Littlelanguagefox - THE LITTLE LANGUAGE FOX

So I’m in the final semester of my undergrad.

Which means its grad school application time for me (I’m starting a little late because of personal reasons (-: ) Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there on the great blue gradblr had any recommendations or tips for writing a personal statement? 

language learning is basically 95% mistakes with 5% inspiration

i’ve spent the past seven and a half years saying “qué peña” instead of “qué pena”.

me, a whole late bilingual, has been walking around saying “what a ROCK!” instead of “what a PITY!”

qué pena…

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (via books-n-quotes)

what knowing a second language is like

your brain when you don’t need to be using your second language: i am a font of knowledge; no word or grammatical form can escape my grasp!

your brain when you do need to actually know shit: the ancient greek verb for “become full of worms” is ἐκζωόομαι and this is the only word you know now

When Writer’s Block Meets Imposter Syndrome

So I am at that point in my apps where I have to write a personal statement and I am S T U C K. I can talk and talk about language and how much it means to me, when I put pen to paper, suddenly I feel less valid and like my ideas and interests aren’t all that interesting.

I know that I shouldn’t be as nervous as I am. I know that I am a good scholar and that I worked really hard to even be able to consider going to grad school. I know that I can do this.

I think I just need some more perspective. 

what is the january mood?

in this house we do grandma activities

존댓말 and 반말

This lesson is to learn the differences between 존댓말 and 반말. In addition to that you will learn some Korean honorifics.

There are three politeness levels in Korean. Here is an example of them:

Words ending with -ᄇ니다 are the most polite/ formal. (존댓말)

Words ending with -아요, 어요, 여요 are slightly less formal but still polite. (존댓말)

Words ending with -아, 어, 여 are informal and far more casual. (반말)

Some examples:

고맙습니다 - 고마워요 - 고마워 (Thank you)

반갑습니다 - 반가워요 - 반가워 (Nice to meet you)

알겠습니다 - 알겠어요 - 알겠어 (I understand)

When to use 존댓말 and 반말

You must use 존댓말 if:

The person you are speaking to is older than you

The person you are speaking to you did not give you permission to use 반말 with them

You don’t know or just met the person you are speaking to

You are in a professional environment

You can use 반말 if:

The person you are speaking to if younger than you

The person you are speaking to is older but gave you permission to use 반말 with them

You are the same age as the person you are speaking to

You are writing or speaking to yourself

How to change 존댓말 to 반말

Luckily it is relatively easy to change 존댓말 to 반말. Here’s how:

Present tense:

-아/어/여요 —> -아/어/여

-이에요 / -예요 –> -이야 / -야

Past tense:

-았/었/였어요 —> -았/었/였어

Future tense:

-(으)ᄅ 거예요 –> -(으)ᄅ 거야

Honorifics Vocab:

씨 is added after someone’s name to politely address them.

아줌마 is used to address middle-aged women.

아저씨 is used to address middle-aged men.

선생님 is used to address your senior at work, school, etc… It can also mean “teacher” and “doctor.”

후배 is used to talk about someone who is your junior at work or school. However, you don’t address them as this directly.

언니 is used only by females. This literally means “older sister” but can be used to addressed other older females.

누나 is only used by males. Like 언니, it means “older sister” and can be used to address older females.

오빠 is only used by female. It means “older brother” but can be used to address other older males.

형 is only used by males. It means “older brother” but can be used to address other older males.

More ways to learn:

Video by GO! Billy Korean

Lesson by Talk to Me in Korean

Lesson by kstreet Manila

Notre ami le Subjonctif