon
되시기를                        진심으로            기원합니다
become-DEFERENTIAL-GERUND-OBJ sincerity-THROUGH wish-FORMAL
카르마원장       드림
Karma-director give-SUBST

pictureAnd finally, a roughly idiomatic translation, with an effort to reflect the idiosyncratic phone-text-based lack-of-punctuation of the original.

We give a salutation of thanks to everyone in the Karma family with a generous and abundant heart. Though it is but a brief holiday, we sincerely wish you a harvestmoon [Chuseok] filled with only joyful and happy beloved family and friends from Karma’s Director

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: Mysterious Squiggle Jamo

Banalities & Journaling / Language & Linguistics / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

When I went to the museum last weekend, I saw a strange jamo.

<digression>
Most of you will say, what’s a jamo? A jamo is a single letter of the Korean alphabet, which is called hangeul (or hangul, if you don’t like to follow official romanization rules and want to just wing it, transliteration-wise, or hangle, if you’re a 5th grader with a seussian penchant). So, for example, ㅅ is a jamo. Or ㅎ is a jamo – my favorite, because it looks like a little man with a hat. The jamo are gathered together to make blocks (모아쓰기 = gather [and] writing), so ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ becomes 한.
</digression>

The jamo I saw was the one on the left in this image:

picture

Which is extracted from this monument of names of deceased soldiers from the Korean war (squiggle jamo found in center):

picture

The mysterious squiggle jamo is not one that is taught when learning Korean, so I wondered what it was. It’s very hard to research. When I tried to take the image above and do a ‘google image search’ I just got pictures of naked people in strange positions – so much for google.

And good luck trying to search a term like “mysterious squiggle jamo” – perhaps now that I’m blogging this, future mystified foreigners will be less stumped.

OK, so, conclusions, after extensive searching? The squiggle jamo is an alternate ‘s’ (i.e. the jamo ㅅ). My friend Curt assured me it was. And I finally found something where the squiggle jamo is clearly transcribed as ㅅ- it’s the cover of an 1880s New Testament (note that in 1880s using hangeul, as opposed to Chinese script, was pretty radical).

picture

The large characters are clearly transcribed below as 예수셩교, with the squiggle jamo in the 셩 (an old spelling of 성 = ‘saint, holy’). So now that I have seen the internet says so, it must be true.

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: 망했다

Banalities & Journaling / Language & Linguistics / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

I have a student who says this one phrase all the time. It seemed to indicate a kind of fatalistic and pained attitude with respect to assignments, tasks, homework, etc., as today when she took a look at a page of “paraphrasing” exercises we were working on and exclaimed “망했다” [mang-haet-da]. Finally, I broke down and asked, what does this mean. She said without pause, “ruin.” This was funny, but I suspected it wasn’t a very good translation.

Some research shows that the underlying verb, 망하다, does include a meaning of “ruin,” as well as “perish, die out, destroy, go bankrupt, crash” as well as “to be ugly, to be unbecoming.” But the googletranslate also gave me a hint when I found one fixed expression where the verb, with a slightly different ending, was translated as “damn.” In an online dictionary, I had found the example phrase “망할지 오랫동안 살아남을지 누가 알겠는가?” which is given with the translation “Who knows if it may sink or swim in the long run?” But the same Korean phrase in googletranslate gives “Long damn that would survive, who knows?” – which is undeniably utter nonsense, like most of googletranslate’s output – but it nevertheless provided that “damn” as a clue.

As a result of this research, combined with the evident usage by my student, I’ve decided that the pragmatics of the phrase are essentially, “Damn!” or perhaps “Crash and burn!” as it was used in certain programming circles I worked in, when some task was essentially impossible.

In any event, I like the phrase. Perhaps I’ll try to be brave and use it at the appropriate moment, sometime.

I finally used another phrase today that I’ve been hearing for ages and understood the pragmatics of, but which intimidated me because of how disconnected its literal meaning was from its pragmatics: 들어가겠습니다. The pragmatics seem to be, “take care,” in the way we use that phrase to say “good bye” in a familiar way. But the literal meaning of the underlying phrasal verb, 들어가다 is “to enter.” How does saying, “[I] will enter” end up meaning “good bye”?

Enter what? I’d like to know. One coworker explained, somewhat brokenly, that there’s an elided, never-stated, “my home” home in the phrase: “I will enter my home now.” I suspect it’s a little bit like Mexicans saying “andale” which literally means “walk on it,” but has the pragmatics of “that’s right,” or even “take care.”

But I used it and everyone just said other similar good-bye noises in an utterly unremarkable way. It works. Language is weird.

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: Details

Banalities & Journaling / My Drawings & Paintings / The Wonders of Work / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

During yesterday’s staff meeting, I listened carefully. Really, I should take my dictionary to the meeting – as it was, I didn’t take very useful notes. In fact, here are the notes I took during the meeting. All of them.

picture

The agenda for the meeting looked like this.

picture

You can see why I have no idea what’s going on. Although I can generally make out the topic-headers and try to pick out things I might need to ask about later, as pertaining specifically to me.

Really, this weekly experience builds my empathy for my students, who sit stone-faced and politely incomprehending, as I prattle on in class.

Curt likes to put little sayings and aphorisms on his meeting agendas. The one on this one says,

내가 원하는 사람이 되기 위해서는…

당신이 되고 싶은 사람이 되기 위해서는
하고 싶지 않은 일을 해야 하고,
듣고 싶지 않은 말을 해야 하고,
만나고 싶지 않은 사람을 만나야 한다.
워치 않은 일을 하지 않고
진정 원하는 일을 하는 사람은 없다.
우리는 누구나 당장 하고 싶지 않은 일,
어려운 일보다는
편하고 쉬운 것은 찾게 됩니다.
그러나 당장 하고 싶은 일,
편한 일부터 찾아하는 사람은
자기가 되고 싶었던 원래 모습과
가장 멀리 있는 자기 모습을
발견하게 욀 가능성이 그만큼 높아집니다.
– 조정민, ‘사람이 선물이다’에서

I may have made some typos in transcribing it. I wanted to try to translate it, but I haven’t, yet. Maybe sometime. I tried googling a translation (as opposed to googletranslating, which is utterly bad) and failed – so if you want a translation effort, you can plug it into googletranslate but don’t trust the result.  The author, 조정민 [jo-jeong-min = maybe Cho, Jungmin] wasn’t even particularly googlable – I think (but I’m not sure) he’s a preacher or pastor. I can’t sort out the search results on Korean websites very well.

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: Bob Knob’s Daddy-O

Banalities & Journaling / Language & Linguistics / Media (Texts/Music/Movies etc) / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

Someone attempted to comment on a recent blog entry of mine – the one about PSY’s “Gangnam Style” song. The commenter was what I would I consider a troll – mostly by virtue of the fact that he (or she, but I suspect he, since he called himself Bob Knob – a very troll-like name, too) declined to provide a means for contacting him (i.e. the email address provided was invalid).

Because of the troll-like nature of the comment, I didn’t approve it. Yet I feel compelled to address his criticism, which struck me as nevertheless having some validity. Here is what Bob Knob wrote:

Ehhh… 오빠 (oppa) is what young Korean girls call guys that are slightly
older, in particular their boyfriends. The literal translation is “big
brother” (but guys don’t use it to refer to their older brothers), so
“Daddy-O” isn’t all that accurate.

First and foremost: duh. I know what 오빠 [oppa] means. I suspect that Bob Knob doesn’t know what ‘Daddy-O’ means. ‘Oppa’ literally means a woman’s older brother, but it’s used to address older men affectionately and also (and this is important) it’s used to address boyfriends. Daddy-O is not really current American slang, but in the 1960s it meant someone in authority but who was being addressed informally, and it also was used by some “hip” women to refer to their boyfriends. I seem to remember seeing it a lot as a form address between prostitutes and clients (and or pimps) during a particular epoch, too.

The term ‘Daddy-O’ thus means “informal flirtatious term of address directed by a woman toward a man, with vaguely incestuous connotations.” Which is exactly how I would define ‘oppa,’ too.

In that way, by translating ‘oppa’ as ‘daddy-o’ I try to capture that same semantic field (since in Anglophone culture there is nothing that resembles calling a boyfriend “brother”); but also, because the term ‘oppa’ is clearly being used somewhat ironically (same as the ‘manly man’) in the song in reference to the middle aged man singing it, I figured using an out-of-date slang term like daddy-o would serve that purpose well.

I was tempted to use the term ‘papi’ which is used in hispanic culture to address older men and espeically boyfriends – ‘oppa’ works similarly in Korean culture.

Well, anyway. I doubt the troll named Bob Knob will read this, but I felt compelled to respond with this cultural/linguistic observation. I should also note that this same “Gangnam Style” video has gone sufficiently viral in the US that there’s an extensive write-up about it at one of my favorite US news websites, The Atlantic. Max Fisher, the article’s author, himself pointed to an extensive write up by Jea Kim at her blog My Dear Korea (a blog which looks interesting enough in general to be someplace I may return to regularly). She further returns with a comment on Fisher’s article, in which she takes issue with just how revolutionary the video’s satire is – and in that, I’m inclined to agree with her – to see the video as revolutionary in a Korean context is to be rather myopic vis-a-vis Korean cultural history.

I’ll conclude with this fascinating bit of Americana. Watch it through to the end for some original Daddy-Os.

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: 22 2e E2 Ee

Banalities & Journaling / The Wonders of Work / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

The mathematical phrase '22, 2e, E2, Ee' forms a sort of tongue-twister in the Korean language, because the English letter 'e' (used in e.g. natural log functions, etc.) and the number/digit '2' are pronounced the same way: /i/ (IPA).

So the phrase as a whole would be read '이의이승, 이의이승, 이의이승, 이의이승,' [i-ui-i-seung, i-ui-i-seung, i-ui-i-seung, i-ui-i-seung = two to the second power, two to the e power, E to the second power, E to the e power]. But there are added complications, too.  First, the genitive '의' [ui] is normally reduced to '이' [i] in rapid speech. The second problem has to do with the evolution of modern standarrd Korean versus regional dialect: middle Korean (i.e. around 1400 AD) was a tonal language, while modern Seoul dialect is devoid of tones. But some regional dialects retain the tones, and in those dialects, the number '2' and the English letter 'e' are assigned different tones. This makes the phrase less of a nightmare of pure homophones, but it ends up sounding quite odd and singsongy, and is difficult to sort out, if you try to get the tones right – not to mention sounding like a country bumpkin.

The real miracle of all this is that one of my students explained this to me. Pretty well, too.

Unrelatedly, this very smart student said to me today: "Teacher! I am very, very, very, very, very humble."

I laughed, and suggested she was maybe unclear on the concept of humility.

Caveat: 오빤 강남스타일

Background Noise / Life in Korea / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

picture
Do you got some Gangnam style? Oppa got Gangnam style. Gangnam is the wealthy and trendy high-density neighborhood south-of-the-river in Seoul. The name Gangnam just means “south of the river.” It’s a sort of Beverly Hills and Midtown Manhattan rolled together, with a dash of Hollywood.
What I’m listening to right now.

PSY , 강남스타일 (GANGNAM STYLE ).
가사.

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

강남스타일
[gangnam”style”]
Gangnam style

낮에는 따사로운 인간적인 여자
[najeneun ttasarowoon inganjeokin yeoja]
The woman who is warm humane during day

커피 한잔의 여유를 아는 품격 있는 여자
[keopihanjanui yeoyureul ahneun poomgyeokitneun yeoja]
The elegant woman who knows enjoying a break of a cup of coffee

밤이 오면 심장이 뜨거워지는 여자
[bamiomyeon simjangi tteugeowoajineun yeoja]
The woman whose heart is getting hot when night comes

그런 반전 있는 여자
[geureon banjeon itneun yeoja]
That kind of woman in reverse

나는 사나이
[naneun sanai]
I am a manly man

낮에는 너만큼 따사로운 그런 사나이
[najeneun neomankeum ttasarowoon geureon sanai]
The manly man who is as warm as you during day

커피 식기도 전에 원샷 때리는 사나이
[keopisikkido jeonae “oneshot” ttaerineun sanai]
The manly man who drinks coffee bottoms up before it becomes cool

밤이 오면 심장이 터져버리는 사나이
[bami-omyeon simjangi teojeobeorineun sanai]
The manly man whose heart thumps out when night comes

그런 사나이
[geureon sanai]
That kind of manly man

아름다워 사랑스러워
[ahreumdawoa sarangseureowoa]
So beautiful and lovely

그래 너 hey 그래 바로 너 hey
[geuraeneo “hey” geuraebaro neo “hey”]
That’s right, you, hey, that’s right, you, hey

아름다워 사랑스러워
[ahreumdawoa sarangseureowoa]
So beautiful and lovely

그래 너 hey 그래 바로 너 hey
[geuraeneo “hey” geuraebaro neo “hey”]
That’s right, you, hey, that’s right, you, hey

지금부터 갈 데까지 가볼까
[jigeumbooteo galttekkaji gabolkka]
Would you go all the way with me?

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

강남스타일
[gangnam”style”]
Gangnam style

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

강남스타일
[gangnam”style”]
Gangnam style

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady

오오오오
[oooo]
Ohohohoh

정숙해 보이지만 놀 땐 노는 여자
[jeongsukhae boijiman nolttaen noneun yeoja]
The woman who looks virtuous but plays while she plays

이때다 싶으면 묶었던 머리 푸는 여자
[ittaeda sipeumyeon mukkeotdeon meori puneun yeoja]
The woman who lets down her hair if she thinks the time is now

가렸지만 웬만한 노출보다 야한 여자
[karyeotjiman wenmanan nochulboda yahan yeoja]
The more erotic woman even though she wraps her clothes up than a bare one

그런 감각적인 여자
[geureon gamgakjeokin yeoja]
That sensual woman

나는 사나이
[naneun sanai]
I am a manly man

점잖아 보이지만 놀 땐 노는 사나이
[jeomjana boijiman nolttaen noneun sanai]
The manly man who seems gentle but play while I play

때가 되면 완전 미쳐버리는 사나이
[ttaegadwemyeon wanjeon micheobeorineun sanai]
The manly man who freaks when the time is ripe

근육보다 사상이 울퉁불퉁한 사나이
[geunyukboda sasangi ultungbultonghan sanai]
The manly man whose idea is more uneven than muscle

그런 사나이
[geureon sanai]
That kind of manly man

아름다워 사랑스러워
[ahreumdawoa sarangseureowoa]
So beautiful and lovely

그래 너 hey 그래 바로 너 hey
[geuraeneo “hey” geuraebaro neo “hey”]
That’s right, you, hey, that’s right, you, hey

아름다워 사랑스러워
[ahreumdawoa sarangseureowoa]
So beautiful and lovely

그래 너 hey 그래 바로 너 hey
[geuraeneo “hey” geuraebaro neo “hey”]
That’s right, you, hey, that’s right, you, hey

지금부터 갈 데까지 가볼까
[jigeumbooteo galttaekkaji gabolkka]
Would you go all the way with me?

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

강남스타일
[gangnam”style”]
Gangnam style

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

강남스타일
[gangnam”style”]
Gangnam style

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady

오빤 강남스타일
[opaan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady

오오오오
[oooo]
Ohohohoh

뛰는 놈 그 위에 나는 놈
[ttwineun nom geuwie naneun nom]
The jumping guy, the upcoming guy

Baby Baby

나는 뭘 좀 아는 놈
[naneun mweoljom ahneun nom]
I am the guy who knows a little something

뛰는 놈 그 위에 나는 놈
[ttwineun nom geuwie naneun nom]
The jumping guy, the upcoming guy

Baby Baby

나는 뭘 좀 아는 놈
[naneun mweoljom ahneun nom]
I am the guy who knows a little something

You know what I’m saying

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady

오빤 강남스타일
[oppan gangnam”style”]
Daddy-o Gangnam style

I found the lyrics floating around online, very badly translated and romanized. I have taken liberties with the translation – perhaps to the benefit of accuracy, perhaps not. In particular, I decided that 오빠 (oppa) should be “daddy-o” – it has a similar slang connotation, I think, unless I’ve misunderstood what it is. [Update: but see also my entire blog entry following up on this choice of translations]. Certainly it’s not “I’ve got” which is how the source tried to render it. And I made 사나이 into “manly man” – trying to reflect the parodical aspect – the source just had it as “guy.”
I’ve tried to make the romanization (in square brackets) more regular (following the SK standard, mostly). I probably missed some things, though.
The song is meant to be funny. The video certainly is – it’s over-the-top cultural parady, mostly. Don’t think the guy is really taking himself seriously – he’s not.
picture

Caveat: the natural state of being

Buddhism & Zen / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

I ran across the quote below, surfing some Buddhist site that I failed to record the URL. On the one hand, I like the quote. But on the other hand, there's a certain hypocritical self-referentiality – he's guilty of what he criticizes, since he draws attention to his own enlightenment, and his very effort to explain that enlightenment is not special grants it a certain privileged or special status. It's a difficult path to navigate.

Do not think that enlightenment is going to make you special, it’s not. If you feel special in any way, then enlightenment has not occurred. I meet a lot of people who think they are enlightened and awake simply because they have had a very moving spiritual experience. They wear their enlightenment on their sleeve like a badge of honor. They sit among friends and talk about how awake they are while sipping coffee at a cafe. The funny thing about enlightenment is that when it is authentic, there is no one to claim it. Enlightenment is very ordinary; it is nothing special.

Rather than making you more special, it is going to make you less special. It plants you right in the center of a wonderful humility and innocence. Everyone else may or may not call you enlightened, but when you are enlightened, the many concepts of enlightenment is a big joke. I use the word enlightenment all the time; not to point you toward it but to point you beyond it. Do not get stuck in the idea of enlightenment.

Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretence. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.

Enlightenment is, in the end, nothing more than the natural state of being.
    - Adyashanti (Zen teacher Steven Gray)

– notes for Korean –
승가(僧迦) = sangha (संघ, saṃgha) (buddhist intentional community)
업보(業報) = karma (retribution or effects from previous life)

Caveat: 무소식이 희소식

Banalities & Journaling / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean) / 한국어 속담 (Aphorisms & Proverbs)

무소식이       희소식
mu.so.sik.i  hoe.so.sik
no-news-SUBJ good-news
No news [is] good news.

This is really easy. But… there’s no verb. A lot of Korean proverbs seem to be like that.

It’s true, too. No news is good news, right? I do get annoyed, sometimes. I have some people who will email me and say, “how come I never hear how you’re doing?” I really want to say, “Hey, I post twice a day to my blog for you. I’m not doing it for the internet.” There is, I concede, a certain impersonalness to the blog. Still… it should be sufficient to show that I’m doing OK, shouldn’t it?

[Daily log: walking, 2 km]

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Back to Top