"The South Korean players became more shy after a profile of Kyeong Bae in a Canadian newspaper this summer in which she referred to the cartoon character SpongeBob Square Pants as 'Spongie Bob.'"
Karen Crouse introduces us to the LPGA "language labs" and the issues arising in trying to Americanize teach English to non-Americans.
News conferences, in which the players sit onstage and speak into a microphone, are daunting.
“I like this table for talking better than the media center,” Choi said in the clubhouse, with a grand sweep of her hand.
In addition to carrying a spiral notebook and workbook, she keeps transcripts of some news conferences. George has encouraged her not to refer to them, but Choi, in her small, neat printing, has made corrections.
One answer in particular still gnaws at her. At the 2009 Samsung World Championship in San Diego, Choi posted her first L.P.G.A. victory. But that is not what sticks in her mind.
Asked to describe her 63 in the third round, the lowest score of her career, Choi said, “I feel almost perfect everything.” Afterward, she said, she fled to the restroom in embarrassment.
Last week, she pointed to the page where she had written what she meant to say: “I feel everything was perfect.”
“I did wrong answer,” she said. “I disappointed myself.”
Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 08:31 AM
Reader Comments (15)
Then again, I think that we should give credit to folks who don't speak our language well but are trying to learn. Are they perfect at first? No. But then again, I speak French and when I go to a francophone region, my French sometimes elicits smiles or even laughter. That's because I don't think in French and rarely speak it. But...most folks give me a lot of credit for at least giving it a shot. They may even help correct me in a friendly way, and I actually appreciate it.
It's a real mistake to think that someone who's not fluent in your language is dumb. If that's true, let's see how many Americans can speak Chinese, Korean, German or whatever.
I think the first way to a golfing public’s heart, is to smile and be friendly. DLIII speaks English, and may be a great guy, but in random conversation walking on and talking about the tour, he is regularly cited one of the least favorite players. He is a dour figure on TV golfing coverage.
So the ladies can do that, that is, smile, be nice. I applaud these brave women for living in a strange country and doing all they do, and to step up to the plate on becoming better public speakers, in a foreign language, is to be commended.
Sadly, I also suspect that the shenanigans that have been alleged by a very few, (2 anyway) are true, and that the honest women must rise up to the spirit of protecting the field over their countrymen. To take the on course conversation to all English would open up the suspicion of further ‘infractions’ to a minimum.
And they could smoke a cigar. Works for the mechanic.
You speak that pretty well good.
I have a Korean lady friend who has ben here 25 years, and still comes up with some stuff. But I like Spongie Bob. Endearing is a good description.
There's obviously a tremendous self consciousness, cultural I guess, to do it right or not at all, which I don't think serves them well. Even working in a few simple English sentences could go a long way.
Unlike Charles Boyer, I don't speak French. But I can cobble together a few verbs and nouns and I'll always make that effort when I'm in Quebec. People appreciate the recognition of their culture.
Of course, attempting to speak another language, you also might step on a landmine.
Heading into the World Cup final, I e-mailed a Spanish friend, 'Arriba, Espana!', all gung ho and all.
He wrote back, patiently explaining that 'Arriba Espana' was kind of a Franco era chant and unless I wanted to get my head caved in, it was probably best I kept that one under wraps anytime I was attending an event involving Spain. :)
and have really seen girls from this culture struggle with the feeling they have to be perfect.
There is an enormous amount of pressure on many (not all) of the girls that reflects a difference in beliefs and cultures. Helps to increase the discomfort for many
Ask a Manchester United supporter why they hate the name of their side being shortened to "Man U" or "Man Utd."
Man Utd is not a term United fans refer to themselves as. The term is only used by other supporters as a complete and utter insult to our club. The "u" is meant to be "you" by the rival fans.
An early example of its usage is this chant by West Brom fans: "Duncan Edwards is manure, rotting in his grave, man you are manure- rotting in your grave". The origin of "Man Utd" is a song to insult the dead Duncan Edwards.
Liverpool and Leeds fans copied this with their own man you /u versions to insult all of the lads who died at munich.
"Man Utd Man Utd went on a plane Man Utd Man Utd never came back again"
American supporters never think about that unless they know...but an English fan very well might.
Even Darren Clarke - as written up in John Huggan's column this week - was being condescending when commenting about the Mechanic's ability to captain the Ryder Cup at some stage in the future would need an improvement in his English. For God's sake!
I speak another language, other than my native language, every day in a work and social environment, and after 10 years living here, continue to make elementary mistakes. It's just how it is folks. So I think that the player's efforts should be lauded for even making the effort. Because I know, if I ever have to be interviewed on TV, that I will refuse. Simply because I would be embarrassed. Additionally, if I ever have to testify to something official (as in court or give a version of a car accident) I will only do it in English, so that my meaning cannot be misinterpreted at all.
Most of your comments are condescending, and you don't even realise it, however good intentioned your comment.
Lei meg.
First of all, public speech is a top 3 fear of most people, so then to have to do it not in ones' native language really ups the stress.
Itseems to me the LPGA, the players, and the press are all on a slow learning curve. There is probably a template for a better way of doing this.
And If I have been condescending , I apologize,: comedy is not pretty. ;)
I feel me good - for a Swede, he's following the grammatical structure of his native language. Actually, raising my two daughters in a bi-lingual family, unfortunately their English takes on the grammatical structures of their majority spoken language, and on occasion they say something like "I not did it Daddy". Lucky they've got about 15 years to work on their golf games and language skills before subjecting themselves to the rigours of a LPGA post round interview.
Lei meg