I'm working right now as a rater for a test of spoken English. The majority of our test takers are Korean, and I have a long list of the most common or frustrating errors Korean speakers of English make. Here's just a taste:
zero = jeh-roh
best = bast
energy = anerj
problem = frovlem
prepare = frefare
woman = ooman
city = shitty
sitting = shitting (these two are the most unfortunate...)
www = double double double
12 (twelve) = twenty
1:29pm = one hour and twenty-nine fee.m.
zoo = joo
enjoy = enzoy (why the switched /j/ and /z/ sounds??)
The absolute most confounding mistake is frovlem. I don't understand why the /p/ and /b/ in "problem" are substituted with /f/ and /v/; why two sounds that do exist in the Korean language are substituted with two sounds that don't exist in the Korean language. Why???
Just for fun, here are some quotes from Monday:
- "This concludes our shitty tour for the day."
- "In local news, shitty officials have announced a new energy saving plan."
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oh my. HAHAHAH.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite is:
ReplyDelete"Oh Shun Shitty gah jah! Bitchy loh!
And for those who grew up in MD" Mong Go Merry Mole (Montgomery Mall)
And it's funny how Koreans can't get bad and bed.
OMG, Su. My parents have said those exact words about OC!
ReplyDeleteMy mom also took me to the music store and asked the guy, "Where is your shit music?" The guy raised his eyebrow, so my mom said it again, with emphasis: "Where is your SHIT music? SHIT?" I finally realized she was asking for SHEET music. OMG the horror...
HAHAHA my dad always says "pazamas" and it's so funny. i remember talking with one of my older cousins before and getting hung up on "year" and "wood." "ear" and "oohwood." heeeheeee
ReplyDeleteI had a fob friend who went to a super strict South Carolina catholic school when he came to the States. Some gems from classroom conversations:
ReplyDeleteTaewoo: "Wa-reh duin this weekend?"
Friend: "We're going to Myrtle beach this weekend with my parents."
Taewoo: "Relly? I heard Myrtle Bitch is one of the best bitches in the world."
Taewoo: *turns to classmate* "Hey, can I have a shit of paper?"
Friend: "what?!"
Taewoo: "I don't have any paper, can I have a shit?"
Friend: "uh..."
Taewoo: "You know! A piss of paper!"
LOL, Rob!
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, this one conversation from high school has stuck with me forever and makes me LOL every time I think of it:
My brother: I'm bored.
FOB friend: Sigh. So do I.
HAHAH... I am laughing too hard...
ReplyDeletemy mom always says "zaccuji"... puzzles me so much since she can obviously say both z and j, but interchanges them.
I can't think of any other fob friends' quotes, but my mom used to always say "lawn the mow" and she used to call Doogie Howser "Howgie Dooser".
Hahaha, Tina! That reminds me of another one1 My mom could never pronounce Abercrombie and Fitch. One time she said "Fabercrommie and...Bitch?" Hahahaha...
ReplyDelete