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A Comparative Study on Idioms of the Human Body Parts

in Korean and Malay Languages

ROU SEUNG YOAN (National University of Malaysia) KIM KEUM HYUN (University of Malaya)

ABSTRACT

The idiom or idiomatic expression is a phrasal combination of two or more words where its

figurative meaning is different from its literal meaning. Most idiomatic expressions reflect the

speaker’s culture, customs, and social and historical backgrounds. Hence, without knowing a

target language’s cultural aspects, and also because idioms are expressions whose meanings

cannot be inferred from the dictionary definitions, a foreign language learner frequently faces

problems in understanding the actual meaning of these idiomatic expressions. In the case of

Koreans and Malaysians who use idiomatic expressions in their daily conversations,

understanding them in their respective languages is not a problem. However, this might not be

the case when these two groups try to learn each other’s idioms. Therefore, this study analyses

the idiomatic expressions related to five human body parts (head, eye, nose, mouth and ear) in

Korean and Malay. In addition, the study also examines the cultural aspects, purpose and

situations in which the idiomatic expressions are used by the speakers of the respective

languages. Data was sourced from dictionaries and books on idioms in both languages and a

comparative study was conducted using the Language Relativism framework of Sapir-Whorf’s.

The findings revealed three categories of idiomatic expressions; those that have the same literal

and real meanings in both languages, those that differ in real meanings but are similar in literal

meanings in the two languages, and those that differ in literal meanings but are similar in real

meanings in Korean and Malay.

Keywords: idiom, idiomatic expression, Korean language, Malay language, culture, communication

INTRODUCTION In the global society, language could be a helpful and valuable tool for global citizens to

communicate with people from different cultures. However, language also could be a source of

misunderstandings and conflicts or at the same time barriers for cordial relationship and

effective cooperation for mutual benefits if people from different cultures are ignorant of

cultural diversity or lack a shared cultural code. Claire Kramsch states that different people

speak differently because they think differently, and they think differently because their

language offers them different ways of expressing the world around them (1998: 11). Therefore

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it is highly recommended that one should learn a second language or other languages not only

to communicate with different people but also to share views and understand each other better.

The role of language in communication and in the sharing of culture, then, cannot be

underestimated because the study of language as a source of cultural and historical elements

can enable us to understand people’s values, world views and morality.

Korean language has become one of most popular languages among Malaysians. It was

offered as a foreign language in the middle of 1980 at two national universities and one college

as an elective course. At present, more than 20 public and private universities including private

language institutes and centres are offering it to students. Meanwhile, the Korean government

Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) which was first held at the National University of Malaysia

(UKM) in 2004 had only 28 candidates for the basic level without any for the intermediate and

advanced levels. However, when the 36th TOPIK was held in April 2014, the number of

candidates increased to 219. Surprisingly, 67 out of 73 Malaysians sat for the intermediate level

and 10 out of 24 took the advanced level test. This clearly shows that the number of Korean

language learners has increased and that their Korean proficiency level has also improved.

Besides being more proficient in the language, Korean entertainment programmes such as

Korean Wave and K-Pop have contributed significantly to Malaysians’ awareness and knowledge

of Korea and its language. As a result, a large number of Malaysian nowadays can give simple

greetings in Korean and talk about Korean culture, history and its economy frequently.

With the acceleration of improved language proficiency and knowledge about Korea, the

demands to learn Korean idioms or cultural idiomatic expressions have been hightened among

Malaysians. Because idioms are specific expressions of a country’s historical, social and cultural

backgrounds, it is difficult to understand her idiomatic expressions without knowing these

backgrounds. Therefore, Malaysians studying Korean idioms will find it very difficult in

understanding them. However, if Malaysians learn the right meaning of Korean idiomatic

expressions and use them appropreately, it will lead to better understanding between

Malaysians and Koreans. Since idiomatic expressions related human body parts could be

considered universal because all human beings have the same body parts, this study focuses on

comparing Korean and Malay idioms or idiomatic expressions related specifically to the head,

eye, nose, mouth and ear. When we can understand the social and cultural heritage of people

by investigating their idioms which have been passed down verbally and non-verbally for

generations, the world becomes a better place for everyone.

STUDIES ON IDIOMS/IDIOMATIC PHRASES

Idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its

constituent elements (The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 1987)1 and in its

1 Idiom is defined as follows: 1) an expression whose meaning cannot be derived from its constituent element. 2) a language dialect or style of speaking peculiar to a language. 3) a construction or expression peculiar to a language. 4) a distinct style or character, as in music or art. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1968). Fernando suggests three criteria of idioms as follows; (1) Semantic criteria a) the meaning of an idiom is not the result of the compositional function of its constituent part. b) an idiom has a homonymous counterpart which would render it ambiguous unless suitably contextualised. c) an idiom has a compulsory literal semantic

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structural characteristics, idioms or idiomatic phrases are similar in structure to ordinary

phrases except that they tend to be frozen in form and do not readily undergo rules that change

word order or substitution of their parts (V. Fromkin and R. Rodman, 1998: 151). Since the

above-defined range of idioms is extremely large, the first meaning is to be used as specific or

narrow sense of idiom in this paper.

Of the many scholars (Kim Kyu Sun: 1979, Kim Mun Chang: 1974, Kim In Han: 1983, Park

Kyung Hyun: 1983, 1984, and Hwang Hee Yeong: 1978) who worked on Korean idioms, Kim Jong

Taek (1971) divides them into substantive type idiom and predicative type idiom. He explains

that the former refers to an idiom ending with a word or proverb ending noun whereas the

latter refers to two or more words combined to form a morphological structure which allows a

syntactic extension. Besides its type, idiom is also known differently to different researchers.

Park Yeong Soon (1985), Choi Kyung Bong and Kim Hye Sook (1993) in their studies referred to

Fernando’s (1978) semantic, syntactic and sociolinguistic criteria and used the term ‘idiom’.

Other scholars who used ‘idiom’ include Kim Min Soo (1964), Kim Jong Taek (1971), Lee Yeong

Hee (1982), Kim Seung Ho (1981), Park Yeong Soon (1985), Jung Ok Joo (1984), Park Jin Soo

(1986), Huh Yang (1989), Hong Mi Ran (1989), Choi Kyung Bong (1992), Park Hye Kyung (1993),

and Hwang Soo Mi (1994). However as a generic concept, ‘idiomatic expression’ has been

frequently used instead of ‘idiom’ (Kim Mun Chang: 1974, Oh Se Yun: 1982, Lee Taek Hwe:

1983). While many scholars (Lee Yeong Hee: 1982, Park Jin Soo: 1986, Shim Jae Ki: 1986, Ahn

Kyung Hwa: 1986, Kang Hyun Hwa: 1987, Na Eun Yeong: 1989, Huh Yang: 1989, Hong Mi Ran:

1989, Lim Ji Ryong: 1992, Hwang Soo Mi: 1994) preferred ‘idiomatic expression’ which is

pronounced as ‘idieom’ in Korean (Kim Min Soo: 1964, Kim Jong Taek: 1971), ‘idiomatic phrase’

has also been used (Kim Hye Sook: 1993, Kim Min Soo: 1964, Lee Taek Hwe: 1983, Na Eun Yeong:

1989). Meanwhile, ‘proverb’ (Kim Min Soo: 1964, Kim Mun Chang: 1974, Oh Se Woon: 1982,

Shim Jae Gi: 1986), ‘narrow-sense idiom’ (Kim In Han: 1983) and ‘broad-sense idiom (Kim In Han:

1983) have also been used in the literature. Compared to the generic concept as a

comprehensive category, the specific concept, as a subcategory, used many different terms such

as ‘idiom’, ‘polysemic words’, ‘compound words’, ‘figurative words’, ‘slang’, ‘proverb’, ‘enigma’,

‘greetings’, ‘maxim’, and ‘aphorism’ in Korean studies.

Studies on Korean idioms related to human body parts can be divided into three groups.

The first study idioms on only one part of the human body such as the ‘head’, ‘nose’, ‘eye’ and

‘ear’ separately (Kim Mun Chang: 1976, Park Kyung Hyun: 1984, Sohn Yong Joo: 1988, 1990, Lee

Kyung Ja: 1980, 1982, 1983, Hong Sa Man: 1985, 1986). The second conduct comparative

studies between Korean and other languages. For example, Lee Sang Do (1999) and Kim Yang Ok

(2004) compared Korean and Chinese idioms about the hand and whole body parts respectively.

The third group, which is the most current, study methods of teaching Korean idioms related to

human body parts. While Kim Myung Choon (2007) researched on how to teach Korean idioms

to Japanese learners, Lee Yeong Sook (1992) looks at how idioms are used in teaching Korean as

counterpart which may substitute with it synonymously in a given context. (2) Syntactic criteria: a) an idiom is syntactic unit consisting of two or more free morphemes. b) an idiom is a syntactic unit manifesting lexical integrity. c) an idiom is not generatable i.e. an idiom is not produced qua idiom by the operation of syntactic rules. (3) Sociolinguistic criteria: an idiom is institutionalized. (1978: 313, 343)

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a second language. Unfortunately, her study lacks the strategies in teaching idioms in Korean

language education. Another innovative method of teaching idioms was through the mass

media. Choi Gwon Jin and Jeong Hye Ryeong (2010) used a list of idioms taken from seven

Korean textbooks and from TOPIK test papers to conduct the study.

In the Malay dictionary, idiom is a phrase consisting of two words or more and has a

different meaning from the meaning of the composing words (Kamus Dewan 1986: 1113).

Malaysians always say that “Bahasa adalah jiwa bangsa” (Language is the soul of the race) as

elements of literature can portray the culture of the society including perceptions and values of

its people.2 Zainal Abidin Bakar discusses the role and functions of idioms and says that in Malay

society particularly, ‘Pantuns’ (poems) reflect the soul and values of Malay culture. “Pantun and

‘peribahasa’ (proverbs) are integral and valuable cultural heritage for the Malay society (1984:

3). Muhammad Haji Salleh (1986: 3) also added that “pantuns are clearly portraying perfectness

and genius of Malay’s literature. Pantuns pertain spirit, arts, wisdom and good manners of

Malays”. Furthermore Muhammad Haji Salleh (2006: 1) emphasizes on idioms as a tool of

socialization and mentions idioms and proverbs were the most significant methods in

channelling the values, thoughts of the Malay of the archipelago. Through wisdom and poetic

associations, the lines sketch the people's soul, giving voice to issues faced perpetually for

hundreds of years, in fact thousands, in matters of practicality and hearts, physically and

spiritually, which would later be translated into a mixture of opinions, values, laws, love and

affection and a multiplicity of emotions. The function of pantun and peribahasa should be seen

from two major perspectives, namely the literati/sage as poet and thinker. “Pantuns contain

guideline and teaching which guide people to goodness and peace of life in order to be polite

and intelligent” (Mastura Ashari, 2011, 2012: 11). In the Malay world, idiom is a very popular

communication method and is used by all groups and classes of society (Zainal Abidin Bakar,

1983: 32). According to Hasan Muhammad Ali (1996: 8) the function of idioms i) lend colour and

life to an otherwise monotonous essay, ii) refine or introduce a more subtle adjective to soften

the verbs or image which one wishes to convey or use, iii) enhance and entice the recipient of

the objective or purpose of such a word or idea which the speaker uses, iv) lay emphasis on the

idea or story being told.

Given the rich data idioms provide, unfortunately, not many studies about idioms and

idioms related to human body parts by Korean researchers have been carried out in Malaysia.

One noteworthy study was the “Pengkajian simpulan bahasa mengenai anggota badan dalam

beberapa bahasa: Research on body-related idioms in several languages” in 1993 by academics

from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia where Malay idioms on human body parts were compared

to five Asian languages; Korean, Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic, as well as three European

languages; English, French and German.

2 The Following scholars have proved the importance of literature in understanding culture of society. i) Barnouw, Victor in Culture and Personality, ii) Senu Abdul Rahman in Revolusi Mental, iii) Abdul Halim Othman & Wan Rafaei Abdul Rahman in Psikologi Melayu, iv) Muhammad Hj. Salleh in Cermin Diri, v) Wan Abdul Kadir in Budi Sebagai Asas Budaya Melayu, vi) Whiting, John W.M. (et al.), Field Guide for a Study of Socialization.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical framework of this study is underpinned by Sapir-Whorf’s ‘Language Relativism’.

From the perspective of language relativism or weak language determinism, thought is

influenced by language, whatever that language may be. This language relativity assumes that;

firstly, peoples of the world have developed different ways of viewing the world and language

differences affect our daily, automatic thinking, rather than what we are capable of thinking

about. Secondly, language differences reflect differences in conceptual structure and the

conceptual system underlying the language that a person speaks will affect the way in which

that person thinks about the world and, accordingly, the way in which that person will reason

when solving problems. Thirdly, language can create some aspects of reality and the more

frequent and automatic the word or grammatical form, the more it potentially affects what we

observe in the world and how we reason. Languages make different distinctions in their lexicons.

A distinctively sculpted lexicon is the evolutionary product of a people’s struggle to survive in a

specific environment. But of course, the environment itself can be human-made. Whorf says

that the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which have to be organized

largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. Meanings are not so much discovered in

experience as imposed upon it, because of the tyrannical hold that linguistic form has upon our

orientation to the world. Therefore, there is a need to study the treasure of Malay and Korean

languages and to examine whether language affects the perception and reasoning of people.

Language is a guide to ‘social reality’. Though language is not ordinary thought of as of

essential interest to the students of social science, it powerfully conditions all our thinking about

social problems and processes. Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone

in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the

particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. (Edward Sapir,

1949: 162 in Claire Kramsch, 1998: 85) Based on this theory, it is assumed that analyzing Malay

and Korean languages could enhance our understanding of cultures, particularly their values

and attitudes.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

This qualitative study adopted text analysis to examine the differences of perception, world-

view and values, particularly about the human body in Korean and Malaysian society. This

research on expressions aims at discerning general perceptions embodied in ideas or thoughts

of Koreans and Malaysians. In line with this aim, the authors had focused idioms of the two

societies and each of these categories was then divided into sub-categories of the head, eye,

nose, mouth and ear. 62 Korean idiomatic phrases and 78 Malaysian idiomatic phrases were

selected. 3 In both languages, the idioms are formed as follows:

Noun

3 Kim Hyung Sook(1996) studied on body-related idioms in Korean dictionary for Idioms and levelled the idioms by its frequency of usages as follows; hand(155) > eye(124) > mouth(121) > nose(72) > ear(58) > foot(54) > head(47) > face(36). However only selected Korean idioms were undertaken for the purpose of comparing Malaysian idioms and those idioms that could be categorized are mentioned in this study.

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Body-related words (head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears) + Adjective Verb (active form) Verb (passive form) Idioms on Head

In Korean as well as Malay idioms on human body parts,4 the word ‘head’5 carries an important

function in relation to recognition and conceptualization. It is used as idiomatic expression in

various communicative, cultural and literature context. The word ‘head’ represents the head of

a community. As the leader, ‘head’ therefore, is the person to be respected by members of the

community. ‘Head’ does not mean the physical form but the ‘brain’. It refers to ‘intellectual

ability’, ‘thought’, ‘enlightenment’ and ‘understanding’. In most cases, when the word ‘head’

regardless whether it is used either as ‘head’ or ‘brain’ when combined with various nouns and

adjectives, they become idioms in both languages. From 25 Korean idioms and 18 Malaysian

idioms, 7 idioms matched with the following three categories as shown in Tables 1, 2, 3 below;

Table 1: Idioms with same literal and actual meaning (Head)

Korean idioms (Meori)

Malay idioms (Kepala)

Meaning of words Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Meorireul sikhida

Kepala dingin Sikhida (cool down)

Dingin (cool) Calm down, patient

Meoriga dolda Kepala pusing Dolda (spin) Pusing (spin) To have a lot problem, to be crazy

Table 2: Idioms with differnt literal meaning but same actual meaning (Head)

Korean idiom (Meori)

Malay idiom (Kepala)

Meaning of words Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Dol Meori Kepala udang Dol (stone/ rock)

Udang (shrimp)

Stupid, foolish

Table 3: Idioms with same literal meaning but different actual meaning (Head)

Korean idioms (Meori)

Malay idioms (Kepala)

Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Dol Meori Kepala batu Dol (stone/rock): stupid Batu (stone/rock): do not want to obey or follow

4 According to Mun Jong Sun (1994) Korean idioms on human body parts accounted for 54% in total Korean dioms.

5 It is characterized by most of Korean idioms on human body parts are monosyllabic. For example, human body-related idioms in one syllable are eyes(nun), nose(kho), mouth(ib), ears(gwi), tooth(i), tongue(hyeo), jaw(teok), neck(mok), hand(son), arm(pal), foot(bal), bone(ppyeo), body(mom), stomach(bae), cheek(bol) etc. human body-related idioms in two syllables are head(meo-ri), face(eol-gul), shoulder(Eo-ggae), chest(ga-seum) and etc. In addition to this, some Chinese words in one syllable are also found as lung(pye), liver(gan), stomach(wi) and intenstine(jang) etc. Lee Yeong Sook (1992: 99)

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other’s words, advice, order, stubborn

Meoriga mugeobda

Berat kepala Mugeobda (heavy): headache, feels not well

Berat (heavy): can not think well or logically

Meoriga gabyeobda

Ringan kepala Gabyeobda (light): lighthearted, carefree

Ringan (light): easy to understand

Meoriga keuda Besar kapala Keuda(big): to be an adult, get to know well

Besar (big): an arrogant people

It is interesting to note that some idioms are totally different and cannot be matched

with each language probably because these idioms reflected their own unique cultural

background. For example, the Malay idiom ‘Kepala arwah (late head)’ which means special dish

or food served before feast ends is not easy to understand without knowledge of the Malaysian

culture. Similarly, Korean idioms such as ‘Meorireul kkakda’, ‘Meorireul eonda’ and ‘Meorireul

pulda’ which mean ‘Cut the hair (to be a monk or to be in jail’, ‘Hair to be putted on the head (a

woman to get married, to become a professional gisaeng/Korean geisha’ and ‘Untied hair (to be

bereaved)’ respectively are idioms that reflect the life and culture of the Josun Dynasty (1392-

1910). In general, the ‘head’ in Korean and Malay idioms provides us with the values of the

respective societies on how to evaluate the status and the intellectual ability of individual. It

represents some positive perceptions and values such as ‘high self esteem’, ‘intelligence’,

‘individual’s social status’, ‘enlightenment’ and ‘obedience’. For some idioms, it is also used to

symbolize negative perception and values like ‘being obstinate or stubborn’, ‘caprice or being

temperamental’, and ‘learning disability or stupidity’.

Idioms on Eye

Idioms on eye refer to human judgement, satisfaction, anger and attention in both Korean and

Malay. The Korean word ‘nun’ is usually combined with colour, height or weight adjectives and

various verbs but the Malay word ‘mata’ is combined with nouns. After anaylzing eight Korean

idioms and twenty three Malay idioms, only the following idioms on eyes could be categorized

as shown in Tables 4, 5 and 6 below;

Table 4: Idioms with same literal and actual meaning (Eye)

Korean idioms (Nun)

Malay idioms (Mata)

Meaning of words Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Maeumeui nun

Mata hati Maeum (heart) Mata (heart) Eyes of heart, heartstrings

Nuni mugeopda

Berat mata Mugeopda (heavy)

Berat (heavy) Sleepy, quickly get sleep, tired

Table 5: Idioms with differnt literal meaning but same actual meaning (Eye)

Korean idiom Malay idiom Meaning of words Actual Meaning

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(Nun) (Mata) Korean Malay

Kamak nun Mata betung Kamak (dark, black)

Betung (bamboo)

Illiterate, foolish

Table 6: Idioms with same literal meaning but different actual meaning (Eye)

Korean idiom (Nun)

Malay idiom (Mata)

Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Nuni eodupda Gelap mata Eodupda (dark): do not see well, do not understand well

Gelap (dark): rampage, lose one’s reason

The Malay idiom ‘Mata jalan (street eyes, marks)’ which means ‘signboard’ is also found

in Korean idioms. However, there is no meaning by itself. It must be combined with verbs like

‘Nun gireul jugo badda (to share the same thought)’ and ‘Nun gireul kkeulda (to be attracted,

draw attention)’. The eyes in both languages display values of ‘the judgment’ and ‘tool of

emotions’. It is used to describe ‘disappointment’ and ‘anger’ while it is considered as ‘source of

knowledge’ and ‘tool of expression of emotions’. And ‘eyes’ in Korean idioms are used for

describing ‘preference’, ‘individual’s interest’ while Malay idioms about eyes represent ‘origin’,

‘integral element of something’ or ‘tool of expression’.

Idioms on Nose

Two common meanings are found in Korean and Malay idioms on nose; ‘pride’ and ‘self’. When

the Korean word ‘kho (nose)’ and the Malay word ‘hidung (nose)’ are combined with the word

‘high’, the resulting idiom means ‘arrogance’ in both languages. On the other hand, when ‘kho’

and ‘hidung’ are combined with ‘cannot be seen’, the idiom means ‘absence’. Since there are

not many idioms on nose in both languages, only two categories out of the eight Korean and

five Malay idioms could be identified as shown in Tables 7 and 8 below;

Table 7: Idioms with same literal and actual meaning (Nose)

Korean idioms (Kho)

Malay idioms (Hidung)

Meaning of words Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Khokkeutdo an boida

Tidak nampak hidung

Kkeutdo an boida (is not shown)

Tidak nampak (is not shown)

Absent in the place

Khoga nopda Hidung tinggi Nopda (high) Tinggi (high) Arragont

Keun kho dachida

Kena batang hidung

Keun (big), dachida (to be hurt)

Kena batang (to be hitted the bridge of nose)

Pay dearly

Table 8: Idioms with same literal meaning but different actual meaning (Nose)

Korean idiom Malay idiom Actual Meaning

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(Kho) (Hidung) Korean Malay

Nae khoga seokja

Hidung panjang Busy in own business, can not do other things

To be ashamed

In general, Korean idioms on nose are not combined with nouns but with adjectives and

verbs unlike Malay idioms which are combined with nouns such as ‘Hidung belang (striped nose)’

which means ‘a man who likes to interfere with woman’. The nose in both languages reflects

similar perceptions and values on ‘authority’ and ‘self’ respectively. It is used to represent

‘participation’, ‘power’, ‘arrogance of people’, ‘embarrassment’, ‘humiliation’, and ‘ignorance’.

In addition to this, it is found that Malay idioms emphasize ‘high self esteem’ and ‘desire of

people’ and Korean idioms describe the ‘difficult situation’ or ‘belittling other people’.

Idioms on Mouth

Communication and food intake are the main functions of the mouth. Most Malay idioms on

mouth are associated with the communicatvie function whilst Korean idioms are associated

with life and communication. Interestingly too, in both Korean and Malay societies, a person’s

character is judged as either trustworthy or depending on the weight of the mouth. Another

peculiar finding is that a large percentage of idioms on mouth are used as negative expressions

in both societies. From the data, 23 Malay and 12 Korean idioms on mouth were analyzed and

categorised in Tables 9. 10 and 11 as follows;

Table 9: Idioms with same literal and actual meaning (Mouth)

Korean idioms (Ib)

Malay idioms (Mulut)

Meaning of words Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Ibi mugeobda Berat mulut Mugeobda (heavy)

Berat (heavy) Be tacitum, secretness

Ibi deoreobda Mulut kotor Deoreobda (dirty)

Kotor (dirty) Like to talk bad things

Table 10: Idioms with differnt literal meaning but same actual meaning

Korean idioms (Ib)

Malay idioms (Mulut)

Meaning of words Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Ibi gabyeobda Mulut bocor Gabyeobda (light)

Bocor (leak) Cannot keep the secret

Mulut berus Berus (brush) Like to speak out someone’s secret

Mulut rambang Rambang (random) Like to speak out someone’s secret

Mulut tempayan Tempayan (crock) Like to speak out someone’s secret

Mulut rampas Rampas (seized) Like to speak out someone’s secret

Ibman salda Same as above Salda(alive) Same as above Like to speak out

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someone’s secret

Table 11: Idioms with same literal meaning but different actual meaning (Mouth)

Korean idioms (Ib)

Malay idioms (Mulut)

Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Ibe balin mal Mulut manis Balin mal (sweet word): flattery

Manis (sweet): stubborn, good speech

Ibi garyeobda Mulut gatal Garyeobda (itchy): want to speak out to someone

Gatal (itchy): love to talk about other’s weakness or something not favour of others

Additionally, natural environment elements and lifestyle of both Korean and Malaysian

societies affect their respective idioms. In this case, each society’s idioms cannot relate to their

literal and actual meanings. The words ‘buaya (crocodile)’ and ‘getah (glue)’ as in ‘Mulut buaya

(untrustful words)’, which means words spoken by a liar or bad person, and as in ‘Mulut

bergetah (something or matters to be proven often)’ can be easily found in Malay idioms but

not in Korean. In contrast, the Korean idiom ‘Ibe pul-chil hada (to earn for living)’ cannot be

understood without knowing the Korean lifestyle. The mouth in Korean and Malaysian idioms is

utilized to display ‘credibility’ and ‘social skills’ in the respective societies. It reflects the positive

values of ‘trustfulness’, ‘keeping promises’, ‘social skills’ or ‘communication skills’, ‘sociable

attitude’ and ‘sustenance of life or livelihood’ while it is also described as the cause of many

problems in relation to ‘curses’, ‘poisonous words’, ‘loquaciousness’ and ‘sweet lips’ when it is

used unwisely. One of the most interesting differences between Korean and Malay idioms is

antipathy of value on the idiomatic expression ‘heavy mouth’. Korean idiom implies positive

perception on a ‘heavy mouthed’ person as a reliable individual who can keep secrets.

Meanwhile, Malay idiom insinuates negative value on ‘heavy mouthed’ person as a unsociable

or anti-social individual who is reluctant to communicate or mingle with others.

Idioms on Ear

Idioms on ear in Korean and Malay, refer to the channel of information since they concern

people’s words and ideas. Eight Malaysian and nine Korean idioms were selected for

comparison, however, only two idioms could be categorised under the theoretical framework as

follows;

Table 12: Idioms with same literal meaning but different actual meaning (Ear)

Korean idioms (Gwi)

Malay idioms (Telinga)

Actual Meaning

Korean Malay

Gwiga yeorida Bertelinga lembut Yeorida(soft): believe other’s words eventhough it is a lie

Lembut(soft): like to help other who is in trouble

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Gwiga yalbda Telinga nipis Yalbda(thin): someone who is easy to belive

Nipis(thin): someone who is easily to be offended or angry

The ear in both languages is used to reflect ‘values on conviction’ and it is considered as

‘the channel of knowledge and information’ and ‘criteria to evaluate the level of being

obstinate’. Korean idioms use ear to display ‘the level of hearing ability’, ‘interest’, ’conviction’

and ‘familiarity’ while Malaysian idioms represent ‘the level of sensitivity, dullness’ and

‘keenness of individual to others’ advices or opinion’. Compared to other idioms on human body

parts, the idioms on ear are not found many, consequently as shown as above, there is few

idoms to categorize in Korean and Malay languages.

CONCLUSION

It is impossible for a language learner to master a foreign languge without understanding

cultural aspects that are implied in language itself. Whilst language is used for communication,

expression, ideas, values, world view and culture of its people are also expressed by it. As a

result, learning idioms can enhance the process of mastering language as they are used to

express emotions, behaviours, attitudes and situations of society. Incidently, language learners

can learn not only language expressions but also its intergral cultural aspects which is a pre-

requisit for cross-cultrural communication in the global era.

The idiom is not simply a phrasal combination of two or more words but an expression

that reflects a speaker’s culture, history, customs and social background. Therefore, Korean

idioms and Malay idioms play an important role of representing each country’s culture, history

and customs respectively. In understanding a target country’s language, one should study not

only the alphabet, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar but also acquire the cultural

knowledge of that country. This is because good communication in the true sense of the word

works on the basis of a sound knowledge of the target country lifestyle and customs as well as

its people’s way of thinking. Furthermore, the role of language is to convey ideas and culture

and the culure is expressed by the language. Therefore, one cannot master a language without

understanding the culture that is contained in the language itself.

The findings have revealed that idioms are the best part of the language in representing

a culture and the learning of body-related idioms is even more difficult. If a person understands

the procedure and the creation of the idioms, that person will be able to communicate well with

the native speaker. Therefore, the education of idioms is not only limited to teaching a language

for communication purposes but also teaching a learner about how to master a culture.

In conclusion, Koreans and Malaysians have developed ways of viewing the world

differently and also different language structures and grammar affect their daily and

spontaneous thinking. Eventhough the same components are used in the formation of idioms,

sometimes their meanings may be the same but in many cases they are different. As language

differences reflect differences in conceptual structure, Korean idioms are formed by verbs and

12

adjectives whilst Malay idioms are formed by nouns. In terms of cultural context, some idioms

that have the same literal meaning are used by Koreans and Malaysians for the same purpose.

Besides similiar idioms, there are idioms that have different literal meaning but the same actual

meaning whereas some idioms have similar literal meaning but different actual meaning. These

significant findings have shown that world view and language affect the formation of idioms

related to body parts in different ways in both the languages of Korea and Malay.

13

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