How Living Overseas Changes Your English
by Richardson ~ May 2nd, 2007. Filed under: America, Korean Culture.Peter at Japundit has a post on how living in Japan changes your English, noting that his speech slowed down and he eventually substituted words that he normally used with words more common in Japan (e.g., “tissue” rather than “Kleenex,” etc.).
In my experience, this is true for expats living overseas in most places if there is a large degree of interaction with locals and little with one’s own countrymen, or even for those moving from one part of the country to another. For my first year in Korea in the late 1990s, I went pretty much native, due both to a desire to learn the language and culture, but also for financial reasons; the GI Bill at that time covered a boarding house (하숙집, ha-suk-chip) and Korean food, but not much else.
Except for calls back to the States, which were few since email was available, I literally would go for months at a time without speaking English to native speakers (and it was an odd relief to be able to do so). Like Peter, I found that my speech slowed down, I stopped using idioms or figures of speech nearly as much, I used less complicated words and sentence structures, and even (for the most part) stopped cursing. I adapted rather than be perpetually misunderstood by most, but on the downside that probably only reinforced what many Koreans learned in dumbed-down English classes.
I still occasionally find myself using Konglish, like referring to the AC (air conditioning) as the “air-con” or the remote control at a “remo-con.” 아이구!
Jumping back to U.S. regional differences, in the Midwest “pop” refers to Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc., what most of the rest of the country calls “soda,” or more generically, soft drinks. I left the Midwest when I went into the Air Force, and quickly learned that most people had no idea of what you were talking about if you said “pop.” On the other hand, many from the south used “Coke” to refer to any type of soda – they could be drinking Sprite and refer to it as a Coke.
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:29 am
Interesting. “air-con” and “remo-con” are common in Japan as well.
When I went to the US, I had no idea what “Kleenex” and “XEROX” were. They turned out “tissue” and “(photo)copy”.
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:44 am
I’m sure Engrish and Konglish have many similarities, and may have even cross-pollinated.
Korean’s have also incorporated other foreign words, although not used with the same meaning. My first week in Korea I ended up in a conversation with some roommates about the word “arbeit.” In Korea that term means “part-time” employment.
They were certain it was an English word and didn’t believe me when I told them it was German for “work” until they got out a dictionary. Having lived in Germany for a couple of years, and being familiar with such phrases as, “arbeit macht frei,” I already knew what the dictionary would say (if correct).
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
“arbeit”! lol It’s common in Japan as well. We call it “arubaito” and we know the word originates from the German word. Recently, “part” is also commonly used and it originates English words “part-time job”.
I just found an interesting articles on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_words_of_Portuguese_origin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gairaigo_and_wasei-eigo_terms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_words_of_Dutch_origin
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:17 am
According to this Wikipedia article[in Japanese],
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/アルバイト
The term “arbeit” or “arubaito” was first used by students in Meiji period (1868 - 1912) in Japan. It is interesting to see “Sushi” and “Anime(manga)”, “Samurai”, “Ninja” are becoming English words nowadays.
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I drink pop while sitting on a couch, too.
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Do you clean your clothes in the warsher and worry about nucular war? Do you “get ready” or “get around”?
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I, of course, have the opposite problem, having grown up in Korea and learned English later (although, if I have an accent, it is likely Queens accent — Queens, NY, not the female monarch of Great Britain).
But when I speak to my parents, I must “Koreanize” English words. For example, I am perfectly capable of saying “Virginia” but say “버지니아” (Bu-Jee-Nee-Ah).
By the way, here’s a few more pop vs. soda things: pocket book vs. purse; sneakers vs. tennis shoes (or just “tenn-is”); plstic bag vs. plastic sack.
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
“Do you clean your clothes in the warsher and worry about nucular war? “
No-o-o-o-o. You must be from a different midwestern state, Wisconsin, perhaps?
“Do you “get ready” or “get around”?”
Uh, get ready, I guess. I do get around to doing something, like the laundry or mopping the floors.
“sneakers vs. tennis shoes (or just “tenn-is”)
Just “tennis” sounds Konglish.
First, masturbation, then anagrams, and now regional dialects. And I thought you guys were all serious.
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:04 pm
http://www.dprkstudies.org/2005/12/01/missing-sk-stem-cell-researcher-the-next-nk-leader/
… and further south. Where I used to live, no one considers Wisconsin to be a part of the Midwest.
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:20 pm
I’m from a Midwestern state, and we definitely did not consider Wesconsin to be part of the Midwest! Too far north and those people talked funny, too. Heck, Ellanoise was a far-away and strange land, although it was just a short trip down Highway Farhty-Fahr (this is a dead giveaway as to which city I’m from, if you know your regional dialects and Ellanoise didn’t do it for you).
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:49 pm
I lived in the real Midwest once — that would be Iowa. Iowans are real proud that out-of-state news announcers come to Iowa to learn the “proper,” “no accent” of Iowa (even though that is an accent also).
May 5th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
[…] Has living overseas effected your English speaking ability?- OFK reminds everyone that North Korea has now gone over 20 days in their most recent violation of […]