I passed by Cheongnyanni(청량리-淸凉里) quite often when I was studying at Kyunghee University. It was in the vicinity of Kyunghee. Cheongnyanni was also the place where I took the airport bus to Incheon airport on the day of departure. However, I must admit that I have problem pronouncing '청량리'. The pronounciation I heard over the public address system in the subway was something like, "이번 역은 청냥니. . ." In my mind, I was wondering why '청냥니' and not '청량리'. I was unable to resolve the conflict between what I saw and heard until I read something in my Korean language textbook.
When the ending consonant of the preceding word is 'ㅇ', the consonant 'ㄹ' in the current word will have to change to 'ㄴ' pronounciation. Hence, it was correct that '청량리' was pronounced '청냥니' and there was nothing wrong with my hearing. Because of Cheongnyanni, I was able to memorise this special deviation and I now pronounce '정리' (arrangement) as '정니' and '등록' (registration) as '등녹'.
The right environment is as important as a good teacher. I remember bargaining with a 아줌마(auntie) in 남대문시장 (Namdaemun Market) in 중국어(Chinese language). The 아줌마 was of course Korean but her Chinese was perfect. There was no way I could gain an upperhand in the bargain although I was very comfortable speaking in Chinese. The market, it seems, is a good environment for language learning. I bet that the 아줌마 did not enrol herself to learn Chinese. She must have practised her Chinese with the many Chinese tourists who patronised her shop over the years. I am also not surprised if she can also speak Japanese or Russian well.
The 아저씨(uncle) whom I met in the PC방(Internet Kiosk) also spoke good Chinese. I might have mistaken myself to be in China. The 아저씨 was no immigrant from China although I thought he was. He told me that he picked up the language because it was taught during his school days and he had the opportunity to practise it with the many Chinese students who visited his PC방.
Sometimes I just wonder, maybe I should stop paying to learn Korean. I might as well set up a shop selling Korean grocery and products in Singapore. I can then practise my Korean language with those Korean 아줌마 who patronise my shop. Isn't it wonderful that I can earn and learn at the same time?
When the ending consonant of the preceding word is 'ㅇ', the consonant 'ㄹ' in the current word will have to change to 'ㄴ' pronounciation. Hence, it was correct that '청량리' was pronounced '청냥니' and there was nothing wrong with my hearing. Because of Cheongnyanni, I was able to memorise this special deviation and I now pronounce '정리' (arrangement) as '정니' and '등록' (registration) as '등녹'.The right environment is as important as a good teacher. I remember bargaining with a 아줌마(auntie) in 남대문시장 (Namdaemun Market) in 중국어(Chinese language). The 아줌마 was of course Korean but her Chinese was perfect. There was no way I could gain an upperhand in the bargain although I was very comfortable speaking in Chinese. The market, it seems, is a good environment for language learning. I bet that the 아줌마 did not enrol herself to learn Chinese. She must have practised her Chinese with the many Chinese tourists who patronised her shop over the years. I am also not surprised if she can also speak Japanese or Russian well.
The 아저씨(uncle) whom I met in the PC방(Internet Kiosk) also spoke good Chinese. I might have mistaken myself to be in China. The 아저씨 was no immigrant from China although I thought he was. He told me that he picked up the language because it was taught during his school days and he had the opportunity to practise it with the many Chinese students who visited his PC방.
Sometimes I just wonder, maybe I should stop paying to learn Korean. I might as well set up a shop selling Korean grocery and products in Singapore. I can then practise my Korean language with those Korean 아줌마 who patronise my shop. Isn't it wonderful that I can earn and learn at the same time?
I enjoyed your pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you =)
ReplyDeleteAh huh, you definitely not considering that...^ ^
ReplyDeleteWhy not? =)
ReplyDelete