The Mistakes

The Korean alphabet is very different than the Latin alphabet. They have sounds that are very distinct and alien to me. The same can be said about our alphabet to them.

Common Mistakes: B vs. P
During one particular lesson, we were leaning about honey bees. I had to continuously emphasize the B, because they were saying "honey pees". When you think about it, the b and p are extremely close to sounding the same. A native speaker doesn't realize the similarity, but it's there. For instance, the city named Busan or Pusan. I still don't know if it is a B or a P. V is commonly mispronounced as well. They can make the distinction usually in the alphabet, but not when naturally speaking.

F vs. P
For can come out "pour" or peel is pronounced "feel", I don't have an explanation on this one. "I love feeling a nice pair of melons."

J or Ch vs. Z
Korean speakers pronounce Z like a j or Ch. So, I had one class say Zach, and they pronounced "Jack." I said, "Zach, Zach, Zach" and they fired back Jack three times. The word "pizza" is pronounced "peach-eu." When I am with Zach and Koreans at the same time, I have to call him Jack. It's pretty amusing.


S
They simply don't add S. They just skip the plural part of words. S has a lot of weight in the English language, and they skip right over it when speaking and writing. Getting back to "peas", well pee is very different than peas, obviously. "The pea I had this morning was is exactly what I needed. I love pea in the morning. " No 's' can really change the meaning of a sentence. Because that sentence can quickly become a sentence about urine.

L vs R
I have truly heard this before, "I had lice for lunch." The first time I heard that came as a shock. The thought of someone eating lice is gross. I am scared of lice from my elementary school days. You could be the coolest kid in school one day, and in the blink of an eye the most hated man on campus. The dirtiest kid always was the first one to come down with the parasite. Luckily, I never did have a run in the little critter, but I saw what happened to those that did. Social suicide. This is Korea tough, and they sell cocooned caterpillars on the street, as if it's candy! I wasn't going to put lice past them. By the third time I heard it, I said "what?" Then after the tenth time I heard them say it, I figured that what they really meant to say was rice. Oh, thank you Missouri for giving me the uncanny ability to safely assume lice is really rice. I'm glad all my money was put to good use.


My academy told me that these are some common mistakes, which they are because I come across them everyday. Go ahead and write any amusing sentences you can come up with using these simple mistakes, or don't because I doubt anybody would anyway. haha*

Haha- I hate haha. I hate looking at it, and I hate reading it. I especially hate typing it. It feels so cheesy, like you have to proclaim a joke. I don't think I've ever laughed at a joke followed up by haha. That being said, I used that four lettered word far too often. It isn't even a word! It isn't even funny under the guise of an English accent, yes it is that bad if it isn't funny while being said in an English accent.