- 10 Dec 2014 00:31
#14496748
August 8th, 2019
This morning I went into the office and was the second one there. I playfully announced to the only other person, "Ee-Bba!" (Second place!)which I had heard school children shout out in sequence when completing a task like it was a race. The other worker present laughed a little but then told me that I shouldn't use such a phrase because it is a yok (curse word). Instead, of course, the more standard "Ee-deung" (second place, formal) should be used...
"So this really is a curse? One shouldn't say this at all? Are the kids I hear saying this disrespecting me by saying it in my presence?"
"No, that's not the case. You can even say such a thing in front of a teacher but it is... still, too informal. So it is like a curse."
"Why is that?"
"Of course, language naturally changes with time, and new words are constantly created, but speaking too lightly is bad. People will think you are a person that uses words nonchalantly without caring about the meaning...."
"Like a nallali?"
"Yes, exactly."
A nallali is basically a person who always acts in a light, non-serious way and is undependable. It also has the context of a person who has become ensnared in Western culture and is a general good-for-nothing who doesn't work. Apparently at one time it could be used to reference a pimp, it seems, after consulting one source.
I recollect some other times where words that just seemed to be low class (whether in English or in Korean) were dismissed as 'curse words' in the very broad sense when, of course, these were things that I had never conceived of being a 'swear,' but rather was just an informal word.
It seems that there is a mechanic left in some cultures (I imagine it exits in others) that naturally seeks to preserve the integrity of the language, and I have to admit, that I have felt this more than a few times.
I am interested in people's thoughts on language preservation & the concept of what curses are.
"So this really is a curse? One shouldn't say this at all? Are the kids I hear saying this disrespecting me by saying it in my presence?"
"No, that's not the case. You can even say such a thing in front of a teacher but it is... still, too informal. So it is like a curse."
"Why is that?"
"Of course, language naturally changes with time, and new words are constantly created, but speaking too lightly is bad. People will think you are a person that uses words nonchalantly without caring about the meaning...."
"Like a nallali?"
"Yes, exactly."
A nallali is basically a person who always acts in a light, non-serious way and is undependable. It also has the context of a person who has become ensnared in Western culture and is a general good-for-nothing who doesn't work. Apparently at one time it could be used to reference a pimp, it seems, after consulting one source.
I recollect some other times where words that just seemed to be low class (whether in English or in Korean) were dismissed as 'curse words' in the very broad sense when, of course, these were things that I had never conceived of being a 'swear,' but rather was just an informal word.
It seems that there is a mechanic left in some cultures (I imagine it exits in others) that naturally seeks to preserve the integrity of the language, and I have to admit, that I have felt this more than a few times.
I am interested in people's thoughts on language preservation & the concept of what curses are.
August 8th, 2019