First, I have to rant a little.
On Tuesday, I had my second French class for students in health sciences and I just have to point this out. Once you have a general understanding of a language, you have to give up trying to translate you thoughts word-for-word for the following reasons:
1) Every language has it quirks and phrases that just cannot be translated literally.
2) Trying to tranlsate everything takes up time and energy.
3) Native speakers will understand you even if your grammar isn't perfect.
4) It's fucking annoying for the other students in the class.
I am one of the annoyed students in the class. Good god, man, you may think English and French are very similar, but they don't even have the same origins. English is a West Germanic language and French is Latin based. They don't have the same conjugations and tenses, so for heaven's sake, don't try to find an exact equivalent. And if you don't know a word, then get yourself a bloody dictionary. You can even have mine.
This week's lesson is on insults. Don't get it confused with swearing. I reuse to teach swear words in Korean, because it's inappropriate and also, it just doesn't have the same flavour if you don't say it just right.
A) _____ is/are disrespectful. - _______ 싸가지 없어.
Ssa-ga-ji up-suh.
Ssa = Say "sa" with an exhaled breath behind it.
You can add a name/pronoun to the blank or omit it altogether if the listener already knows who you're talking about. (This rule applies for all Korean sentences.) The translation is very inadequate. If I read "Tony 싸가지 없어", in a novel and had to translate it, it would be "Tony is a disrespectful asshole who thinks he's all that." All that is implied in one phrase. This is one of the phrases I miss the most.
B) You're making a spectacle of yourself. - 쌩쇼를 해라.
Sseng-sho-rul heh-rah.
Literally, it translates to "Do a live show." As you can see, it's an imperative and if the person is already doing something inappropriate, then why encourage them even more? Perhaps a better way to put it is, "You're being ridiculous. Why don't you do a live show while you're at it, you spaz?"
C) Mind your own business. - 너나 잘 하세요.
Nuh-nah jal hah-se-yo.
jal = almost a soft "chal"
This is meant to be very insulting to the listener. First, there's the meaning, "Mind your own business" which is disconcerting for anyone to hear. For the second layer of insult, we must examine the literal meaning. "너나" is "you" in the most informal speech level with an emphasis as if to say, "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself." "잘 하세요" is "Please do well" in the imperative on the formal speech level that you would use in polite everyday conversation. They're innocuous enough on their own, but together, it implies that the speaker should show respect for the listener but is deliberately choosing not to. It's even more insulting than if the whole phrase had been in the informal speech level. All this is in 6 syllables.
You can hear this where there are 34 seconds left.
Bonus: You can hear "Good-bye" (안녕히 가세요) when there are 30 seconds left.
There are many more. Even phrases that aren't insults. There are still moments when I wish there was an English version equal in eloquence to its Korean counterpart. I tell these to Brenda and we laugh together and wish that there was someone else to share in our amusement.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Cooking Attempt #3: Latkes
I was recently asked, "Why latkes?"
You don't understand. I spent my childhood with friends from Yorkhill E.S. who taunted me every winter about latkes and the goodness of latkes and oh, how they couldn't wait for Hannukkah.
And I would go home and daydream about latkes while eating rice cake soup (traditional Korean New Year's dish) with kimchi and all the 반찬.
I've been waiting for this moment for 14 bloody years and lo, I have done it! Why latkes?
Because I had lots of potatoes and eggs.
I chose the simplest recipe I could find on the internet (basically, just potatoes, onions and eggs) and went at it. I know it just looks like a giant blob, but I assure you that there are at least 10 latkes on that plate. The thing in the middle is sour cream. I honestly had no idea I would end up with so many. Guess I'll be eating latkes for awhile. Yay!
Note for next time: If I make the potato pieces smaller, does that improve the texture? Also, I've seen recipes with all sorts of extra crap like baking powder and whatnot. Do I really need those? Very very curious, indeed.
You don't understand. I spent my childhood with friends from Yorkhill E.S. who taunted me every winter about latkes and the goodness of latkes and oh, how they couldn't wait for Hannukkah.
And I would go home and daydream about latkes while eating rice cake soup (traditional Korean New Year's dish) with kimchi and all the 반찬.
I've been waiting for this moment for 14 bloody years and lo, I have done it! Why latkes?
Because I had lots of potatoes and eggs.
I chose the simplest recipe I could find on the internet (basically, just potatoes, onions and eggs) and went at it. I know it just looks like a giant blob, but I assure you that there are at least 10 latkes on that plate. The thing in the middle is sour cream. I honestly had no idea I would end up with so many. Guess I'll be eating latkes for awhile. Yay!
Note for next time: If I make the potato pieces smaller, does that improve the texture? Also, I've seen recipes with all sorts of extra crap like baking powder and whatnot. Do I really need those? Very very curious, indeed.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #3 - Talk Like a Pirate Day
Debbie said I should teach something that pirates would say in Korean for Talk Like a Pirate Day. The thing is, I don't know what Korean pirates sound like. Of course, there are Korean pirates. There have been for centuries, but I don't know if they had a special pirate slang and if they did, what it sounded like. (The Asian pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 are obviously from Singapore/China.)
So I will use this opportunity to teach imperatives in Korean. And since this is pirates we're talking about, we will presume that they did not use the formal speech level. Instead, they would treat you like dirt. AND STOMP ON YOUR FACE!
So I will use this opportunity to teach imperatives in Korean. And since this is pirates we're talking about, we will presume that they did not use the formal speech level. Instead, they would treat you like dirt. AND STOMP ON YOUR FACE!
Ahem.
A) Give me _____! - _____ 줘! [followed by utterance of very bad words probably]
_____ Jwo! = "j" almost sounds like "ch" + wo ("Whoa!")
In the blank, you can use whatever you like: food, items of clothing, anything at all. Remember that this is very informal and urgent-sounding.
B) Do _____! - _____ 해!
_____ Heh!
In the blank, you can use a gerund (an action noun). For instance, I could say to my brother, "Cleaning해!" (while shaking my fist). When you learn the Korean forms of the gerunds, you can just slip them into the formula.
Example: Cleaning = 청소 (chung-so) -----> "청소해!"
Driving = 운전 (oon-jun) -----> "운전해!"
C) Aren't you going to give me ______? - ______ 안 줘?
______ Ahn-jwo?
This is more rhetorical. It would be more accurate to translate it as, "You're not going to give this to me? How dare you?" followed by a beating (it's a pirate after all). Basically one can use this interchangeably with A). This one is slightly more threatening, because it implies consequences to a refusal.
D) Aren't you going to _____ ? - ______ 안 해?
______ Ahn-heh?
Just like B), you use a gerund in the blanks. This follows the sentence structure of C) and basic meaning.
E) Please do ______. - ______ 해줘.
______Heh-jwo.
As obvious from the "please", it is not something a pirate would say. It's an informal (almost childish) way of asking someone (who is very close like a friend or family member) to do something for you. Again, the blanks are filled by gerunds.
BONUS LESSON: "I know I am a foreigner. Sure. You can keep staring at me. Don't touch me though." as requested by Tara.
네, 저 외국인이에요. 쳐다보시는 건 괜찮은데, 만지지는 마세요.
Neh, juh weh-gook-in-ee-eh-yo.
Chuh-da-bo-see-neun gun gwen-chan-eun-deh, man-ji-ji-neun mah-seh-yo.
(Literally, "Yes, I know I'm a foreigner. You can stare at me, but please don't touch.")
Hahah! I think you're going to need a sound file or something. I'll try and figure it out.
Cooking attempt #2: Potato 반찬
Koreans have a bowl of sticky rice at every meal with many different side dishes and/or soups. The side dishes are called "반찬" (ban-chan) and they come in little dishes at the beginning of meals in every Korean restaurant (unless you order bento boxes or something, which are Japanese). Normally you make a lot of it at once and they keep in the fridge for a week or even more. I got this recipe from a Korean website.
First I peeled potatoes, chopped them up and cooked them in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil until they started to brown. Then I added some water (enough to boil around the potatoes) and soy sauce to taste. You let it cook for a bit on medium heat and add hot chili powder (Koreans use ground up red hot peppers) and some ground up garlic. Keep cooking until potatoes are fully cooked and the water is almost gone. Add sesame seeds before eating with rice. I had dried seaweed (nori) with mine. Mmm mmm~
First I peeled potatoes, chopped them up and cooked them in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil until they started to brown. Then I added some water (enough to boil around the potatoes) and soy sauce to taste. You let it cook for a bit on medium heat and add hot chili powder (Koreans use ground up red hot peppers) and some ground up garlic. Keep cooking until potatoes are fully cooked and the water is almost gone. Add sesame seeds before eating with rice. I had dried seaweed (nori) with mine. Mmm mmm~
Note: It is a bitch working with photos on Blogger. Holy crap.
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #2 - Thank you.
I thought about doing more advanced sort of greeting, but Josh suggested that it might be better to cover the basics first.
All Korean textbooks will say that Koreans do not use intonation, which is true. Our syllables mean exactly what they mean no matter how you say it. However, we do have a set way of using tones in common phrases, even if we don't think about it. This is why Koreans might need you to repeat sentences a couple of times to understand what you're saying. Sadly, I'm a bit lazy at the moment to put up sound clips. -_-;; We'll see how that goes.
A) Thank you - 감사합니다 or 고마워요
i) 감사합니다.
Kahm-sah-hab-nee-da.
Most Koreans pronounce this in such a way that the third syllable "hab" blurs into "ham". This slides into the next syllable, "nee". The last syllable, "da" should sound almost like a soft "t".
ii) 고마워요.
Ko-mah-wo-yo.
wo = "Whoa~", but short. (I trust that you won't need to imitate Keanu Reeves.)
"감사합니다" is a more formal thank-you, to be used in situations with strangers. It might be used in business transactions, for instance. "고마워요" is more familiar. It's a heartfelt thank-you for the other person helping you. Between good friends, you may shorten this to "고마워" (Ko-mah-wo), which is informal.
B) You're welcome - 천만에요.
Chun-mahn-eh-yo
People may not use "천만에요" all the time, just like we all have different ways of saying "You're welcome" ("No problem", "Don't mention it", etc).
Random note: "Please" is implied by the formal speech level when you ask for something in Korean. There is a word in the dictionary for "please" - 제발 (Jeh-bahl), but the tone is more desperate and pleading. It is therefore not used in everyday conversation, unless you want to stress its importance.
All Korean textbooks will say that Koreans do not use intonation, which is true. Our syllables mean exactly what they mean no matter how you say it. However, we do have a set way of using tones in common phrases, even if we don't think about it. This is why Koreans might need you to repeat sentences a couple of times to understand what you're saying. Sadly, I'm a bit lazy at the moment to put up sound clips. -_-;; We'll see how that goes.
A) Thank you - 감사합니다 or 고마워요
i) 감사합니다.
Kahm-sah-hab-nee-da.
Most Koreans pronounce this in such a way that the third syllable "hab" blurs into "ham". This slides into the next syllable, "nee". The last syllable, "da" should sound almost like a soft "t".
ii) 고마워요.
Ko-mah-wo-yo.
wo = "Whoa~", but short. (I trust that you won't need to imitate Keanu Reeves.)
"감사합니다" is a more formal thank-you, to be used in situations with strangers. It might be used in business transactions, for instance. "고마워요" is more familiar. It's a heartfelt thank-you for the other person helping you. Between good friends, you may shorten this to "고마워" (Ko-mah-wo), which is informal.
B) You're welcome - 천만에요.
Chun-mahn-eh-yo
People may not use "천만에요" all the time, just like we all have different ways of saying "You're welcome" ("No problem", "Don't mention it", etc).
Random note: "Please" is implied by the formal speech level when you ask for something in Korean. There is a word in the dictionary for "please" - 제발 (Jeh-bahl), but the tone is more desperate and pleading. It is therefore not used in everyday conversation, unless you want to stress its importance.
Friday, September 14, 2007
A Juicy Lesson in Korean: #1 - Greetings
I will be writing posts focusing on certain Korean phrases that might come in handy. I'll start off with what I believe are basics, but if there's something specific you want to know, then feel free to leave comments and ask! There won't be much vocabulary, because you can look those up in any dictionary. I'll be focusing on the everyday phrases and how to use them. There are many (at least seven) speech levels (honorifics) in Korean. I'll be teaching at a level that is appropriate for strangers and colleagues. Oh, and I use the Judy romanization, because I don't know how to make all the squiggles on top of letters.
Lesson #1 - Greetings
A) Hello - 안녕하세요.
Ahn-nyoung-hah-se-yo.
Ahn = ah+n
nyoung = say "young" with "n" in front
"안녕하세요" is appropriate for any time of day. You should accompany this with a bow. The higher the person's social position in relation to your own, the lower the bow.
Note: You cannot use "안녕하세요" like you would use "Hello" to start a phone conversation.
B) Good-bye - 안녕히 가세요 or 안녕히 계세요.
i) 안녕히 가세요.
Ahn-nyoung-hee-ka-se-yo.
"안녕히 가세요" is when the person you're speaking to is leaving, regardless of whether you're leaving or staying. This is accompanied by a bow, like all greetings.
ii) 안녕히 계세요.
Ahn-nyoung-hee-kye-se-yo.
kye = say "yea" and add "k" to the front
"안녕히 계세요" is when the person you're speaking to is staying. This is accompanied by a bow, like all greetings.
Note: You can use "안녕히 계세요" to end phone conversations.
C) Casual Greeting - Hi and Bye - 안녕
Ahn-nyoung
This is a casual greeting and should only be used for close friends and people of a lower social position. As a result, you don't need to bow to the person you're speaking to.
What's the next lesson? We'll see!
Lesson #1 - Greetings
A) Hello - 안녕하세요.
Ahn-nyoung-hah-se-yo.
Ahn = ah+n
nyoung = say "young" with "n" in front
"안녕하세요" is appropriate for any time of day. You should accompany this with a bow. The higher the person's social position in relation to your own, the lower the bow.
Note: You cannot use "안녕하세요" like you would use "Hello" to start a phone conversation.
B) Good-bye - 안녕히 가세요 or 안녕히 계세요.
i) 안녕히 가세요.
Ahn-nyoung-hee-ka-se-yo.
"안녕히 가세요" is when the person you're speaking to is leaving, regardless of whether you're leaving or staying. This is accompanied by a bow, like all greetings.
ii) 안녕히 계세요.
Ahn-nyoung-hee-kye-se-yo.
kye = say "yea" and add "k" to the front
"안녕히 계세요" is when the person you're speaking to is staying. This is accompanied by a bow, like all greetings.
Note: You can use "안녕히 계세요" to end phone conversations.
C) Casual Greeting - Hi and Bye - 안녕
Ahn-nyoung
This is a casual greeting and should only be used for close friends and people of a lower social position. As a result, you don't need to bow to the person you're speaking to.
What's the next lesson? We'll see!
Monday, September 10, 2007
My first home-cooked made-from-scratch meal!
Rejoice, good people, for I have made my very first proper meal in Montreal!
Ramen and canned soup does NOT count.
I went to Metro today and bought myself some chicken drumsticks, a bag of salad greens, a couple of tomatoes, some pumpernickel bread and margarine.
Then I marinated the drumsticks in barbeque sauce for a few hours, during which I took a nap. Then I cut it up so that they would cook faster and voila! I put my precious Japanese ginger salad dressing that I bought back in Toronto. Mmm~ so refreshing.
While I was eating it, I calculated how much the whole meal had cost and it comes to less than $3. Isn't that amazing? I'd never thought about that before. Anyhoo, yay!
If anyone has suggestions for an easy meal, let me know!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Sigh. Goddamn textbooks.
Textbook shopping is definitely one of my least favourite things to do in life and the McGill bookstore does not make it easy for me to fork over my money.
First of all, you don't know what books you need until classes actually start, so everyone converges at the store in the first few days to try and find their textbooks. It is MADNESS. The line ended in the middle of one of the shelves, went to the wall and then followed the wall around the whole basement and back to the cash registers. At least the U of T website gave you the option of buying your books online (even used ones). Then they would tell you when your package was ready so you could go and pick it up anytime during the summer. You could even have it shipped to you if you wanted.
When something makes me think fondly of U of T, you know the apocalypse is nigh.
The books are also scattered all over the place. One would think they would be under the "Nursing" sign, but oh no, I found three of my books in random piles in the Anthropology section.
None of this would matter, of course, if there was a decent stock of used books that I could buy, but even that is lacking. I checked my reading list for this term and there is no way I'm paying $140 for a book so that I can read 60 pages from it. I can photocopy the pages I need for $3.00, for Pete's sake. If it was a book that I would have to read the whole way through and use for assignments and whatnot, fine. Take my money. But that's seriously way too much when I've already paid $65 for a "coursepack" of articles that I need for the same course.
So my mission for tomorrow is to borrow the book from the library and photocopy the hell out of it. Fun!
First of all, you don't know what books you need until classes actually start, so everyone converges at the store in the first few days to try and find their textbooks. It is MADNESS. The line ended in the middle of one of the shelves, went to the wall and then followed the wall around the whole basement and back to the cash registers. At least the U of T website gave you the option of buying your books online (even used ones). Then they would tell you when your package was ready so you could go and pick it up anytime during the summer. You could even have it shipped to you if you wanted.
When something makes me think fondly of U of T, you know the apocalypse is nigh.
The books are also scattered all over the place. One would think they would be under the "Nursing" sign, but oh no, I found three of my books in random piles in the Anthropology section.
None of this would matter, of course, if there was a decent stock of used books that I could buy, but even that is lacking. I checked my reading list for this term and there is no way I'm paying $140 for a book so that I can read 60 pages from it. I can photocopy the pages I need for $3.00, for Pete's sake. If it was a book that I would have to read the whole way through and use for assignments and whatnot, fine. Take my money. But that's seriously way too much when I've already paid $65 for a "coursepack" of articles that I need for the same course.
So my mission for tomorrow is to borrow the book from the library and photocopy the hell out of it. Fun!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
After watching movies all weekend, I must conclude that Koreans are either incredibly inane or exquisitely precise in their revenge.
Having been more or less inert during the entire long weekend in my typical lazybum fashion, I have perched my butt once more on my Ikea kitchen chair and compose my thoughts once more. (Seriously though, if I ever express to you an intention of watching a Korean romantic comedy, shoot me. The most inane nonsensical things I've ever seen in my life - and I've watched both Mortal Kombat movies - continue to be produced in a country whose film industry is quite well thought-of when one considers its violent thrillers and revenge flicks. We are nothing without our heroes pulling out teeth and cutting off fingers.)
Today was my first day at school. I left 40 minutes before class, which I then repented due to the inevitable result of me having to sit and wait for over 20 minutes for class to begin. Call it overzealousness, I don't know.
The first class was Research in Nursing and the professor let us leave as soon as she finished the introduction. That was okay with me, because it was FREEZING in that classroom. It was a sign of things to come.
I took that time off to warm up a bit in the sun, like a snake slithering out from under its rock to bask in the glittering morning light. (My prose is a bit frou-frou, but sooner or later, I'm going to get writing assignments and I need to practice, you dig?)
Then there was the Therapeutical Relationships in Nursing. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what I'll be learning in that course. I found out that we're going to be visiting patients with in partners for 1.5 hours every week. I did not know that. Hopefully it won't be awkward as my nursing home volunteering experience. I hope my partner is someone with a decent sense of humour. I am full of hopes.
Development over the Lifespan was three hours long. It's rather unfortunate that the professor stutters a bit. I don't know if she was feeling ill, because she kept coughing and losing her place. Not that I was paying much attention, because all McGill classrooms are colder than a meat locker and I was trying to will myself out of hypothermia. The good news is that half the classes are going to be spent in group discussions, which should be less dry than straightforward lecturing. We named our group The Rebel Sharks, because we couldn't think of anything nursing-related. So when other groups started introducing themselves as The TLC, The Healing Touch, The Red Nurses (McGill's school colour is red) and so forth, we were absentminded scratching our heads. At least The Rebel Sharks sounds better than The Dromedary. I mean, really!
So, nothing too exciting. I haven't met anyone yet (other than my group members), but I'm not really disposed to go in search of people either. It's not my style. That didn't help so much at U of T, where thousands of people just mill around without so much as a hello, but maybe in this intimate program, I'll be able to find people that I can really get along with, without having to censure the more...eccentric facets of my nature.
Fingers crossed, eh?
Today was my first day at school. I left 40 minutes before class, which I then repented due to the inevitable result of me having to sit and wait for over 20 minutes for class to begin. Call it overzealousness, I don't know.
The first class was Research in Nursing and the professor let us leave as soon as she finished the introduction. That was okay with me, because it was FREEZING in that classroom. It was a sign of things to come.
I took that time off to warm up a bit in the sun, like a snake slithering out from under its rock to bask in the glittering morning light. (My prose is a bit frou-frou, but sooner or later, I'm going to get writing assignments and I need to practice, you dig?)
Then there was the Therapeutical Relationships in Nursing. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what I'll be learning in that course. I found out that we're going to be visiting patients with in partners for 1.5 hours every week. I did not know that. Hopefully it won't be awkward as my nursing home volunteering experience. I hope my partner is someone with a decent sense of humour. I am full of hopes.
Development over the Lifespan was three hours long. It's rather unfortunate that the professor stutters a bit. I don't know if she was feeling ill, because she kept coughing and losing her place. Not that I was paying much attention, because all McGill classrooms are colder than a meat locker and I was trying to will myself out of hypothermia. The good news is that half the classes are going to be spent in group discussions, which should be less dry than straightforward lecturing. We named our group The Rebel Sharks, because we couldn't think of anything nursing-related. So when other groups started introducing themselves as The TLC, The Healing Touch, The Red Nurses (McGill's school colour is red) and so forth, we were absentminded scratching our heads. At least The Rebel Sharks sounds better than The Dromedary. I mean, really!
So, nothing too exciting. I haven't met anyone yet (other than my group members), but I'm not really disposed to go in search of people either. It's not my style. That didn't help so much at U of T, where thousands of people just mill around without so much as a hello, but maybe in this intimate program, I'll be able to find people that I can really get along with, without having to censure the more...eccentric facets of my nature.
Fingers crossed, eh?
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