Posted on 08/08/2009 11:04:32 PM PDT by joey703
"Indonesian Tribe adopts Hangul"
I kid you not (and it kind of makes sense). But, something about this story strikes me as a bit perverse. As in, it feels as if the South Korean government is taking advantage of this poor innocent Indonesian tribe.
(Excerpt) Read more at northxkorea.blogspot.com ...
The author kept saying it was ‘perverse’. He didn’t explain why. Or am I missing something? It sounds like an economic decision to me but I can’t claim to have much knowledge on the subject.
the link you posted is junk, the article they say is ‘suspicious’ is worth the read.
Korean is one of the few languages where the writing system was created specifically towards making the common man literate, from scratch...
While picking up speaking Korean is as hard as any language the writing system can be mastered in a matter of days. I will be interested in seeing how it adapts to some sounds not native to the Korean Tongue but on the whole this might save a language.
as in ... South Korea seems more interested in helping themselves by sharing their written language with them more so than their welfare.
jobs? opportunities? we’re talking about a small tribe of probably a few hundred on an island in Indonesia. And, we’re talking about a script that’s only used in Korea.
I don’t see anything in the article that even hints at them being forced to do this. Why do you think they have decided to do this?
a group of people come at your poor tribe with money saying they can preserve your culture. of course you say yes
with that said, i’m not trying to argue against it; i’m all for it. i think hangul is one of the easiest languages to pick up, but i’m just saying there’s a hint of it here...
Are you for real? How is a village of 60K people in Indonesia using just the written language going to help South Korea in some sinister way?
They are not adopting the Korean Language, they are adopting the Alphabet..
It has to be incremental by necessity. The influence in all likelyhood wont stop there. Societies don’t tend to adopt specific targeted aspects of another then freeze them out.
In the blog posting, the author makes it clear that he thinks it does make sense, but on another level (something you seem unable to see) it seems as if the Koreans are doing it more for their vanity than because they genuinely care about the welfare about this tribe. And, actually, if you perhaps read the original article again, perhaps somewhat critically:
The institute was founded in 2007 to study languages of the world, and to propagate Hangul among tribes whose native languages are on the brink of extinction due to their lack of writing systems.
You'd see that this institute was founded "to propagate Hangul among tribes" or in other words, the institute actually was founded to "propagate Hangul" among other people, more so than "save the cultures of indigenous people the world over."
I'm a huge supporter of Hangul, but you're idiotic comment, "Are you for real?" has made me come out and argue against it somehow. I ask that you read and think about what you post, before you actually go and do post, sir.
The alternative is to allow their language to die. I suppose if they were trying to use roman characters it would be ok right?
Look the Irish written language was created using Roman Characters. Any English speaker who has had the pleasure of trying to learn to read and write Irish (native language with no writing system adapted to use the Latin Alphabet) knows how badly it can go if not done right.
The Korean Alphabet is one of the few specifically designed for mass literacy they used to use Chinese characters until a leader decided it was too much to expect the common people to become literate (this was before schools) so they created from scratch a writing system designed so anyone can learn it and quick..
“It has to be incremental by necessity”
Or it will be just the alphabet because that’s all they lack. Ireland adopted the Latin alphabet and yet their language still persist. Many Native American cultures have adopted a written language, Comanche for example, to save the language.
“Societies don’t tend to adopt specific targeted aspects of another then freeze them out.”
Really? The Japanese have an entire alphabet just focused on foreign words. The English language is littered with aspects of other languages which were once under the empire.
“I said it appears to give a feeling that South Korea is in this more to propagagte Hangul as a written language more so than caring about the welfare of this Indonesian tribe, who for all intents and purposes can choose any written language.”
Sorry but I’ve learned a few languages to the ‘hopeless tourist’ level and the Korean Alphabet is by far the easiest to learn and maintain. I have not looked at Korean script in years but I would wager I could still remember and use it.
“Koreans are doing it more for their vanity than because they genuinely care about the welfare about this tribe.”
Without anything to support that thats just his opinion and you know what folks say about opinions.
“The institute was founded in 2007 to study languages of the world, and to propagate Hangul among tribes whose native languages are on the brink of extinction due to their lack of writing systems.”
There are similar organizations in the US saving dying languages is in right now among anthropologist. When Americans go to do it the use the Latins Alphabet (like with the Comanche) what should the Koreans use? Arabic?
How many Comanche have assimilated into our western culture? Most. The Japanese example you brought up proves my point as well. Look at before and after the cultural influences arrived. The change is dramatic. I’ve got a small amount of Native American blood in me BTW.
Seriously, why are you so adamant about this? And, you're making me take a position that makes it look like I'm against this, which I'm not. And, yes, I speak and can read and write (a little) in Hangul and I think it's a very easy language to pick up.
But, I bet there is NO and this is a strong claim (all you have to do is find a counterfactual) in the United States where an institute has been founded "to propagate English among small tribes whose native languages are about to go extint."
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