Konglish (Korean: 콩글리시) is the use of English words (or words derived from English words) in a Korean context. The words, having initially been taken from English language, are either actual English words in Korean context, or are made from a combination of Korean and English words. It is considered a sublanguage (linguistics). ^[1] The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Origins of Konglish

Much Konglish appeared following the Korean War when US troops mixed with Korean troops and English vocabulary, real and slang, permeated Korean.

Words such as chan-seu (찬스: "chance," "opportunity") and hom-reon (홈런: "home run") are adoptions of English words that are fairly faithful to their original meanings. In most cases, however, they are not exact counterparts to the original English words. For example, chan-seu is not used in the sense of "chance" as in "luck", but has an expanded meaning that covers bargain sales and other promotions.

Some words derive from regional or unusual varieties of English. For example, hat-ke-i-keu (핫케이크; "hotcake") is the Korean word for the dish more familiar as "pancake". A haen-deu-pon (핸드폰; "handphone") is more familiar as a "cellphone" or a "mobile phone" to most speakers of English. "Hotcake" is more popular in some regional varieties of English, and indeed is used in the popular expression "to sell like hotcakes". "Handphone" is used, notably, in Singaporean English. Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore. ...

In the 20th Century, A large class of Konglish words came into Korean usage by way of Japanese. These include words that originate from English and other languages, were modified or transformed in meaning from the original language as they were adopted into Japanese, and then were adopted into Korean usage. Because of this, many of these words were made to conform to Japanese phonological features, and therefore can be unrecognisable.

• wa-i-sya-sseu (와이샤쓰; "shirt; dress shirt", from Eng. "white shirt"; J. ワイシャツ waishatsu) in standard usage, "wa-i-syeo-cheu"—a form closer to the English pronunciation—is preferred
• ppa-kku (빠꾸; "back") not standard usage

As longer English words were often abridged when they were adopted into Japanese, many words of English origin show up in Korean as follows:

• a-pa-teu (아파트; "apartment"; J. アパート apāto). This word is used to mean not only individual suites, but "apartment building" or "apartment complex".
• mi-sing (미싱; "sewing machine"; J. ミシン mishin) in standard usage, 재봉틀 "jae-bong-teul", a Sino-Korean word, is preferred
• te-re-bi (테레비; "television"; J. テレビ terebi) in standard usage, "tel-le-bi-jeon" is also used

Some words came from other European languages, but are generally classified as Konglish as well.

• a-reu-ba-i-teu (아르바이트; "part-time job", from German Arbeit, work; J. アルバイト arubaito, with same meaning as Korean)
• ho-peu (호프; "bar; pub", from German Hof, courtyard)
• brau (브라우; a term used for some beer drinking establishments, from German Brau, brew)

The non-standard expression o-ke-ba-ri (rough synonym for "OK", "That's good") most probably came from a combination of English "OK" and Japanese "okimari (おきまり; to decide)". There is also an opinion that it came from the English phrase "Okay, buddy."

Konglish is commonly mistaken as the term for Korean Romanization. Korean romanization means using letters of the Latin alphabet to write Korean language, which in Korea is written using Hangul, and sometimes Hanja. ...

Similar words exist for the mixture of English and other languages, notably Spanglish. It has been suggested that Hispanicisms_in_English be merged into this article or section. ...

Elements of Konglish

In South Korea, the term Konglish is used to refer a variety of English spoken with a Korean accent. Its pronunciation is closest to American English, influenced by U.S. TV shows and movies, with some British English elements. This makes it the second Asian variety of English based on American English pronunciation after Philippine English. But there are still some differences: For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... British English (BrE, en-GB) is a broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere. ... Philippine English is the variery of English used in the Republic of the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. ...

• Words ending with consonants, except b, d, g, and s, are appended with a schwa.
• Final consonant clusters add a schwa at the end, while at the beginning of the word, a schwa is inserted between the consonants.
• Voiced "th" (ð) like them is pronounced "d" and voiceless "th" (θ) like thrill is pronounced "s".
• l and r are allophones in Korean. Final and initial r are sometimes pronounced as l. Speech is sometimes non-rhotic.
• Unaccented vowels a, i, o, and u in final syllables before consonants, except, l and r, are pronounced in full vowels.
• Fs are pronounced p or h, since there is no f sound in Korean.
• Vs are pronounced b, since there is no v sound in Korean.
• Zs are pronounced j, since there is no z sound in Korean.
• Rs are pronounced as alveolar flaps [ɾ].

In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean: An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in any language, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel. ... In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean: An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in any language, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel. ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and non-rhotic, depending on when the phoneme (the letter r) is pronounced. ...

Korean Immigrant "Konglish"

Another aspect of Konglish is the inclusion of English words in Korean sentences, or the use of Korean words in English sentences. This phenomenon can be commonly seen in the culture of second and third generation Korean-Americans. Here, the supplanted words are often loan words used to fill the gap of a limited Korean or English vocabulary. These borrowings may be seen as being used to compensate for a deficiency (or perceived deficiency) in either English or Korean. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

This behavior, referred to as code-switching by linguists, may be an expression of the speaker’s desire to be included in either the English or Korean speaking community even though this speaker lacks complete fluency in the respective language. In this case the use of a mixed Korean Immigrant Konglish can be seen as an attempt to gain entry into the social group even though there may be something of a lack of language ability. Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between one or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. ...

Another possible rationale for the use of English words in Korean sentences or Korean words in English sentences may simply be that these linguistic borrowings help the speaker to better convey their meaning than if only one language were used. Because of cultural differences between American and Korean society, there may be no single corresponding word to concisely express an idea in the other language. It may, for example, be simpler to merely say something such as “I helped my father because of hyo(효)” than to say “I helped my father out because of a deep sense of traditional Confucian filial piety”. This is especially true when both the speaker and listener are familiar with the borrowed term. Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... Filial piety is extended into the afterlife. ...

Finally, this form of Korean Immigrant Konglish may be used between fellow Korean Immigrants who wish to express their unique identity that is neither wholly of the adoptive country nor wholly Korean, but a complex fusion of both. This should not to be thought, however, that these speakers are trilingual speaking Korean, English, and this form of Konglish with equal fluency. Generally people who speak Konglish lack the ability to speak one of either of the languages of English or Korean fluently. It is, however, correct to assess that by speaking some from of Konglish (speaking neither English or Korean), these speakers are signaling their membership in this special Korean Immigrant subculture. In so doing, speakers of this type of Konglish act to exclude both Korean speakers who lack an understanding of English, and English speakers lacking the ability to comprehend Korean. In this way, Korean Immigrant Konglish has become the unique language of this cross cultural second and third generation immigrant group.

Misuse of English

It is also worthy of note that the term "Konglish" has taken on a second meaning among the English-speaking ex-patriate population of South Korea. It is used commonly to refer to misuse of English, typically on signs, menus, t-shirts and stationery, often with comical results.

A typical example of misuse of English, now regarded commonly as "konglish".

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 1. ...

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Contemporary culture of South Korea
• Japlish
• Honglish or Honkish (Hong Kong: based on Cantonese)
• List of dialects of the English language

This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... The contemporary culture of South Korea derives from the traditional culture of Korea, but since the 1948 division of Korea, it has developed separately from North Koreas culture. ... An example of Engrish noted in Tokyo in the year 2000 Engrish is a slang term which, in its purest form, refers to poor-quality attempts by professional Japanese writers to create English words and phrases; whether in mistranslation of an original English text, or in an attempt to create... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Cantonese is a major dialect group or language of the Chinese language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... This is a list of varieties of the English language. ...

References

April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ...

External links

• Academic paper on Konglish: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5067/intro.htm