영어 독해와 작문 천재 안병규 4과 본문 Language: A Culture Capsule

Unit 4 Language

Language: A Culture Capsule

In Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, Juliet says, “What’s in a name? 

 

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” 

 

The flower is called kufufuka, whakatika, mawar, and ruusu, in Swahili, Maori, Indonesian, and Finnish, respectively.

 

 

It is indeed true that a rose would remain beautiful and keep its sweet scent even if it were called something else. 

 

This means that a name in a language is often arbitrary. 

 

However, there are examples which show that there is something in a name. 

 

Consider the term “smoking gun,” for instance, which was first used in the Sherlock Holmes story, “Adventure of the Gloria Scott,” in 1893. 

 

Everybody knows that a gun does not smoke a cigarette or a cigar. 

 

In English, “a smoking gun” refers to an object or a fact that serves as conclusive evidence for a crime or a similar act.

 

 

If a person were found with a smoking gun in his or her hand, the person would be considered the one who fired the shot. 

 

The frequent use of the term reflects an old culture where people used to carry guns in their daily lives. 

 

“To cross the Rubicon”is another example in English. 

 

The phrase, which means “to reach a point where you cannot change a decision,” originates with Julius Caesar. 

 

His victories abroad made him a hero to the Romans. 

 

However, the senators did not like him, and they conspired to make people think that Caesar was a traitor. 

 

Caesar knew that crossing the Rubicon River with his army was against the law, and that he would suffer death if he did so alone.

 

 

He stood at the river for a long time. 

 

Convinced that the Romans still thought of him as a hero, Caesar led his army across the Rubicon, the point of no return. 

 

This ancient history is being kept in the English phrase.

 

 

Contemporary culture is also reflected in language.

 

One British publisher releases a list of new informal expressions that are added to their dictionary every year. 

 

In 2015, one of the new expressions was “mic drop,” which literally refers to an act of deliberately dropping or tossing aside one’s microphone at the end of a particularly impressive performance or speech. 

 

The mic drop has been employed by rappers and comedians since at least the 1980s, and it has grown steadily in popularity over recent years. 

 

The expression is mostly used figuratively as in, “He entertained the audience with his acceptance speech and mic drop after winning the award.” 

 

It is clear by now that language, especially its non-arbitrary aspect, reflects culture and history. 

 

This applies not just to Western languages but also to Asian languages like Korean. 

 

You will know what sichimi tteda means. 

 

In fact, tteda is a common word which means “to remove” in Korean. 

 

However, have you ever wondered what sichimi means?

 

The term comes from traditional Korean falconry, an old way to hunt with a falcon. 

 

In the old days, a tag called sichimi was placed on a falcon’s tail to show who owned the bird. 

 

Thieves would steal falcons and replace the tags with their own, pretending that the birds belonged to them.

 

 

 

Another Korean tradition is Korean wrestling called ssireum. 

 

In its modern form, each of the two contestants wears a belt (satba) around the waist and the thigh. 

 

They lock on to each other’s belts, and one achieves victory by bringing any part of the opponent’s body above the knee to the ground. 

 

Each contestant employs a series of tactics, which cause little or no injury to the opponent. 

 

Ttanjuk is one tactic by means of which a contestant uses his foot to bring the opponent down. 

 

In today’s Korean, the expression ttanjuk geolda means that you try to keep someone else from achieving the previously agreed-upon goal by doing or saying something irrelevant. 

 

Sometimes it is unclear where an expression originated. 

 

However, there are interesting and convincing stories about where it might have come from. 

 

For example, Koreans often say eocheogunieopda to express that they are greatly perplexed. 

 

In this expression, eopda means “without” in Korean, but what does eocheoguni mean? 

 

According to folk etymology, eocheoguni refers to the handle on a hand mill traditionally used for grinding food items. 

 

Suppose that someone wants to grind beans using a hand mill. 

 

If the handle were missing, they would most likely feel perplexed. 

 

The examples above clearly demonstrate that language reflects our culture and history. 

 

Now, look for additional examples and think about what they mean and how they relate to culture and history. 

 

You will be able to see for yourself that Juliet was only partly right.

 

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