Japanese people should have common sense first when they need to criticize Koreans. Japanese are as bad as Koreans, perhaps worse in some cases (Like their unquestionable blind devotion to America. Thank you, decades of LDP in the Tokyo Diet).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Scott

As far as I know, this guy is completely right. But I’m not into either Korean or Japanese literature or linguistics, and unlike pretty much everyone else who has commented I don’t think reading a blog post on the issue makes me an expert on it.

As for “Japan is really an inferior country,” doesn’t that English seem a little stilted? Obviously the translator isn’t a native speaker (perhaps not of either language), and may not know just how capture the specific meaning of the original sentence. I don’t know, it’s just a possibility, but you should always cut people some slack when it comes to subtitles putting words in their mouth.

He’s not likely to notice the person waiting quietly next to him to cross the road, who is a member of third group of Koreans who neither likes nor hates Japanese.

I’m sure it’s the same in London if you are Japanese. A lot of people in London don’t care if you are Japanese, they are just waiting for the same tube train. You won’t notice them.

Blanket statements like these remind me of fox news’ coverage of 4chan.

That’s what Inoue is arguing, but only to try to justify his own discriminatory attitude.

The 2nd category people made me feel like they wanted to be friends not because of Who I am as a person, but rather What I am so they have someone to just talk to about pop culture.

It would be nice though if Korea reintroduced Chinese characters into their written language. Sort of like how Japanese changed from exclusively Kanji to their syllabic form, and Kanji. I think Korea could do the same with Hangul and chinese characters, but they should simplify them a little.

Chinese and Japanese, and people in general would be more apt to learn this written language if it has some similarities with its neighbors.

I can tell you that korean is a lot easier to translate into english than japanese.

reasons why:
Korean-
1. The alphabet is broken down into consonants and vowels. So it is a lot easier to teach a “westerner” korean in the respect of read (not necessarily understanding the words). Though, there some vowels that are hard to differentiate, but aren’t difficult to remember.

2. There is only one alphabet used in the language. Well they also use traditional chinese alphabet (called hanmun), but it has been long phased out of used language. Though they still force students to learn it.

3. Korea isn’t as culturally integrated as japan is in the western world in term in ability to relate to the mentality of westerner. This is more towards the original topic of why the japanese received the nobles.

Japanese-

1. Though the alphabet is broken down into syllables there are exceptions to this and especially trying to translate western words that were already translated to japanese.

2. There are 3 alphabets that needs to understood in order to read effectively something that is written to an adult audience. Actually, there are 4 but romaji I don’t really consider because its japanese written in with roman characters (roman-ized). There is hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

3. In that there are 3 alphabets, its easier to differentiate between western/modern words and the common use words and traditional words, each of which has its own context. Simple put, more words that are able to be used in place of another word, but also able to change the tone of what is written.

4. in terms of grammar in both languages, they are almost identical in there basic sentence structure. Mandarin on the other hand, oddly enough, is more similar to the english basic structure.

In terms of the teacher himself. I think of him as just another average korean that hasn’t stepped outside of korean, and is just boasting about his korean pride just like everyone else in that country does. I’m sure that if anyone had spoken up that person would of been expelled. Most koreans don’t wish to know much of “the outside world” because “their” country is so great. Well thats the impression I got, from living there.

I mean, I can accept it from someome who comes from a culture that’s been totally degraded and decimated, someone who is trying to restore respect and pride but this kind of psuedolinguistic stuff is just arrogant egoism. “Hey! This country’s language is the most profound,its culture superior. And guess what? I JUST HAPPEN TO BE FROM THAT COUNTRY!”

I’ll bet his Dad can beat up your dad, too.

So any stunning dissertation on Why Dokdo is actually Korean therefore can’t win?

… so thats the real reason why they havent won a Nobel Proze!

With regards to Chinese borrowed words, Japanese use more Sino-words than Korean. But again, we are not talking about “words” here, we are discussing about “Japanese is easier to translate than Korean”.

Japanese can learn Korean language faster than any other language just accent will be different. If you guys ever traveled to Pusan and Jolla provincial regions of Korea, you will pickup some some similarity of accents.

This is also same for Koreans, they can learn Japanese faster than any other foreign languages.

Ethnically and culturally, Japanese and Koreans are closest than others is pure fact. I can see Koreans are little bit more nationalistic than Japanese, this is mainly because of Japanese invasion and foreign intervention during Korean war.

I also find Japanese are often very nationalistic too specially when it encounter “Korean” thing.

If there was no Anti-sentiments in both countries then they would have been more opportunity for both countries to advance. Also, Japanese population is more than twice of that Koreans, so do spare little thoughts and empathy when comparing each others.

One of the commenters proceeds to translate that “untranslatable” poem, “Seungmu”.

Another thing about Japanese is that compound words are made so easily with kanji. For example, you can stick 化 onto practically anything to give it the sense of “becoming.” English has “-ization” for similar things, but you can’t be quite so free with that.

Is the “word” Web 2.0 (note this is not an actual word) supposed to be the millionth English word?

They usually point out either extremely stupid/useless/uselessly specialized research or extremely cool but impractical science (some winners even show up and claim their prizes, all in good fun!)

A Japanese won it recently for finding a way to create vanillin from cow dung (thus allowing the cow to produce TWO of the key ingredients for vanilla ice cream!)

This dude could probably at least get a nomination for the IgNobel Prize for Literature, but he has to actually publish something to be eligible, I think.

1. Linguistics: Juan Manuel Toro, Josep B. Trobalon and Nuria Sebastian-Galles, for determining that rats sometimes can’t distinguish between recordings of Japanese and Dutch played backward.

2. Peace: The United States Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, for suggesting the research and development of a “gay bomb,” which would cause enemy troops to become sexually attracted to each other.

3. Medicine – Presented to Gregg A. Miller of Oak Grove, Missouri, for inventing Neuticles — artificial replacement testicles for dogs, which are available in three sizes, and three degrees of firmness.

I understand the loan words as well that is why I pointed to name a few that koreans have loaned from the Japanese words to their own, its not because of learning from chinese language. Chinese,Korean and Japanese all have different pronunciation is where Im trying point out. In korean language they do have “loaned” Japanese words that they call of their own in their “unique” language

Every language have “loaned” words from other language but they usually know where that loaned word came from. Not koreans apparently or they just dont want to acknowledge it.

Well that certainly sucks the fun out of posting.

English contains many loan words such as pajamas and ‘salaryman’, derived from the Japanese ‘sarariman’, derived from the English ‘salary’ and ‘man’, derived from the Latin ‘salus’ meaning salt.

English also accomodates foreign words which express concepts which are intelligible to English speakers but for which there are no existing English words. ‘Schadenfreude’ and ‘Joie de vivre’ are examples.

I am sure other languages are equally adaptable and expressive.

It would be useless for the Koreans to try to promote themselves for a Nobel prize for literature since one of the rules of acceptance is that you can’t put yourself forwards. Also, works nominated for political or nationalistic reasons are excluded.

However, the works included can be in any language understood by the Swedish Academy committee members, and if suitable translations are not available they can be made. If it is claimed that Korean is such a complex and beautiful language that it cannot be adequately translated into any other language, that would seem to be an insult to the rest of the world. (It also makes one wonder how any foreigners ever learn Korean.)

Let us hope that some non-Korean literati will discover some Korean literature worth nominating.

Of course it is obvious that the point of the speech was to snipe at the Japanese out of jealousy rather than to deliberately insult everyone who isn’t Korean.

I’m a Japanese person learning Korean and while I agree that Korean language is very complex, this is indeed such a lame excuse and another attempt to criticize those damn Japanese because some Koreans just don’t like the fact that Japanese novels are gaining attention in Korea.

Believe me, there are many phrases in Japanese that’s impossible to translate into English and Korean. I also fully understand that Korean is a language that has so many variety of phrases and expressions which makes it hard even for the Japanese (the Japanese learn Korean better than anyone else, trust me) people to learn the language well. I must agree that some expression’s beauty is understood only after studying the language.

But is this the reason why they cannot win nobel prize? no way. It’s simple, they never attempted it, which is fine. Just don’t bash the Japanese. For most english translators, translating Korean to English is just as hard to translate Japanese to English.

If the Japanese could do it, then the Koreans can. That’s the kind of attitude I love seeing from the Koreans.