Language

One of the hardest parts of learning Korean is remembering the unfamiliar terminology, the friendly terminology, and the regular terminology. There are changes that happen to the words to elevate the status to honorific, but we typically do not cover that. Usually it just involves adding an extra syllable at some point.

In class, we usually learn the honorific terminology. Typically, it is pretty easy to go from one form to another, but it can be confusing for understanding when I hear a verb conjugated and I am left confused until somebody mentions the imperative form. For example, to say thank you to a store owner is 감사합니다 (Kam-Sah-Ham-Ni-Da, but the Ham is rarely pronounced -- lazy kids these days). When I thank my friend for pouring me water, I say 고모와요 (Ko-Mo-Wha-Yo. I had to spell that phonetically because I am not 100% sure and I feel too lazy to look it up). I've been told it is rude to use the second form when I don't know the person, but mostly people understand because I am foreign. But, when I use the unfamiliar terminology with friends, they sometimes take it as an insult. Linguistically, it is as if I don't know them. I am usually forgiven for that as well, but I can't shake that uncertainty -- so I always need to listen to the verbs that other people use before I can really say much just to make sure I don't accidentally insult a friend.

At first, the different forms were very frustrating for me. To a certain degree, they still are. The captain of the tennis team didn't use the friendly form until very recently -- always making me feel like she didn't think of me as a friend. There is also a more honorific way to say Rice, which drives me crazy. Seriously, why does Rice need two forms? It is one of the rare nouns I know of that possesses this ambivalence.

I have started to warm up to the different forms. It feels really good when someone goes to the friendly form only minutes after meeting me. The woman that works at the Bubble Tea store switched to friendly form and her greeting is warmer now.

Another thing that was hard to adjust at first was polite gestures. When dealing with money or pouring alcohol, the hand not being used should rest underneath the arm in use, near the armpit, or be used to help support the hand in use. Additionally, when older people arrive or depart, everyone needs to stand up and bow. On a quick tangent, I hate standing up when I am eating because somebody two months older than me needs to leave. But, I am starting to like it when I get that attention. It is pretty cool to arrive at tennis and all the woman stand up and bow to me. It is pretty cool to hand someone money and see both hands extended as a sign of respect.

A woman last week handed me some change back with both hands and bowed her head. I felt like a mob boss receiving protection money.