Nice article. I think all the quotes you used from different people balanced out very nicely. Stevie Bee's final point was a good and thoughtful ending.
I'm still trying to (a) link to the blog at the bottom, and (b) write a sentence explaining the point of the column. A five-month battle, clearly.
Sometimes it's tough to write these things, and I'm really straining to even hit 600 words. Sometimes I even have to, um, advertise on Facebook to get people to come over and comment. But other times, like this, it's hard to narrow everything down. I'm thankful for the group of thoughtful commenters and for the new faces who share their thoughts from time to time.
I think there has been a sort of misunderstanding which usually happens between Korean and English expressions. You use the quote by the Korean person who says "he/she can hardly accept.." the different American attitudes from a Korean perspective. Now that sounds a bit harsh from an English perspective, but I'm quite sure that either he/she misstated what he/she wanted to say in English or someone didn't properly translate what he wanted to say. A lot of Koreans misuse the word "hardly" for the word "difficult for..". So he or she was probably trying to express that it is difficult to understand that American way of not speaking formally, rather than "hardly" accepting it. This is a prime example of how subtle variations between the way Koreans transcribe English and the way English users use English can cause misunderstanding.
Now, it still doesn't really change the premise of the article, but I think the claims made in the article were rather exaggerated especially considering the claims were made based on a quote that wasn't properly interpreted.
You're right, AK. But let's not forget it was the Korean guy who translated it into English, so it's an example of not understanding the subtleties of English, rather than the otherway around.
And as I wrote in the original post, there's no reason to think the quotes weren't mistranslated, misremembered, or totally fabricated. I think the one from the frat guy is a good enough example for that.
6 comments:
Nice article. I think all the quotes you used from different people balanced out very nicely. Stevie Bee's final point was a good and thoughtful ending.
Thanks for the kind words.
I'm still trying to (a) link to the blog at the bottom, and (b) write a sentence explaining the point of the column. A five-month battle, clearly.
Sometimes it's tough to write these things, and I'm really straining to even hit 600 words. Sometimes I even have to, um, advertise on Facebook to get people to come over and comment. But other times, like this, it's hard to narrow everything down. I'm thankful for the group of thoughtful commenters and for the new faces who share their thoughts from time to time.
Hooray - the first time a comment of mine has been included, I think.
I would like to thank you for keeping the snidey (though meant as tongue-in-cheek) quotes around "U.S. 'culture'".
Good work, Brian.
I think there has been a sort of misunderstanding which usually happens between Korean and English expressions. You use the quote by the Korean person who says "he/she can hardly accept.." the different American attitudes from a Korean perspective. Now that sounds a bit harsh from an English perspective, but I'm quite sure that either he/she misstated what he/she wanted to say in English or someone didn't properly translate what he wanted to say. A lot of Koreans misuse the word "hardly" for the word "difficult for..". So he or she was probably trying to express that it is difficult to understand that American way of not speaking formally, rather than "hardly" accepting it. This is a prime example of how subtle variations between the way Koreans transcribe English and the way English users use English can cause misunderstanding.
Now, it still doesn't really change the premise of the article, but I think the claims made in the article were rather exaggerated especially considering the claims were made based on a quote that wasn't properly interpreted.
You're right, AK. But let's not forget it was the Korean guy who translated it into English, so it's an example of not understanding the subtleties of English, rather than the otherway around.
And as I wrote in the original post, there's no reason to think the quotes weren't mistranslated, misremembered, or totally fabricated. I think the one from the frat guy is a good enough example for that.
Post a Comment