A 23-year-old American woman who entered Korea on May 16 to teach English has tested positive for swine flu.
That would boost the number of local swine flu cases to five — three Koreans and a Vietnamese airline passenger.
Anyway, this has some people spooked, especially with nearby Japan — which also conducts pretty stringent quarantines — experiencing a skyrocketing number of swine flu cases. Accordingly, health authorities have decided to strengthen airport quarantines.
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Is this the end of American English teachers in Korea?
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Instead of America exporting crazy cow, now is it sick pig?
Won’t someone PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?!
That is an excellent question “Mao”, especially if they were smoking dope or eating beef just before getting sick.
” Is this the end of American English teachers in Korea?
No it’s a done deal, American English dominates in Korea.
I still can’t get a coffee in starbucks without contorting my vowels to “haaht” instead of “hot” in order to be understood.
However, i digress since I suppose you were referreing to the nationality of the English teachers rather than the brand of english they teach
Ah, yes. Hat sauce. Been there.
Why don’t you try saying “hot” in Korean?
Argheiri,
Blame Americans if you want, but Koreans who aren’t fluent in English are the ones who make the conscious decision to pronounce ‘hot’ like ‘hat’.
“Why don’t you try saying “hot” in Korean?”
Good point. You can’t complain about the service in English since English is not an official language in Korea.
Actually, in some situations, I only wish we could use Korean. There’s a ton of stuff that Koreans only use Hanguelized foreign words for (“Chocolate shake,” “curry”, etc.). Oddly enough, these words are the ones with which I have the most trouble being understood.
I always imagine a Frenchman in America, asking what the score is in the Notre Dame football game, and being met with blank stares.
Granfalloon,
Imagine the fun an Italian must have ordering coffee at Starbucks:
“3.50$ for milk, two different prices for a large coffee (and one isn’t even large) and why do they only give you one cup when you order twenty?”
Someguy,
Who on earth is blaming the americans for it. I stated it as a mere fact/opinion of fact, and the mere point I was making was that american english clealry dominates here, to an extent I haven’t seen elsewhere in Asia.
As to you second statement, did you read my comment, if you did you might realise how stupid your response is. I said I had to convolute my vowels to be understood. So according to you they made a concious decision to ignore my international english accent. Well in that I case I feel so much better, that they deliberately ignored me!!
In any case, had I been referring to their pronunciation, people rarerly make a concious decision to use a particular accent, particularly in a starbucks order a coffee scenario, they use the one they are accustomed to whether that be from their teachers or from popular media. Do you really believe the starbucks staff think Oh its a foreigner I know I’ll choose a north american accent today.
Colontos #7 and Someguy #9
Again, I didn’t complain merely made an observation of the cultural dominance of the north american accent here, and in any case of course I can complain if the service is offered to me in English, without any request on my part, and WHEN I DO IN FACT ORDER IN KOREAN, BUT THE RESPONSE IS IN ENGLISH (how do they even know that I speak english), then having done so they should be able to understand the response.
Since you mention it, this is particularly galling when I ask for the variety (hot/iced) in the first place IN KOREAN, but generally, get a response in english, “hot or iced”, ONLY TWO CHOICES, but when I answer HOT, they still can’t work out which of the two choice I have chosen.
In any case as was clear in the first place, my comment was an observation on the pervasiveness of American English here, but now you’ve set me off…grrrr
Particularly, when on earlier posts idiots here would rather teach their students that queue is a french word, if asked, that they’ll never need, rather than make them able to function in the wider international english world. Or indeed function at passport in incheon, where the line in front of the desks, wonder of wonders, says “Queue here”
grrrr again
#10 thanks granfalloon, I totally concur, although with curry I think it was adopted from Japan, and if you think japanese you’ll find it easier to get through. “Kare risu”
“I was making was that american english clealry dominates ”
…and seem to suggest the reason they don’t understand your pronunciation of ‘hot’ is because their own pronunciation of ‘hot’ is influenced by American English, adding a very New Englandish ‘haaht’ to drive your point.
Your Korean is probably not as good as you think it is.
You really are desperately digging aren’t you. I didn’t seem to suggest it, I clearly stated it. “No it’s a done deal, American English dominates in Korea.” and gave a simple example, which is as heard, I have absolutely no idea if that is New England or not, and had to be repeated in the same way in order to be understood. You will note Mr Mao concurred to the same experience. You still haven’t explained your belief that the staff made a conscious decision not to understand an international english pronunciation, but instead make another stupid statement “Your korean is probably not as good as you think it is”, as if my korean ability, which is very poor and I know it, is somehow relevant to my ability to say the word “hot” in english, and a koreans ability to understand the word in english.
Funny thing is it just happened again between my posts, ordered a “copy latte” and got the “iced or hat” question IN ENGLISH to which I answered in english.
Do I take it you disagree with my clearly stated opinion that american english dominates in korea, if you are I think I would have to conclude you haven’t lived here for some time, or are totally oblivious to what you hear.
My korean is poor, however my pronunciation is not, and it’s amazing how well I’m understood until a korean turns round and looks at me and goes into oh no its a foreigner I don’t understand foreigners mode.
Or for example, in a taxi on my own the taxi driver always understand where I want to go, but if I am a with a korean they look with puzzlement, ignoring me until the korean says something. Similarly, in a restaurant, if I have the time its sometimes fun to tell my companion not to answer, and wait it out until the taxi driver / waitress decides that maybe they can undeerstand me after all, and guess what I always get what I ordered, where I wanted to go, so I guess your quite pathetic, your korean is bad that’s why they don’t understand your english theory doesn’t quite stand up.
By the way, why are you so defensive over a simple observation that American English dominates here. Its a simple fact not really worthy of your hosility
“Blame americans if you want” – when no blame was suggested
“Can’t complain about service in english” – when no complaint was made, and the english was forced on me, not instigated by me.
“Your korean is probably not as good as you think it is” when I have never ever in this post suggested my korean ability is good – see the debates with theKorean where I argue against his ridiculous theory that you can’t have an opinion about korea unless you can speak it.
correction “in this blog” niot “in this post.
Um, #17, I am a New Englander. We most certainly do NOT say haaht. What Koreans say for “hot” when speaking “English”, sounds like “heart” to me. We say something more like “hawt”. Funny how people THINK they can do a Boston accent by saying “Bahstin” and dropping R’s. Too bad, it is pronounced “Bawstun”.
It is people from places like “Rahchester, New Yark” who kill the short o vowel.
Anyway, on the subject of this post, I hope no one is getting too scared about this ‘pandemic’.
My wife is, she’s just now informed me its up to 21 cases connected to the two foreigners…..
by the way yes “heart” sounds about right.
@#18– I always wonder if taxi drivers and waitresses think I am “joking” when I say where I want to go/what I want to eat and they conveniently ‘don’t understand’ me.
During the 2002 World Cup, the taxis in Ulsan all had the free translation service in them– not sure if they do everywhere now. I told the driver I wanted to go to 시내소방서 (the downtown fire station, which is a landmark in Ulsan). The driver immediately ignored my request and handed me his cell phone with some volunteer asking me in English where I wanted to go. I answered 시내소방서. The person on the other end asked me why I said that– my answer “because that’s where I want to go.” End of that free “translation” service and start of my belief that some Koreans think that waygookin are merely CONFUSED when they request anything, no matter how reasonable the request may be.
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