|
|
Post by FlowerLady on Mar 6, 2004 0:55:12 GMT -5
Hello all-- Could someone who understands/speaks Korean kindly translate a word for me, please? The word sounds like: SIM-ME-DA. Sometimes, I also hear SHIM-ME-DA or SHIM-ME-DO. I watch several Channel 28 shows in Chicago (other than just really great Korean dramas!  ). This word seems to be said very often on the news, in commercials and on variety shows. Could someone please tell me what this word means? Thank you very much. |
|
|
|
Post by Knov1 on Mar 6, 2004 5:51:41 GMT -5
If I understand you correctly, what you're referring to is actually a suffix not a word. It's used in formal speech.
|
|
|
|
Post by FlowerLady on Mar 6, 2004 10:47:59 GMT -5
Hello knov1--
Thank you for responding so quickly. Can you (or another kind person) please tell me how that suffix would translate into English? You are right, I generally hear the word near or at the end of a sentance or phrase. It is used so frequently, I would like to understand what it means.
Thank you.
|
|
|
|
Post by HumbleStudent on Mar 6, 2004 20:22:39 GMT -5
Well, Flowerlady, problem is, you're looking at the part of the verb that doesn't have any independent meaning. It's sort of like "what is the translation of the 's' in 'She sings'"? The ending "sumnida" (spelled "supnita") basically means "<-- The foregoing verb is part of a formal (very polite) statement". Since all Korean sentences end with a verb, and since in a palace people are being very polite all the time, this will turn up at the end of a lot of sentences in palaces. For example:
"tule yo" = "I am listening" / "someone or some people or thing or things is/are listening" (in Korean they don't use pronouns so you often have to pick up the subject from other clues)(in normal polite not-very-formal speech)
"tussumnida" = "I am listening" (said by you to Lady Choi, to whom you have to be very polite)
And, for that matter,
"apoji tule sey yo" = "Father is listening" (normal polite not-very-formal speech) ('sey' is an honorific for the person you are talking about, not the person you are talking to)
"apoji tusseysumnida" = Same thing said to Lady Choi
Other styles with different suffixes are used for "plain" statements, for example news reports, and for "informal" speech to your spouse, close friends, etc.
The words with interesting meaning, however, are likely to be earlier in the sentence. Often the verb ending the sentence just "wraps up the package" so to speak.
|
|
|
|
Post by FlowerLady on Mar 6, 2004 23:02:57 GMT -5
Dear Humble Student -- Maybe your name should be "Humble Teacher" !!!  Thank you so very much. You did an excellent job of explaining the answer to my question. I find Korean to be such a fascinating culture and I also respect and enjoy listening to the language. Your information has given me some insight into the formal and polite aspects of the language. Now I will be able to appreciate and understand it even more. Thank you again, for taking the time. |
|
|
|
Post by HumbleStudent on Mar 8, 2004 23:08:21 GMT -5
At the other end of the spectrum of politeness: on one occasion in the last episode, JG produced a full sentence of Korean which I completely understood on hearing it. This is a very rare occurrence. It was a two-word sentence. I think it was during the kimchi scene, where they are surrounded by turnips and cabbages with no help to peel and slice them, and she orders Chang-e, I think, to go and get the young children to help with it. When she dithers, JG barks out: "Kurendei hae!!" This was translated, "So do it!" "Kurendei" means "so" (that being the case), and "hae!" is the informal command, the plain infinitive for " Do!" with no ending suffixes for politeness at all. As with the "familiar" forms in French and Russian, this style is used with intimates, or to children, but also it is the style that you would use to be deliberately insulting, or to show exactly how fed up you are, or that an angry drill sergeant would use with a recalcitrant private. " Do it and no god d**ned back talk!" It was exciting to hear.
(Laugh: The asterisks are being supplied by the system, and also if I leave out the space before " Do!" it turns into a smiley of some kind)
|
|
|
|
Post by Soju on Mar 10, 2004 0:10:54 GMT -5
" Do it and no god d**ned back talk!" It was exciting to hear. (Laugh: The asterisks are being supplied by the system, and also if I leave out the space before " Do!" it turns into a smiley of some kind) If you check the "Check this if you'll be adding code (or don't like smileys)" box below the composition editor window before you post your message, you shouldn't get that smiley. As for the expurgation, I can turn it off for that, if you want. The forum comes with "maximum swear protection" turned on by default, which would disallow "John Hancock" and "spoon", so I reset them. The rest I thought reasonable. While you're here, HS, can you tell me the difference in usage between "kamsamnida", and "kamsamhapnida"? |
|
|
|
Post by FlowerLady on Mar 10, 2004 0:12:33 GMT -5
Again, Humble Student, you are definitely a very Humble Teacher!!! Thank you for taking the time to explain the "other" side of politeness as exhibited by J-G recently, so different from the usual formal Korean normally spoken on the show. This is very interesting to me and I very much enjoy and appreciate learning more about the nuances behind the words.
Thank you, once again!
|
|
). This word seems to be said very often on the news, in commercials and on variety shows. 
Thank you so very much. You did an excellent job of explaining the answer to my question. I find Korean to be such a fascinating culture and I also respect and enjoy listening to the language. Your information has given me some insight into the formal and polite aspects of the language. Now I will be able to appreciate and understand it even more.
