Tips on reading in a foreign language

So this post is a sort of addendum to the post I made a while back about my experiences reading 해를 품은 달.  Unfortunately, for the time being, my Korean “studying” has dwindled down to reading a page or two every night out of the couple Korean books I own.  I haven’t touched a grammar book in six months or so (this I do not advise) and, yet, I still feel myself improving.  Slowly, yes, but there’s improvement nonetheless and that’s much better than stagnation.

I think once in a while, it’s probably a good idea to take a break from grammar books and their “artificial” passages/dialogues and switch to primary reading material.  News articles, short stories, novels, nonfiction books, magazine articles etc. can really broaden your knowledge in general, not to mention your knowledge of the language you are learning. There are a couple things worth keeping in mind if you want to maximize your learning through reading primary material (novels, in particular) without getting bogged down and discouraged.

1. Choose something above your reading level.  I know it’s tempting to go for the easy stuff.  I’m guilty of that.  But you won’t be doing yourself any favors if you choose to read something you can fully understand!  I like reading manhwa just for fun but I barely learn anything except for a few words here and there.  해품달, on the other hand, is clearly above my reading level but I understand enough to keep me motivated to continue reading; and at the same time, I’m learning a lot!  I would not, however, suggest reading Charles Dickens or something equally “heavy” in Korean because it could get really discouraging.  There’s a lot of trial and error involved in choosing the right book.
2. Choose something that you are familiar with.  For example, a book that you’ve read in English that has been translated into your language of study.  I, personally, prefer to read material that was originally written in Korean as opposed to translated into Korean, so I tend to go for novels that have been made into dramas (e.g. Coffee Prince).  I find that having at least a vague idea of the plot prevents me from feeling completely lost in the middle of the book.
3. Don’t wait until you’re “ready.”  By this, I mean don’t put off trying to read primary material until you feel like you’ve reached a certain degree of fluency in your language of study.  In Korean, I would say maybe six months to a year’s worth of study gives you sufficient familiarity with the language to allow you to start venturing into the world of manhwa and short articles.  Of course this depends on the foreign language, but I think you need to be comfortable with at least basic grammar before jumping into reading books and such.
4. Read and re-read.  You’ll probably misunderstand a lot of things in your first round of reading.  Take notes and look them over.  Then put them away and come back after two weeks, re-read the same passage/article, and see if you have processed the new vocabulary and grammar.  I often find that what I read the first time around is not exactly what I read the second time around.  I usually have a better grasp of the content after re-reading.
5. Take copious notes.  Just in case this was not obvious, it is important that you do not read passively.  Since I usually don’t read my grammar book when I’m reading novels and vice versa, I have to make up for that lack of “instruction” on my own by looking up words and grammar points online.  I usually only read a page or two out of 해품달 everyday but that amounts to about 40-60 minutes of study.  My reading “cycle” usually goes something like this:

(a)  Read the passage.  First, I simply read straight through and try to grasp as much as I can without looking up anything.

(b)  Re-read and look up all unfamiliar words and grammar.  I jot down every single one of these in my notebook and look them up online.  Blue ink for new words, red ink for new grammar.  I separate my notes by paragraph and add the page number of the original source next to it too.

(c)  Re-read again.  This time, I read for overall comprehension.

(d)  Repeat.  And finally, I move onto the next couple pages.

It may seem like brute force but it definitely works for me and it’s a welcome change from those grammar books.  (Though I really should get back to my Integrated Korean; it’s been far too long.)

Happy 1st Birthday

…to my blog!

I started blogging about my Korean studies on February 16, 2011.  I’m not sure what’s more surprising – the fact that Korean is now, in all veracity, an irrevocably integral part of my daily life and existence (dramatic, but true) or the fact that I’ve somehow managed to harp on about how much I love it for an entire year.  Heh.

More than anything, I’ve come to realize how much I treasure being able to share my thoughts, discoveries, worries, and musings about language learning to a wonderful community of fellow language learners.  Whether you are a silent reader or a fellow blogger (or both), I’m glad you guys are here with me!  *Group hug*

V + 자꾸나

Hwon and Woon are lost in the forest.  Night is upon them and a misty rain begins to fall.

제운은 아랑곳없이 눈을 감은 채 고개를 숙이고 주위의 움직임을 읽었다.  먼 곳을 보던 훤이 산자락에 있는 희미한 불빛을 발견하고 반갑게 말했다.

“아!  잠시 저기서 비를 피하자꾸나.”

-정을궐, 해를 품은 달

First off, here’s a structure most of you are probably very familiar with:  “V + 자” – the casual way to propose something you want to do with someone else.

예) 먹자! = Let’s eat!

예) 가자! = Let’s go!

-자꾸나 is equivalent to -자.  It can mean “Let’s…” or “How about… [we do something]?” but it tends to sound more intimate and is often used by an older person when addressing a younger person.  (In this case, Woon is older but Hwon is the king.)

예) 한잔 하자(꾸나) = Let’s have a drink.

예)  잠시 저기서 비를 피하자(꾸나). = Let us seek shelter from the rain for a moment over there.

V + 아/어/여 다오

Since I really love sageuks and “old” Korean, I think it would be fun to occasionally post some grammar points and vocabulary from the dramas and novels I’m currently reading.  I’m not sure how accurate some of these posts might be, so feel free to correct me if I get something wrong!  Most of this is just a summary of stuff I’ve read while browsing Korean language forums and such.

I think I’ll just post a few of my favorite passages from 해를 품은 달 and 성균관 유생들의 나날 as examples of the grammar/vocabulary that I want to write about (nothing spoilery, I promise!)  Without further ado:

“왕인 이 몸에 주술을 걸었다면 넌 능지처참*을 당할 것이다.  말해보아라. 주술을 건 것이냐?”

월이 놀란 눈으로 다시 훤을 돌아보았다.  그의 눈빛이 따뜻하게 웃고 있었다.

“아니면 내 마음이 왜 이런 것이냐?  설명해 다오.  목소리를….., 들려 다오.” 

*능지처참:  death by dismemberment 

- from 해를 품은 달

I cheated a little bit in that 다오 is an example of 하오체 which isn’t exclusively heard in sageuks (it can be heard in contemporary Korean and I’ve read it here and there on the internet but I’m not sure how common it is overall).  It is quite commonly heard in sageuks and gives the dialogue a more “old-fashioned” feel.

It’s pretty easy to tell from context how 다오 is used.  Basically, it’s a semi-informal way of requesting someone to do something.  Examples:

예) 돈 좀 빌려 다오. = Lend me some money.
예) 창문을 조금만 열어 다오. = Open the window a bit.

Two updates in a day?  My oh my.  I hope this means I’ll get back into the habit of blogging regularly.

해를 품은 달 and reading in Korean

Jung Eun-gwol, the author of 해를 품은 달 and 성균관 유생들의 나날, sure knows how to craft a story that pierces one’s heart.  I don’t think I ever fully recovered from Sungkyunkwan Scandal, which is why I think I was so fervently anticipating The Moon That Embraces the Sun ages before they even started casting.  I was dying to get my hands on the book, too, which Jeannie so kindly sent for me from Korea!

The drama deviates quite a bit from the novel, but both of them have their own charm so I will forgive this otherwise heinous crime this one time.  Heh.  The drama also had an incredible cast of child actors for the first six episodes; and currently, Kim Soohyun is stealing the screen, blazing as the young, bitter king whose heart longs for the girl he loved as a boy.

The drama is garnering shockingly high ratings week after week; whether that’s to be attributed to the pure genius that was Tree With Deep Roots or the Joseon crack that was The Princess’s Man or perhaps the popularity of the novel itself, it’s hard to tell.  For me, however, the magic is more in the novel than the drama.

The novel takes place during the Joseon dynasty, so there is quite a bit of figurative language and historical words that I’m not familiar with (and also a lot of words that I just don’t know in general; unsurprising, considering the fact that I’m attempting to read a historical novel barely two years into learning the language).  The incredible thing is I can understand most of the plot despite my extremely limited vocabulary and, while I’m at it, I’m gaining such an appreciation for the beauty of “old” Korean.

Personally, I find contemporary Korean more poetic than English and speech during the Joseon era, especially royal speech, even more so.  Unsurprisingly, this novel is filled with absolutely gorgeous language.  Metaphors and motifs galore and, my personal favorite, parallel structure, which is just as pleasing to read in Korean as English.  I plowed my way through book 1 and I’m halfway through book 2, but at this point, I’m reading more for the language than the plot.  In terms of the plot itself, well, I will suppress my inner literature bitch.  It’s little more than Joseon flavored cotton candy fluff but it’s addicting and definitely worth reading for the language.

Mom and I were talking a few days ago about reading in different languages.  My mom’s trilingual in English, Marathi, and Tamil.  She grew up reading novels with ease in both  English and Tamil.  I asked her if she ever had a weird out-of-body feeling when she was reading in either language because I experienced that several times while reading 해를 품은 달.  I’d be sucked into the story for several minutes and then I’d stop and marvel at the fact that this story is written entirely in a language that was unknown to me for 20+ years.  And I was understanding it.  Not only was I understanding it, I was having a visceral reaction to it.  For the first time since I started learning Korean, I was doing more than just comprehending.  I cried during the sad scenes, blushed during the romantic scenes, bit my nails when things were getting intense.  I always thought that no matter how long I study Korean, I would never be able to shake off that element of “foreignness.”  But the fact that I’m getting to the point where I can react to a story written in Korean the same as I do when it’s in English is yet another indication that I can be comfortable enough in a “foreign” language to the extent that it doesn’t feel “foreign” any more.  Amazing!

Mom said she never felt like that when she switched between reading in different languages, probably because she grew up learning all three at the same time.  Sometimes  I wish I had grown up knowing multiple languages just as well as I know English, but then I guess I would miss out on experiencing a transition like this!

칠거지악

I can’t adequately express how much I’m loving 해를 품은 달 (The Moon That Embraces the Sun) these days.  It’s been a really, really long time since I’ve been this emotionally invested in a story of any kind and it feels refreshingly good.  Although I’d say I’m enjoying the novel a tiny smidgen more than the drama at the moment, the first few episodes of the drama really swept me off my feet.  The child actors are so precious and talented; I just want to keep them in my pocket forever and ever!  This scene from episode four is one of my favorites:

훤: 가만. 설마 너 나와 그 아이를 질투하는 것이냐?
연우: 예? 아님니다.
훤: 이거 큰일이구나. 투기는 여인의 칠거지악 중 하나거늘…  나의 비가 될 아이가 이리 투기심이 많아서야…
연우: 아니라는데 왜 자꾸 그러십니- 예?
훤: 세자빈 간택이 시작된다는 말이다.  너도 처녀단제를 올릴테지? 기다리겠다.  너라면 분명 세자빈이 될 수 있을 것이다.

칠거지악 is a curious little word that I wasn’t familiar with.  I’ve seen it translated as “The Seven Deadly Sins” but that’s not what it literally means.

칠거지악 [명사]: 조선 시대, 아내를 내쫓을 수 있는 이유가 되는 일곱 가지의 허물. 곧 시부모에게 순종하지 아니하는 것(不順舅姑), 자식을 낳지 못하는 것(無子), 행실이 음탕한 것(淫), 질투하는 것(妬), 나쁜 병이 있는 것(惡症), 말이 많은 것(多言), 도둑질을 하는 것(盜) 등을 이른다. (source)

During the Joseon era, these were seven reasons for divorcing a wife:  Disobedience to her in-laws.  Inability to bear children.  Promiscuity.  Jealousy.  Having an incurable disease.  Talking too much.  Stealing.  

I did a bit more research into 칠거지악 and learned that it is a Confucius teaching found in 대학(大學) or The Great Learning, one of the 사서(四書) or Four Books which, along with the The Three Classics, make up the definitive texts of Confucianism.  Collectively, they are called 사서삼경(四書三經) or the Four Books and Three Classics.

Unsurprisingly, there is no equivalent for a woman wanting to divorce a man.  However, I did read that there are three exceptional situations in which a man cannot divorce his wife, even if she commits one of the seven faults under 칠거지악:

1. If she has no other place to go.
2. If she has mourned his parents for three years.  (i.e. She demonstrates filial piety.)
3. If she was at first poor and then became rich after getting married.  (i.e. She raised her family’s social status through marriage.)

I remember learning a little bit about Confucianism forever ago in high school but not terribly in depth.  I wouldn’t say I’m… completely interested in learning about it but in the context of sageuk dramas, it definitely helps to understand Confucianism to understand certain plot points and bits of dialogue.  It’s also a novel experience (no pun intended)  trying to read up on Confucianism in Korean… yeah… I think I’ll stick to English for now.

새해 복 많이 받으세요.

Happy new year to my friends, readers, and fellow language enthusiasts!  새해 복 많이 받으시고 올해도 건강들 하세요.  좋은 일만 생기길 바랍니다.

I still have a lot to learn about Korean culture, but I do know that one of the major New Year’s traditions in Korea is to watch the first sunrise of the new year.

My friend (the same one I skyped with a while back) told me that he and his father would be going to 강원도 to see the sun rise by the beach.  I told him to take lots of pictures and Kakaotalk with me if he was bored of waiting, and he did exactly that (photo credits go to him).  He arrived at 3:00 AM and had to wait five full hours (in the cold!) for the sunrise.  I asked him why he couldn’t just wait inside somewhere but, clearly, I had no idea about how many people actually did this every year.

He complained that it was so cloudy that you could barely see anything, but his dad managed to take a rather beautiful photo.

They also climbed to the top of a very slippery mountain.  I can’t imagine doing this in warm weather, let alone freezing winter weather.

It was a lot fun Kakaotalking with him while he was there!  It made me feel like I was there too.  Although, if I were ever in Korea during New Year’s, this is probably one tradition I would shy away from.  I prefer waking up warm, cozy, and sober on New Year’s Day.

Best wishes for 2012, everyone.