Vocabulary
I have devoted a very minute portion of my time here to learning the local language. I tried hard at first, but it was frustrating. The language is so different and I speak in a native toungue that utilizes such different sounds that I had trouble communicating. I found that most people understood my English better than my sorry attempt at their language. When I add my charades to English, forget about it - I'm fluent.
And so, I learned the alphabet and stopped there. I can sound out some words when I need to - which comes in handy because a lot of Korean words are just English written in Korean characters. But in the course of my time here I have inadvertently picked up a bunch of words that come in handy in the classroom, on the street and around town.
The biggest one is "Asah!" This is basically the equivalent of the English "awesome," "sweet," "alright" and "that is what I want" all rolled into one. This is a catch-all word that I throw around all the time. A kid hands in homework and it is perfect, I give an "Asah!" and they smile. A waiter brings me a dish of steaming dulsot bibimbap and I give a famished "Asah!" before I dig in. I'm in a cab and we are stuck at a light and a 70-year-old prostitute with no teeth gives me a smile, a wink and a "Hello," I give the cabby a nudge and a over-the-top sarcastic "Asah" and he breaks out laughing. This word is incredibly multi-purpose and kind of helps me feel like I'm in the club and it always makes people smile when I use it.
Another favorite of mine is the word "mee-chin." It is translated to mean "crazy," but it has a different connotation in Korea. Instead of meaning wacky or zany, this crazy is more the kind of crazy that sends people to insane assylums. When you call someone "mee-chin," you are basically saying that they are insane and you think they need medical help. Children find it quite offensive and I find it quite useful. Kids who are a little out of control will usually sort themselves out once they are called meechin and humiliated in front of the class. To be fair, I have been called meechin once or twice in class - so the word is not entirely taboo. And since it is the equivalent of crazy and I am teaching English, I feel they should know that sometimes that word is an acceptable way to describe how someone is acting. And occassionally, I am expressing a genuine emotion that I think a student belongs in an insane assylum.
My students are not allowed to speak Korean in the classroom, but sometimes I will pull a word or two out just to get a point across or wake them up. "Shoo-Ray-Gee" is a fun one to use. It means "trash" and I have found a few different ways to use it. If I give a writing assignment and somebody hands in an offensively short collection of chicken scratches, I will tell them that it is "shoo-ray-gee." I usually don't need to say much more. They understand that they need to put a little more effort in and I think they probably agree with me most of the time. Another way I like to use it is when there is a bunch of Korean being spoken in my class. I will say, "There is no Korean in this class. The next person that speaks Korean, I will cut off their toungue (I make a motion of scissors cutting off my own toungue) and your tounge will go into the shoo-ray-gee!" This always brings out a chuckle and now, sometimes when a student is using Korean the other students will say, "Teacher! His toungue in the shoo-ray-gee." It's silly and they know I am kidding, but it does its job and halts use of Korean. I threaten to put cell phones in the shoo-ray-gee, I threaten to put Nintendo DS's in the shoo-ray-gee and occasionally, I even threaten to put kids in the shoo-ray-gee.
I am incredibly incompetent with the Korean language, but after living here for so long I couldn't help but learn a few words and add them to my vocabulary. I think it gives me a little bit of credibility to pull out some of these words and they help me get through interactions with these crazy Asians.
Happy New Year y'all. I'm home in a few short weeks. Asah!
Much love from Seoul
And so, I learned the alphabet and stopped there. I can sound out some words when I need to - which comes in handy because a lot of Korean words are just English written in Korean characters. But in the course of my time here I have inadvertently picked up a bunch of words that come in handy in the classroom, on the street and around town.
The biggest one is "Asah!" This is basically the equivalent of the English "awesome," "sweet," "alright" and "that is what I want" all rolled into one. This is a catch-all word that I throw around all the time. A kid hands in homework and it is perfect, I give an "Asah!" and they smile. A waiter brings me a dish of steaming dulsot bibimbap and I give a famished "Asah!" before I dig in. I'm in a cab and we are stuck at a light and a 70-year-old prostitute with no teeth gives me a smile, a wink and a "Hello," I give the cabby a nudge and a over-the-top sarcastic "Asah" and he breaks out laughing. This word is incredibly multi-purpose and kind of helps me feel like I'm in the club and it always makes people smile when I use it.
Another favorite of mine is the word "mee-chin." It is translated to mean "crazy," but it has a different connotation in Korea. Instead of meaning wacky or zany, this crazy is more the kind of crazy that sends people to insane assylums. When you call someone "mee-chin," you are basically saying that they are insane and you think they need medical help. Children find it quite offensive and I find it quite useful. Kids who are a little out of control will usually sort themselves out once they are called meechin and humiliated in front of the class. To be fair, I have been called meechin once or twice in class - so the word is not entirely taboo. And since it is the equivalent of crazy and I am teaching English, I feel they should know that sometimes that word is an acceptable way to describe how someone is acting. And occassionally, I am expressing a genuine emotion that I think a student belongs in an insane assylum.
My students are not allowed to speak Korean in the classroom, but sometimes I will pull a word or two out just to get a point across or wake them up. "Shoo-Ray-Gee" is a fun one to use. It means "trash" and I have found a few different ways to use it. If I give a writing assignment and somebody hands in an offensively short collection of chicken scratches, I will tell them that it is "shoo-ray-gee." I usually don't need to say much more. They understand that they need to put a little more effort in and I think they probably agree with me most of the time. Another way I like to use it is when there is a bunch of Korean being spoken in my class. I will say, "There is no Korean in this class. The next person that speaks Korean, I will cut off their toungue (I make a motion of scissors cutting off my own toungue) and your tounge will go into the shoo-ray-gee!" This always brings out a chuckle and now, sometimes when a student is using Korean the other students will say, "Teacher! His toungue in the shoo-ray-gee." It's silly and they know I am kidding, but it does its job and halts use of Korean. I threaten to put cell phones in the shoo-ray-gee, I threaten to put Nintendo DS's in the shoo-ray-gee and occasionally, I even threaten to put kids in the shoo-ray-gee.
I am incredibly incompetent with the Korean language, but after living here for so long I couldn't help but learn a few words and add them to my vocabulary. I think it gives me a little bit of credibility to pull out some of these words and they help me get through interactions with these crazy Asians.
Happy New Year y'all. I'm home in a few short weeks. Asah!
Much love from Seoul
posted by Kyle at 4:20 PM
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