One of the major differences for me between living in Spain and living in Korea has been my knowledge of the local language. In Spain, I was the go-to guy for many of my non-Spanish friends who needed something translated. I help my friends with everything ranging from cell phone bills to lost mail to ordering food at the restaurant. I knew that I was able to handle myself in all circumstances simply because I could communicate. I really revelled in my ability to speak the language, and feeling at home within Spanish society felt much easier.
Here in Seoul, on the other hand... things are a little different. I came to a country whose language I knew absolutely nothing about. In fact before coming here, I didn't even know how to say "hello," "please," or "thank you," and let alone communicate anything beyond that. Koreans even use their own alphabet, called "Hangul," which looked to me as foreign as Chinese or Japanese.
Well, I am happy to announce, that finally, seven months after first arriving in Korea, I can read Hangul. I can't really understand what any of it means, but at least when I'm walking around town I can read the letters and sound out the words... a major improvement.
Hangul is actually a really easy alphabet to learn. Unlike Chinese, Hangul does not utilize a different symbol for each word. In fact, it's simply an alphabet, just like the Latin alphabet used in so many languages, and it's actually considered one of the easiest writing systems to learn in the world. If you're interested, this video teaches you Hangul in a mere matter of five minutes.
Hangul is simple due to its unique history. Back in the 15th century, during the Joseon Dynasty, Korea used the Classical Chinese alphabet, but due to how difficult the Chinese alphabet was to learn, only the elite were literate. In order to promote literacy among the people, one man, known as Sejong the Great, sat down and created his own alphabet, which was completed by early 1444. It was designed so that even the most uneducated Koreans could read it, and it takes a unique approach to designing letters, as the shapes of the letters are derived from the shape your mouth and tongue make when sounding out the letters. A popular saying about the alphabet is: "A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; even a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days."
So, if a stupid man can learn Hangul in the space of ten days, and it took me nearly SEVEN MONTHS, then what does that make me...? Well, let's just say I was quite lazy. The letters were unfamiliar to me, and I was discouraged at how there were absolutely no similarities between Korean and any of the languages that I spoke that I didn't even bother putting in the slightest effort.
While the alphabet is easy to learn, however, speaking Korean is a whole other battle. After speaking to many foreigners attempting to learn Korean, I've noticed that many of them are saying the same thing: "The levels of endearment are just too much."
What does "levels of endearment" even mean? Another way to say this would be "honorifics." Simply put, there are many different levels of politeness and respect you must attribute to another person based on several factors, such as your age difference, your relationship with the person, etc...
Allow me to explain. For those of you who speak a Latin language, may it be French, Italian, Spanish, or even Portuguese. In all of these languages, we have an informal and a formal way of talking to people. Usually, when speaking to a professional, dealing with customer service or even just speaking to a person of high esteem, in these languages it is encouraged to speak formally to them.
In French, you speak formally by using "vous" instead of the informal "tu." For example: "Bonjour Monsieur, comment est-ce que je pourrais vous aider aujourd'hui?" ("Hello sir, how can I help you today?") The same effect is achieved when you use "Lei" in Italian, "Usted/Ustedes" in Spanish and "Você/Vocês" in Portuguese. By comparison, in English, there are no forms of honorifics, and you just need to be polite and use polite words and speech.
Korean, on the other hand, not only uses two forms of honorifics, but several, and honorifics can be seen both in verbs and nouns. These honorifics are so extreme that sometimes a word changes completely depending on who you're talking to, so, for example, the word for rice, "bap," becomes "jinji." The more common Korean honorifics, however, appear at the end of words. The verb endings -ida, -ssi and -yeo are the most common forms of honorifics used, though there are many more, far beyond my comprehension.
Honorifics are of vital importance in Korean culture, as the mis-use of honorifics, or the or the complete absence of them, can be seen as extremely insulting in certain contexts.
So, in Korean, when should you be using honorifics? Well, when the person is older than you, it is necessary to talk to them formally, though they are not obliged to reciprocate, and only they can give you permission to speak to them informally, if they so choose. For this reason, Koreans will always ask a stranger their age right off the bat, so that they can know which level of honorifics to use.
It all ultimately boils down to status. People of superior status (in relation to the person they are talking to) are allowed to speak informally, whereas people of inferior status must speak formally unless given permission not to. Here's what's considered "superior" and "inferior," according to some of my research: "Generally, someone is superior in status if he or she is an older relative, a stranger of roughly equal or greater age, an employer, a teacher, a customer, or the like. Someone is equal or inferior in status if he or she is a younger stranger, a student, an employee or the like."
Here's a good video explaining all of this for those of you who are curious:
In a sense, as speakers of English we're lucky we don't have to deal with any of this, as even Koreans mightily struggle with mastering the whole system of honorifics. Korean culture is very hierarchical, and I wonder whether the culture is a result of the language, or whether the language system came about as a result of the pre-existing culture. Regardless, it's a really interesting and unique way of speaking a language, one that us speakers of other languages can't even properly understand if we tried.
So, the big question: have I learned any Korean?
The answer is... NO! Well, I know a few words. I can say hello, please and thank you. I know several food names, and so seeing as I can read the alphabet, I can therefore read most menus and order food at the restaurant. Korean also contains a lot of "Konglish," which is essentially English words that have been adapted into Korean, and are thus English words written in Hangul. I can read those!
I cannot, however, speak any Korean, and if I were lost in the middle of the stunning Korean mountains, I would not be able to speak Korean to save my life. I've not put much effort into learning Korean, and it would likely not really serve me once I left here anyways. Regardless, it's an amazing experience to see a completely different language at work for such a long period of time.
For now, I'll just continue relying on this phrase:
- 다니엘
