Tuesday, October 27, 2009

English Textbooks Provide Further Enlightenment.

Here are another couple charming cultural tips from my 5th Grade English Texbook. I'm glad the Korean government has mandated that an entire generation should learn about English-speaking culture from these valuable resources:

Language expression of "Excuse me" and "Whoops"

When we bump into a stranger, we usually pass by without any apology. Whereas Western people apologize habitually saing "Excuse me", and when they make a little mistake, they often say "Whoops(Oops!". It means "Dear me!" "Goodness". "Thank you" is the most popular expression in their lives. They appreciate even a little kindness and they say "No, thank you" and try not to offend other people when they reject someone's proposal.

Wrong vocabularies

There are many misused or incorrect vocabularies used in any foreign
language. Meanings have usually been distorted or changed in the way it is applied. Here are the examples of the phenomenon.

*rotary--> roundabout, traffic circle
*mixer--> blender
*bargain sale--> bargain or sale
*vinyl bag--> plastic bag, carrier bag
*sign--> autograph
*super--> supermarket
*Y-shirt--> shirt
*one piece--> dress
*two piece--> suit
*pama--> perm, permanent wave
*handphone-->cellular phone, mobile phone
*cunning--> cheating
*scarp--> clipping


...I think we've all learned something today.

2 comments:

  1. From another English language text book:

    http://p-funkbulgaria.blogspot.com/2009/10/no-title-needed.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Probably the worst part of this is that as I read it, I felt the urge to explain in the comment *why* these statements were wrong. Because obviously the English-speaking readers of this blog would not know...?

    ReplyDelete