# R U amused??



## VNoble21532 (Aug 16, 2010)

Is anyone out there amused when an American instructor teaches in English with a Korean Accent??


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## Touch Of Death (Aug 16, 2010)

We had a similar situation here in Spokane, different nationality, though.
Sean


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## MasterPistella (Aug 16, 2010)

I just made a comment about a friends youtube video with him doing that. I'm guilty too. Used to do it all the time, but finally broke myself of it.


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## dancingalone (Aug 16, 2010)

I'm an Asian heritage instructor who has a slight Texas drawl.  I'm sure that's funny in some quarters.


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## kungfu penguin (Aug 16, 2010)

dancing: george cho korean with a georgian accent great comic one of his best is called Whats that clickin noise?


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## kungfu penguin (Aug 16, 2010)

Dancing : George Cho a korean  comic with a georgian accent   hilarious  one of his best shows was called  whats that clickin noise


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## kungfu penguin (Aug 16, 2010)

do not how it printed up there twice   sorry about that


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## Master Jay S. Penfil (Aug 17, 2010)

This IS a fun topic...
I can recall a testing at KJN C.I. Kim's dojang back in 1984. KJN Hwang Kee and H.C. Hwang were also present. A Somdan member, James Holt was issuing the commands to the candidates and KJN C.I. Kim stopped him and stated; I speak good Korean and I don't even know what you are saying!!!

Mr. Holt was trying to use a heavy Korean accent and none of us could understand him

I think that this is a common issue, as we all learn the Korean terminology, but not all learn it from a Korean. If you are reading it off of a terminology sheet you will pronounce the words differently then someone that hears the words spoken by someone who has Korean as their first language.

I learned Korean first, from an African-American instructor with a unique accent and way of pronouncing his Korean words. When I became a student to KJN C.I. Kim I was an Eedan and thought that I could speak and understand the Korean terminology well. I learned very quickly that I had NOT learned Korean at all, according to the response that I got from KJN C.I. Kim.

Over the preceding 24 years as KJN C.I. Kim's student I learned how to speak Korean by hearing him pronounce the words and mimicked him. As a result, I became one of the "American" TSD practitioners that would give commands trying to sound like a Korean. It is a natural thing to try and sound exactly like your instructor. 

The amusing part of this is... Often times, others hear us differently then we hear ourselves. We think that we sound good, but, sometimes, we sound funny.

All the best,

Jay S. Penfil


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## MBuzzy (Aug 17, 2010)

I'm guilty, especially having studied the REST of the language.  In my quest to be fluent in all of Korean, my biggest problem now is that I speak decent Korean, but American practitioners don't know what I'm saying, because I'm saying the Korean worder properly.

Perfect example....when I first started, my Korean instructor (in Korea) was teaching me yukro chodan.  For the life of me, I couldn't find ANYTHING about it.  In fact, look at some of my early posts and you'll find a few of a young Craig Mills asking what the hell "yoong no" hyung was.  Because the word "yukro" when said in Korean is PRONOUNCED yoongno - to an American ear, depending on the Korean who is saying it, it will vary a bit....but it took me until I learn to WRITE Korean (Hangul) and had him write it out for me to get it.  Then I came back here and no one had any idea what I was talking about when I referred to yukro hyung, because I pronounced it correctly.


btw - for those of you who doubt this, pick up ANY Korean dictionary, it is one of the basic rules of Korean pronunciation, when you put those two characters together, it changes the sound a bit.  One of the very very few exceptions in the Korean language.


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