Learning Korean: Siren’s Kiss
Syria vs Suriya
I am so excited because I figured out something that has been bothering me for a long time! I have noticed watching the show called “Siren’s Kiss” that translations of country names in Korean sound really odd to me. They’re pronouncing the word Syria, but it sounds like they’re saying “Shiriya.”
Where did that “sh” come from?
Then I remembered that the S-I sounds in Korean together (시) makes a “sh” sound. That is why, to my ears as an American, Korean seems to be adding a sound that should not exist in a country‘s name. I’ve heard it when they say things like “shimple” to mean “matter of fact” or the English word “simple” in Konglish.
Except, who am I to judge? I am not Syrian! I don’t speak Arabic! And I most certainly do not speak Korean.
So, I wondered to myself, “Self, how do you say the country’s name in Arabic?“ Siri quickly told me that in Arabic it’s transliterated into Roman letters as “Suriya.” The funny thing, is that I have seen this written out in variety of places for reasons unknown to me.
This made me wonder if North Koreans transliterate and translate the names of countries from how the people themselves say their countries as opposed to the South Korean language in which they often translate and transliterate from English. I remember recently how I learned that in North Korea, México is Mehiggo, pronounced like “Meh-hee-ko,” the way that Mexicans themselves pronounce the name of their country. However, South Koreans take the English version of the country and transliterate it into 멕시코 like “Meh-shee-ko.” I find that fascinating. I did some quick Internet sleuthing and it turns out that my hunches were correct! In North Korea, they spell the country of Syria as 수리야 , Suriya. This is more in line with how Syrians pronounce their country’s name. It is also similar to Russian approaches to country names.
However, it becomes uncomfortable for me as an American hearing words that are transliterated from my native language when the outcome is completely random like “Shiriya.” It is neither the English version of the country nor the way that people from the country themselves call their country. So, every time I watch Siren’s Kiss, I make a face like, “What the fuck did the script writers just make my girl Park Minyoung say? How dare the South Korean language institute make her twist her beautiful mouth to sound so ridiculous?” She does not deserve that!
How can a country that developed such an amazing writing system fail so badly when it comes to pronouncing foreign words? US intervention? Western imperialism? I am not surprised if that is the case. Western imperialism certainly has a good track record of running good things that come from other countries.
If I had all the power in the world, I would make the South Korean language Institute reconsider translation of all foreign words so that South Koreans don’t look weird when they’re pronouncing words that they should know how to say it “”correctly.” This will also make it easier for people like me to learn the Korea language without feeling like I am pronouncing Syria like it’s something I should have for breakfast.
What do you think? Have you ever heard country names in Korean and had a giant question mark across your face?
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