Is English in Korea only for Koreans?
By Julian Barker
I live in a small apartment block tucked away in a non-descript suburb of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. I would write the apartment's name, but my romanization of the Korean name would be so poor as to be unintelligible.
My Korean pronunciation when saying my apartment's name to taxi drivers is equally poor, so I end up asking for the nearby Ritz Motel instead. Only, the local taxi drivers do not understand my pronunciation of that, either. To be understandable the ``z", or rather ``s" sound, must be substituted with a ``ch" so that I end up asking for the ``Rich" Motel. But even then I must try several variations before the taxi driver is confident that he knows where I want to go.
Frustrating as this is, how important is it that taxi divers understand the English pronunciation of the word ``Ritz"? On the one hand the Ritz is a name and famous landmark, and perhaps this alone is enough to justify an argument in favor of ``correct" pronunciation.
Then again, very few English speakers visit Sangju, and still fewer will ask for the Ritz Motel. Is it truly necessary that the local taxi drivers understand what some might call the ``correct" pronunciation of ``Ritz"?
Or is it enough to accept that the Korean alphabet can only roughly approximate English words?
I wonder what taxi drivers would say on this point. Would they appreciate my effort if I tried to correct them, or would they point out that here, in Sangju, their pronunciation is just fine?
What if the Ritz motel was located in Seoul ― would the taxi drivers be more likely to understand my pronunciation? Probably: Many people from English speaking countries visit Seoul and this would of course necessitate the ability to multiple pronunciations.
What of everyday words that we use in English, like pizza, that are spoken between Koreans? Does it matter whether Koreans pronounce ``pizza" in a way that is immediately understood by English speakers, or does ``pi-jah" suffice?
The word ``pizza" was of course adopted from Italian into English, how similar is the English pronunciation of pizza to the Italian pronunciation?
English has adopted many words over the years, often we do not even realize that we are speaking words adopted from another language.
``Kindergarten" was adopted from German, ``wok" from Cantonese and ``gherkin" from Dutch, to point out just a few examples. How similarly do we pronounce these words to their languages of origin? To what extent have we bastardized the original pronunciation? In many cases it seems that English speakers couldn't even be bothered to attempt the ``correct" pronunciation ― Wien became Vienna, Ostereich became Austria.
Kindergarten is now both an English and German word, just as pizza now exists in both English and Italian. No English speaker is assumed to be interested in learning Italian when they use the word pizza, and very few would appreciate a lecture on the Italian pronunciation of the word as we regard pizza as an English word.
Pizza is now a word that exists in multiple languages. It was adopted from Italian into English into Korean. Only many Koreans don't say ``pizza," they say ``pi-ja." ``Pi-ja" was adopted, and adapted, from English ― but it isn't an English word. It's a Korean word used between Koreans and the use of this word does not reflect any interest or desire to learn English.
Varying degrees of difference exist between pronunciations, but no single language, or group of speakers, can lay claim to an exact pronunciation of pizza.
If one is speaking English, then the English pronunciation of pizza should be understood and used; and if one is speaking Korean, then the Korean pronunciation of ``pi-ja" should be understood and used. Koreans who are interested in learning English should understand and appreciate that difference between pizza and ``pi-ja," but in everyday use in Korea the word ``pi-ja" works just fine.
The fact that pizza was adopted into English from another language is an important reminder that languages are not static, they are living entities that adopt and adapt words, moreover it is a reminder that we English speakers should not be so arrogant as to lay exclusive claim to the pronunciation of words.
The writer is a South African, who lives now in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province and teaches at a boys' middle school. He can be reached at julianbarker45@gmail.com.