Britcent - [S6E1] Politeness and nunchi

Steph  00:02

Hello, Dalya. How are you?

 

Dalya  00:04

Hello, Steph. I'm very well, thank you. How are you doing?

 

Steph  00:07

I'm good, thank you. I'm excited about our Season Six podcast, starting today.

 

Dalya  00:12

Yes, new season, new us. New women? No.

 

Steph  00:15

No. This podcast is going to be about cultural aspects. We're going to be chatting about loads of different things related to culture, about British culture, but also mentioning things that we've learned about South Korea, as well, from our students.

*aspects 측면, 양상

 

Dalya  00:35

Yeah, similarities and differences.

 

Steph  00:37

Exactly. So it's gonna be fun. Any news your end?

*Any news your end? 비격식 표현으로 상대방의 최근 상황이나 업데이트를 알고 싶을 때 사용.

 

Dalya  00:43

Oh, I'm going to France soon, which is exciting. 

 

Steph  00:45

Ooh, amazing. That will be fun. 

 

Dalya  00:47

Yes. Very excited. The south of France; the best part. 

 

Steph  00:50

Definitely. The hottest part. 

 

Dalya  00:53

Yeah, I know. I need to get some suncream.

 

Steph  00:55

Very nice. Very nice. Yeah.

 

Dalya  00:57

You? 

 

Steph  00:58

Um, not much, but we do have some Britcent news.

 

Dalya  01:02

Oh, yes. Drumroll, please.

 

Steph  01:03

Drumroll, please. We have a book being published; our first ever, which is very exciting. If any of our listeners listened to mine and Joe's podcast, way back, the first ever one that I did, actually. 

*way back 오래 전

 

Dalya  01:18

Oh, gee. Oh, gee. 

 

Steph  01:20

Exactly. Yeah. So we are publishing a book with all the scripts with exercises, vocabulary. So it's a great way to practice listening, and of course, with the audio files as well. So I'm super excited for that to come out. Very soon, actually.

 

Dalya  01:38

It's quite a rare thing, isn't it, to have a book but with dialogue, like actual real-life conversations. 

 

Steph  01:44

That's the thing. That's what makes it different to other textbooks, I guess, for learning English because it's just chatting, you know, like regular, informal, everyday British chat, I suppose. You could call it. 

 

Dalya  01:58

Like a textbook but actually fun. 

 

Steph  01:59

Yeah, exactly. Not scripted. So that's the main thing. Not scripted. It's real English, which is extremely exciting. So you never know, if it's popular, maybe your and my podcast might be printed out one day.

*scripted 대본을 읽는, 원고를 읽는

 

Dalya  02:12

Ooh, here we go. Fingers crossed.

 

Steph  02:18

So, today, we're going to be talking about politeness and the idea of nunchi, as well.

 

Dalya  02:28

Nunchi. I hope people are impressed that we know this word.

 

Steph  02:30

I hope so too. Yeah, I think there's quite a few similarities between British culture and Korean culture from what I've understood when it comes to these things. But also some differences, of course, but I think there are some similarities that we're going to talk about as well. And guys, don't forget to listen out for three words, which might be useful, interesting words. We're going to mention them at the very end of today's podcast. Listen out for those.

*quite a few 상당수의

*when it comes to ~에 관한 한

*listen out for ~을 들으려고 귀를 기울이다.

 

Dalya  02:59

Indeed. Before we get into this, we should tell people, especially non-Koreans, what nunchi is. 

*get into ~에 들어가다.

 

Steph  03:07

Of course. Why don't you do that? Because you probably know more about it than me.

 

Dalya  03:11

Well, I'm sure I'm gonna-- I'm not Korean, this is just stuff I've heard from my students, so please don't come for me if I get it wrong because I probably will. I know that the word 'nun' means 'I'.

 

Steph  03:21

Ah, I didn't know that. 

 

Dalya  03:23

I don't know what 'chi' means. But, as far as I know, nunchi is the ability to understand what people are thinking and feeling especially in, like a social setting, like a group setting, but without it being said and then, obviously, behaving appropriately.

 

Steph  03:41

And we do have an expression, which basically means that in English, which is used a lot these days, which is 'read the room'. 

*these days (과거와 비교해서) 요즘에는

*read the room 눈치를 챙기다.

 

Dalya  03:52

Absolutely, yeah.

 

Steph  03:52

So the ability to 'read the room', basically; it's basically nunchi. From what you've said, it sounds like it is.

 

Dalya  03:59

Yeah, I think so. And that's what I find amazing. Like, our cultures are so different - we're literally on opposite ends of the earth, the planet - but there are some things which are actually kind of the same.

 

Steph  04:09

Yeah. So would you say that, generally, would you say that British people are polite?

 

Dalya  04:19

Well, this is the thing, isn't it? Depends where and when. Yes, on the whole, until it gets dark and we go to the pub. 

*on the whole 전반적으로 보아, 대체로

 

Steph  04:29

Very good point. Very good point. 

 

Steph  04:31

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Once it gets dark, once the drink's flowing--

 

Dalya  04:31

Like vampires. 

 

Dalya  04:36

We come out.

 

Steph  04:37

--we let loose, we let loose. We let our hair down, basically.

*let one's hair down 경계심을 풀다, 느긋하게 즐기다.

 

Dalya  04:41

Let our hair down. And that's one big similarity I've seen with Koreans and British people because Koreans have often told me about, you know, the strict hierarchy. Obviously, we're generalising. There's the nunchi, there's a lot of expectations, societally. But then they tell me that they go out with their bosses and get wasted and I'm like, "How do you do both?" Like, "How are you super polite, but then you completely let go?" And one of my students was like, "That's why! Because we're so kind of polite in the day, we need a space to just kind of let go." And I think it's similar with British people; we kind of suppress our emotions, don't we? 

*societally 사회적으로

*suppress 참다, 억누르다.

 

Steph  05:15

We do to a certain extent. We do express our emotions, but we express them quite diplomatically, I think. So we're not extremely direct, like some other cultures. So, let's say in the workplace, if you didn't agree with something that was being proposed, you could simply disagree with it, but you can do it in a very roundabout, kind of indirect way--

*to a certain extent 어느 정도까지

*diplomatically 외교적으로, 무안하지 않게, 세련되게

*roundabout 우회적인, 간접의

*indirect 우회하는, 간접적인

 

Dalya  05:38

Beating around the bush. Yeah. 

*Beat around the bush 돌려서 말하다, 요점을 피하다.

 

Steph  05:40

Yeah. So it's not like you have to completely, like, accept everything that everyone says because they're, I don't know, your manager, or because they're older than you, or whatever. So we can, you know, say that we don't agree, but the thing is that you have to do it in a very diplomatic way, obviously, otherwise you're going to be described as unprofessional or too emotional or angry. Or something like that. 

*it's not like that ~그런것은 아니다.

*be described as ~로 묘사되다.

 

Dalya  06:06

Exactly. That's why we suppress those emotions.

 

Steph  06:08

Yeah. So your true emotions, you obviously don't, you don't express them as openly as you would with your friends. Of course not. But, yeah, I think when people drink, those emotions tend to kind of come out a bit more. 

 

Dalya  06:24

And all of them, you could see screaming, laughing, crying, all of them.

 

Steph  06:30

Exactly. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah, so it's quite common, I would say, like, to see somebody during the daytime, let's say at work, who's very kind of polite, quiet, maybe very respectful, not loud or outgoing or anything. And then, I don't know, one Friday night, you might go out with that person and the office and have loads of drinks. And by the end of the night, they're singing on the table, like, dancing on the table and singing or something like that. 

*daytime 낮, 주간

*outgoing 외향적인, 사교적인

 

Dalya  07:03

And there's men like wearing fairy wings. And, you know, it's interesting; I've actually seen-- there were three photos, which, over the last 10 years that went viral online. 

*went viral 입소문이 나다.

 

Steph  07:13

Oh yeah?

 

Dalya  07:13

Because they were, like, shocking pictures of just a person just completely wasted on the street. 

*wasted 술에 찌든

 

Steph  07:19

Really? Okay. 

 

Dalya  07:20

And, interestingly, the three places they were from: one was Manchester. 

 

Steph  07:23

Yeah. 

 

Dalya  07:24

One was Seoul. 

 

Steph  07:25

Ah! 

 

Dalya  07:26

And one was Norway. Because my parents used to live in Norway and they said it's the same there because everybody's very polite and closed. They get really drunk and then just go mental.

*go mental 돌아버리다.

 

Steph  07:35

Wow, that's really interesting. I would love to see these pictures. It's quite funny when you see someone so, like, composed and then suddenly, like, they're falling all over the place, vomiting on the pavement.

*composed 침착한, 차분한

*all over the place 모든 곳에, 사방에

 

Dalya  07:46

Well, they lose their inhibitions, isn't it? That's a perfect phrase to describe it.

*lose one's inhibitions 낯가림을 벗어던지다.

 

Steph  07:50

Exactly. You lose your inhibitions. That's right. And that's what alcohol does to you, I guess. So, yeah. Have you ever been in a situation where you've been the only one sober?

*sober 술 취하지 않은, 냉철한, 진지한

 

Dalya  07:59

Yes, it's terrifying and hilarious. Both. 

 

Steph  08:02

Agreed. Agreed. I never want to be in that situation again. I need to be as drunk as everyone else, I think.

 

Dalya  08:07

Well, it makes me think, "Oh my god, is this what I'm like?"

 

Steph  08:10

Yeah, yeah.

 

Dalya  08:11

"I should just stop drinking."

 

Steph  08:14

So funny. Yeah. But, I think, going back to the whole being direct thing, I think it's really important to be able to kind of read between the lines with British people. 

*read between the lines 속 뜻을 읽다.

 

Dalya  08:23

Yeah. 

 

Steph  08:24

You know, like, I've had students - not South Korean students; maybe kind of cultures that where they're a little bit more direct with their kind of feedback and stuff, like Spanish students or Italian students something - and they've come up to me and said, "Can you read this email from my boss?" Like, "What exactly is he asking me to do?" Because they'll have a British boss but the email will be so kind of indirect that they're trying to decode it. Like they don't quite-

*come up to ~에게 다가가다.

 

Dalya  08:56

That's the perfect word. Even stronger than decipher; it's even more cryptic. 

*decipher 판독하다, 해독하다.

*cryptic 수수께끼 같은, 아리송한

 

Steph  08:59

Exactly. So you don't know whether the person is saying 'yes' to your request, 'no' to your request because, obviously, they don't want to say 'no' so directly. So you really need to read between the lines in British culture.

 

Dalya  09:10

I'm getting so many reminders. This happens with my family, like the older generation in my family; I find it so difficult--

*reminder 상기시켜 주는 것

 

Steph  09:16

Yeah? 

 

Dalya  09:17

--to actually know what they mean. It's kind of exhausting because I have to, kind of, know what they're thinking, what they're feeling. And it's like, I'm not a psychologist. I don't know. You know, like, please just tell me what you want. 

*psychologist 심리학자

 

Steph  09:29

Yeah. No, it's, I think it's something that can be learnt, of course. Like, you know, it's not something that you'll never be able to get. Obviously, if you're living in the country or you're being exposed to that culture a lot, then you'll start to realise the way things are. But, at the beginning, it can be hard. Definitely.

 

Dalya  09:49

Yeah, a lot of people learn the hard way. They get, like, offended or confused. And then after a few years, they're like, "Ah, okay!"

 

Steph  09:55

"It wasn't meant to be offensive" or "maybe I misunderstood that". Et cetera. 

 

Dalya  10:00

Or they accidentally offended someone because they weren't polite enough. 

 

Steph  10:03

Exactly, exactly. So let's go to our three-word takeaway. So our, I think it was our first one was 'read the room'. Read the room. This is a great expression. As we said, similar to nunchi, we guess. But basically, the meaning of 'read the room' is when you use your intuition to understand the general mood of the people in that situation, basically. And when you understand it, you obviously behave accordingly. 

*takeaway 비결

*intuition 직관, 직감

 

Dalya  10:34

Yes, 

 

Steph  10:35

It's often used as an imperative, like as a kind of order. So you might say, "Read the room, James. No one here is interested in talking politics right now."

 

Dalya  10:44

Oh my god, I've been in that situation so many times. Or if something bad's happened, right, like, when everybody's really quiet because perhaps, like, you know, somebody died or something like that, and someone comes in and they're like, "Hey, what's up?" You're like, "Read the room."

 

Steph  10:58

"Read the room!" Yeah, exactly.

 

Dalya  11:00

"Be quiet."

 

Steph  11:01

And then we had another expression with 'read'. Would you like to share that one?

 

Dalya  11:06

I would. 'Read between the lines.' And I think this alludes to the lines in a book. So that means to look for or discover a meaning in something that is not openly stated. 

*allude to ~을 넌지시 언급하다, 암시하다.

*stated (분명히) 진술된, 확언된

 

Dalya  11:18

So, mind reading, basically. 

 

Steph  11:18

Like the hidden meaning. 

 

Steph  11:19

Basically, yes, exactly. Yeah, how can we use it in another sentence?

 

Dalya  11:25

So we could say, "Reading between the lines, I think Claire needs money." 

 

Steph  11:30

So maybe she's kind of, like, maybe Claire's like hinted at money, needing mon-- you know, dropping hints. So you're like, "Hmm, reading between the lines, I think she, I think she needs that--"

*hint at ~을 넌지시 언급하다, 암시하다.

 

Dalya  11:36

And that's a sensitive topic, money. 

 

Steph  11:42

Very, very sensitive. Yeah. And we had another nice expression, which was 'to let your hair down.' I love this expression. So, if you imagine somebody has their hair tied up on top of their head, like in a ponytail or something, so it's very neat and very, you know, smart, I guess. And then they just take it out and like, you know, wave their hair around. They're having fun. 

 

Dalya  12:08

Like a L'Oréal advert. 

 

Steph  12:09

Yeah, exactly. So, basically, imagine that when you think of this, guys. 'Let your hair down.' It basically means 'relax, enjoy yourself, have fun', you know. So, you could say, "Come on, Jim, this is a party. Let your hair down and go a little wild!"

*go a little wild 과감하게 행동하다.

 

Dalya  12:28

And just, sorry, to state the obvious; it is an idiom. It's not literal. So you can say this, even if you have--

*state the obvious 당연한 것을 말하다.

 

Steph  12:34

Even if you have short hair.

 

Dalya  12:35

If you're bald.

*bald 대머리의, 머리가 벗겨진

 

Steph  12:35

Yeah, exactly. Or no hair. Of course. Yeah. Brilliant. Well, I think that's about it for today. So yeah, should we wrap up there?

*wrap up 마무리 짓다.

 

Dalya  12:47

We shall. And please leave in the comments your-- let's all share our embarrassing moments, like, because of these cultural differences that we couldn't really, you know, recognise.

 

Steph  12:56

Love it. Yeah, do that. And don't forget, guys, check out that book that we told you about. Yeah, so that you can practice your listening skills. Cool. I will see you next time, Dalya. Have a lovely week. 

 

Dalya  13:10

Bye.

 

Steph  13:10

Bye.