Traveling Beans

The "Good" (Correct?) Way to Speak a Language or For the Culturally Superior

Being in Seoul is like being transplanted to another country --or maybe just to any other big, cosompolitan metropolis: a Starbucks whenever you need one; English translations on the subways announcing each stop; no questions about your funny Korean accent, just polite indifference; English spoken at unexpected turns; big tall non-Koreans and no strange stares.

I can't tell whether it feels like such a big difference because Mokpo is that much more...Korean, my southern province, Jeollanam-do, is that much more Korean, Seoul is just a unique bustling world-class bubble on this peninsula, or I'm just homesick.

Which is why I'm writing on Traveling Beans: I wonder where Hilary is and if she is homesick or lonely and therefore at times feeling unsafe and vulnerable even though she knows she is perfectly fine. Kristofer said he sure feels that way at times. Does it hit you, too Nicole?

Of course none of us are completely alone, we all have people. We even have each other at times. However, for example, even though Kristofer and I talk often, after 2, 10, or 30 minutes we still must say good bye and go to bed while the other starts their day on their continent.

At least each of us have a good knowledge of one of the major languages in our respective countries (Hilary - Guatemala - Spanish, Kristofer - Ghana - English, Nicole - NZ- English, Me - Korea - Korean and Konglish though I think I'm better at Korean than Konglish). What is that like for all of you? What have you been learning about that language in that country? How is it different from what you've been used to? How has it challenged the paradigms you had of that language before?

I ask this because at the hostel I'm staying at I met a guy from Uruguay who most recently lived in Spain, but just says he is from Spain. That is most convenient for him as he searches for a teaching gigs here because people only want a native speaker teacher. And of course native Spanish speakers are from Spain. Ironically, tonight he was telling me that if I plan on going to Barcelona be prepared to not be able to use much Spanish since most people communicate in Catalan. This was also in the same conversation about the rich diversity of the Spanish language --for example, when we went to Cuba people thought Hilary was Mexican, Emily was Dominicana, and they knew Kristofer was Puerto Rican, all because of their different Spanish accents.

I've been learning just how diverse English is, too. However, in Korea, up until now, American English has been the standard. There is somewhat of a regional preference --I would say something like the midwest or Pacific Northwest where there isn't too much of an accent. Or you could be like me and not have an accent because when I came to Korea in the 5th grade, my friends at my foreign school made me very aware of my Lowell "ahs" (r) and so I can control it whenever I'm in a formal setting. It's a good skill to have because I heard about an English teacher who got fired when parents and students complained about his braces and southern accent (*note: this was near Seoul --the closer to the institutions of power and money, the fiercer and more intense are many expectations.) Although rumor has it that the TOEIC (or the TOEFL? well, one of the international English language tests) is switching from 100% American English to 70% British English and 30% American English. One of my hypotheses for the change is the increase of business with and interest in India, which uses a more British English. Though I'm sure India has its own brands and mixings.

Like in Ghana, where Kristofer said he is enjoying the way they speak English (I think he said it feels a little more fun, casual, and intimate). However he alsomentioned some American foreign students who commented on the "subpar" English in Ghana, assuming that anyone who spoke or wrote well had to have clearly studied abroad in America. This sounded similar to a letter to the editor I read in the Korea times. An English teacher wrote a harsh letter complaining that "English should be left to those who speak it." In other words, Koreans should stop trying to use sayings they do not know how to use properly, and should just leave English to the Americans or native speakers. Way to go Mr. English teacher. So much for being a cultural ambassador.

Another ETA friend told me that her school wanted her to change her test questions because it was not in the "style" that students were used to. They were used to a Korean-style English. One may argue over that, but I truly believe Korea is in many ways bilingually English; that it has developed its on English style, its own accent...maybe even dialect? If that could be acknowledged and embraced, maybe the English teacher market in Korea would get more competitive and we could weed out the ignorant Mr. English teachers like the one who wrote to the Korea Times. Maybe when Korea embraces that it is creating its own brand of English (its own saturi, whis is more accurately translated = accent/dialect) native speaker English teachers are no longer needed to perfect sayings and smooth out the Korean tongue, but are for fun and enriching cultural exchange and to work with Koreans --not just to look down on Koreans because of poetical, "non sensical" English words found on stationary and t-shirts. Maybe when foreigners (non-Koreans) embrace that there is not just one way to speak English, they will be a lot more open-minded, less critical, and a lot happier with many aspects of their lives here.

So maybe what I'm getting to is that a good way to speak to a language --since so many people here in Korea are very obsessed with their pronunciation or how best to learn English-- might be to learn how to listen to different languages. Maybe the "foreigners" or non-Korean English teachers could start. If they take the time to listen to the Koreans who speak English, they'd realize that Korea is pushing past America and moving away from its monolingualism, and mind you, Korea is a culturally homogenous country-- something America is stubbornly holding onto hand in hand with language oppression against Spanish and other languages.

I say this because I am tired of sly comments excused as culture shock or homesickness. Comments about Koreans needing to learn to fix their pronunciation or "Wow! This is great! This stationary actually makes sense for a change!" If time was taken to consider and better understand the Korean language, these people would see why Koreans speak English the way they do, just like Spanish speakers and French speakers speak English the way they do.

This is what I see behind those words: orientalism, ethnocentrism, and a (false) cultural superiority. It's kind of like when you're not racist because you have a few black and yellow friends, oh but you are in ways you don't know or mean to be.

I hate labels and boxes, but paradims help to highlight problems and at the same time push for and reveal more questions and suggestions for something better. So what's my something better? Well, I already said it, should we begin considering Korea a country moving quickly towards its own kind of English bilingualism? Maybe cultural responsiveness is more than just a willingness to live in another country.

posted by jacquelina @ 10:48 PM