My random attempts to write in Korean for practice... help! ^^

Thursday, February 5, 2009

내 컴퓨터가 죽었다!

외국어를 배우다 보면 실수를 많이 하는 게 당연하죠. 근데 틀린 문법이나 틀린 철자보다 어색한 표현을 쓰면 더 웃기죠? 예를 들면...

1)...청계천을 산책하다가 물고기를 봤는데 친구한테 “봐봐봐! 생선 있다!”라고 신나게 말했어요. 왜냐하면 영어로는 살아있는 물고기하고 구운 생선하고 둘 다 “fish”라고 하거든요.

2)...전자 사전을 사려고 강변 테크노마트에 갔었는데 예쁜 컴퓨터가 많아서 친구랑 노트북 구경도 했었어요. “도시바는 별로야... 내 컴퓨터가 죽었어!”라고 해서 친구가 웃음을 터뜨렸고 무슨 말이냐고 물어봤어요. 영어로는 “my computer died” 아님 “my computer’s dead”라는 표현들이 “내 컴퓨터가 고장났다”라는 뜻이에요.

가끔씩 한 언어에서 다른 언어로 직역하면 말이 이상하게 나올 수도 있죠. ㅎㅎ

여러분들의 이야기를 좀 들려 주세요. ^^

Whenever you learn a foreign language, you're bound to make mistakes as you go along. However, making awkward phrases is a lot funnier and more entertaining than plain ol' grammar or spelling mistakes, don't you think? For example...

1) While going for a walk along Cheonggyecheon, I saw a fish in the stream, and shouted with excitement to my friend, "Look look look! It's a fish (saeng-seon)!" You see, in English, whether the fish are alive or grilled, they're still called "fish." (In Korean, "saeng-seon" is a term used for the cooked fish you consume, while "mul-gogi" is a term used for fish that are happily alive in the vast blue sea.)

2) I went to Technomart with a friend, intending to buy an electronic dictionary, but we also checked out some of the laptops since the pickings were so abundant and gorgeous. "Toshiba's not all that great... Mine died!" I said, and my friend burst into laughter, asking me what in the world I had just said. You see, in English, when you say, "My computer died," or "My computer's dead," it's the same thing as saying, "My computer broke." (But obviously this doesn't translate as well in Korean.)

Of course, sometimes literal translations from one language to another undoubtedly result in strange expressions...

1 comment:

  1. 생선(生鮮) (a) fish
    There aren't much big fishes in Korean fresh water so, basically 생선 generally refers to salt water fish in Korea.

    We have 물고기 for fish both in the fresh or salt water.

    We also use 고기 for fish or meat.
    So you can say 고기/물고기 좀 봐!
    If you point to fish, you mean fish, if a pack of ground beef, then beef.
    if you want to be specific, you can add names for meat or poultry in front of 고기, like 소고기, 닭고기, etc.

    Here are some usages for 생선

    갓잡은 생선 fresh-caught fish
    날 생선(생선회) raw fish
    튀긴 생선 fried fish
    냉동 생선 frozen fish
    생선을 굽다 broil fish
    생선을 요리하다 cook fish
    바다에서 생선을 잡다 catch fish in the sea
    고양이한테 생선 가게를 맡긴 꼴이 되었다 It´s like having a fox guard the henhouse.
    생선 가게(生鮮―) a fish shop
    생선 구이(生鮮―) roast[broiled] fish
    생선 매운탕(生鮮―) hot fish stew
    생선뼈(生鮮―) a fish bone
    생선/수산 시장(生鮮市場) a fish market
    생선 장수(生鮮―) a fish business man;a fish peddler(행상)
    생선회(生鮮膾) sashimi;sliced raw fish;slices of raw fish

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