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Why Koreans ask what year you were born

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Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#321

Post by kstrauser »

dkga wrote: post #173

I find it surprising actually how much these seniority rules are well-defined in many cultures, but in Brazil there is strong variation - even in the same geography. For example, a colleague who is learning Brazilian Portuguese was under the impression that "você" and "tu" were the equivalent of "vous/tu" or "Sie/du". In reality, they are just different regional ways of saying the informal you. In Brazilian Portugues…

I feel like the American version of intra-family respect variations is “Father” vs “Dad”.

In my family growing up, my dad’s name was “Dad” from my POV. “Father” was a strange-to-me formality that only a couple of my friends’ families use. “Hey Dad, wanna grab lunch?” is technically using a title of respect, but feels way different than “Hello, Father. Would you like to make lunch plans?”

My kids call me Dad, unless we’re greeting each other like Jerry and Newman on Seinfeld to be funny, which is something always initiated by them: “Hello, Father.” “Hello, Daughter.” kid giggles

One time I heard my kid talking to his dad and calling him “Sir”. That felt utterly foreign to me. If I called my own dad “Sir”, he’d rightfully have assumed I was being a smartass. There’s never another situation where I’d address him that way.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#322

Post by dyauspitr »

90s_dev wrote: post #220
xenadu02 wrote: post #210

In the USA as a low-level employee address the company CEO as "heya phil, hows it going?". Then address your friend with "Hello Mr. Smith". In most cases you won't get a positive reaction out of either one of those (yes exceptions exist). How about this: address your husband/wife as "Mr/Mrs ", especially after a fight. Similarly when the kids have been doing something or you are frustrated with your partner say " you…

Unless you work for Conan O'Brien. A fan saw him and briefly chatted, then Conan asked if he wanted a photo. The man said "sure, Mr. O'Brien," to which Conan replied, "please, call me sir ."

He’s made that joke a few times. It’s taking the respect implied in calling him Mr. O’Brien and turning the regular “you can just call me Conan” into something that is humorously asking the person for something more respectful.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#323

Post by tdeck »

triceratops wrote: post #316
tdeck wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Another example many people outside Brazil find interesting: in my family we were taught to never use the formal towards anyone. The rationale is that everyone is equal and that using the formal language was disrespectful because it created an artificial distance between us and the other person. We were also taught never to use the formal language when praying for the same reason. Interestingly this is why Quakers…

> People used "thou" (the familiar form) in conversations with God. People used "you" as a singular pronoun to be polite. Why didn't people address God with "you"?

The wiki article I linked goes into it a bit:

> Early English translations of the Bible used the familiar singular form of the second person, which mirrors common usage trends in other languages. The familiar and singular form is used when speaking to God in French (in Protestantism both in past and present, in Catholicism since the post–Vatican II reforms), German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic and many others (all of which maintain the use of an "informal" singular form of the second person in modern speech). In addition, the translators of the King James Version of the Bible attempted to maintain the distinction found in Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek between singular and plural second-person pronouns and verb forms, so they used thou, thee, thy, and thine for singular, and ye, you, your, and yours for plural.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#324

Post by triceratops »

tdeck wrote: post #323
triceratops wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People used "thou" (the familiar form) in conversations with God. People used "you" as a singular pronoun to be polite. Why didn't people address God with "you"?

The wiki article I linked goes into it a bit: > Early English translations of the Bible used the familiar singular form of the second person, which mirrors common usage trends in other languages. The familiar and singular form is used when speaking to God in French (in Protestantism both in past and present, in Catholicism since the post–Vatican II reforms), German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic and m…

That doesn't really explain why people used a more familiar form with God, literally the most powerful anything, than they would with mere strangers.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#325

Post by shemtay »

triceratops wrote: post #324
tdeck wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wiki article I linked goes into it a bit: > Early English translations of the Bible used the familiar singular form of the second person, which mirrors common usage trends in other languages. The familiar and singular form is used when speaking to God in French (in Protestantism both in past and present, in Catholicism since the post–Vatican II reforms), German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic and m…

That doesn't really explain why people used a more familiar form with God, literally the most powerful anything, than they would with mere strangers.

Christianity began as an episode of Undercover Boss, so it makes perfect sense.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#326

Post by aclindsa »

triceratops wrote: post #324
tdeck wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wiki article I linked goes into it a bit: > Early English translations of the Bible used the familiar singular form of the second person, which mirrors common usage trends in other languages. The familiar and singular form is used when speaking to God in French (in Protestantism both in past and present, in Catholicism since the post–Vatican II reforms), German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic and m…

That doesn't really explain why people used a more familiar form with God, literally the most powerful anything, than they would with mere strangers.

I won't claim this as the one true answer, but one potential reason is that it is encouraged by many religions, including Christian denominations, to have a personal relationship with God. To put it another way, it is exactly God's power which enables God to have a personal relationship with each of us while we, constrained by our own humanity, are only capable of maintaining familiarity with a relatively small number of people.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#327

Post by joshdavham »

fxtentacle wrote: post #229
joshdavham wrote: post #211

How does this generally work with romantic relationships? Do people usually only start relationships if they are of the same age?

Typically the girl will pretend the guy to be older, if that isn't the case. That's why girls in movies and K-Pop groups always shout "Oppa!". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmSjveL3Lc And you might remember the Oppa that is Gangnam Style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Actually I just noticed that for the first time today! I was reading a Korean webtoon in French and the translator didn't translate "Oppa" but rather kept it in and explained it in a translator's note.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#328

Post by quesera »

fxtentacle wrote: post #301
quesera wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And you might remember the Oppa that is Gangnam Style: My cultural awareness, which is distinctly non-Asian, assumed that this "Oppa" had something to do with horses.

What a brilliant comment :) I'm not sure if you're joking, but it certainly brightened up my day. That Gangnam Style song is about riding and the associated up and down motion, just not related to horses. In that scene where he's watching the horses, he's singing: "A true lady who is warm and human during the day, who is classy and knows how to enjoy a cup of coffee. But when night comes, her heart gets hot..." and t…

Aha, (literal) llol. That's interesting.

I am realizing now, that with no research or even conscious thought, I had settled on the idea that the song was some goofy Korean dude making a statement about the absurdity of late-stage capitalist sexualized excess, perhaps metaphorically asking who really is the horse and who really is the rider. And how we're all simultaneously instigator, enabler, beneficiary, and victim of same.

I can go a few directions from here...

  1. I'm completely wrong, because obviously. Never attribute to self-reflection what can equally be explained by misogyny.
  2. I'm right! For which I present as evidence: the Mercedes taillights blinking in time to the beat, and the existence of the yellow guy. I'll accept credit for this theory even if the message was unintentional. :)
  3. Neither/all of the above. The artist asks the question which the public misinterprets as the answer, etc.
I don't know what to believe, but please be gentle with me and understand that I was raised in a culture where Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, and Creedence Clearwater Revival are used as patriotic anthems at political rallies. Nothing is required to make sense.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#329

Post by tdeck »

triceratops wrote: post #324
tdeck wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wiki article I linked goes into it a bit: > Early English translations of the Bible used the familiar singular form of the second person, which mirrors common usage trends in other languages. The familiar and singular form is used when speaking to God in French (in Protestantism both in past and present, in Catholicism since the post–Vatican II reforms), German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic and m…

That doesn't really explain why people used a more familiar form with God, literally the most powerful anything, than they would with mere strangers.

It's just a cultural tradition. Not sure what kind of answer you're expecting here.

Re: Why Koreans ask what year you were born

#330

Post by tough »

aclindsa wrote: post #326
triceratops wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't really explain why people used a more familiar form with God, literally the most powerful anything, than they would with mere strangers.

I won't claim this as the one true answer, but one potential reason is that it is encouraged by many religions, including Christian denominations, to have a personal relationship with God. To put it another way, it is exactly God's power which enables God to have a personal relationship with each of us while we, constrained by our own humanity, are only capable of maintaining familiarity with a relatively small numbe…

God is omnipotent and omnipresent after all
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