Pan's Labyrinth Follow-up

Today, I was talking to one of my classes about what they did over the weekend. A girl said, "I wen to the movies!" Then, I asked which one. She said the name in Korean and I recognized the Korean name for Pan's Labyrinth. Then, in broken English, she explained the movie was in French! I corrected her of course, but if you read the previous entry, you'll recall that this wasn't the first time the language of the movie was misidentified by a Korean.

I began to consider how prior to coming to Asia, most Asian languages looked the same to me. I could sometimes distinguish between Japanese and Chinese, but beyond that I was ignorant. Now of course, I can easily distinguish both written and orally between the three major Northern Asian languages.

I can understand how someone who is not used to the romance languages can get them mixed up. Italian and Spanish are so similar to me that I can't often distinguish when they are both spoken fast. However, the more I think about it, those theater employees yesterday, with their eight years of English education, had no excuse to mistake Spanish for English.

Maybe I can make a lesson out that: distinguishing between the major languages of the Americas and Europe.

Other Links:
My Pan's Labyrinth post.