Portfolio 2

Jungwon Kwak201500168

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Basic WritingOlaf Fors

15 June 2015

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Table of Contents

Reflective Overview--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page2Writing about a person------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page4

6-word Autobiography--------------------------------------------------------------------Page4Professional Student Portfolio-----------------------------------------------------------Page5

Collaborative Writing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page6Group Research Paper--------------------------------------------------------------------Page6Group App Proposal----------------------------------------------------------------------Page8

BlogBlog Entries--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page9

Research PaperFirst Draft---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page12Final Draft--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page14

Literary Analysis EssayFirst Draft---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page18

Feedback

Reflective OverviewPage 1

Writing is always the hardest thing. However, taking Professor Olaf’s class has helped me become more confident, understand the different styles of writing and to start writing with more ease. Under just one semester, I have learnt so much about myself as a writer and on which aspects to focus on to improve my writing skills.

Throughout this semester I have come across several different styles of writing such as writing about a person, non-fiction and fiction. After writing in these different kinds of styles I have learnt about the differences and similarities of each style and the key aspects to focus on for each style of writing.

First up, I realized that one has to prepare questions that can dig into an individual’s life when writing about a person. When interviewing a person, it is vital to get the exact specifics of events and the order of when they happened. It is obvious that you cannot write a thing about anyone without the precise information of their lives (see page 5). It is also important to show the life story you wrote to that very individual as there might be some information that he or she would rather have excluded from the piece of writing.

For non-fiction writing style; like a research paper, the most important thing is to come up with a good research question. First you should have a specific topic or an area that you would like to write about. Starting from there, you should come up with a question that is specific enough to develop into a research paper. However, you should be careful to not make the question overly specific, if the topic becomes too narrow there will not be enough evidence or examples to support you claims. It is most important to not forget to provide evidence when writing a research paper, as evidence is an effective way of present your efforts of researching (see page 14). It is also important to know the different ways of showing the evidence such as the direct quoting, or else you might be mistaken as plagiarism.

When writing analysis for fiction, it is crucial that you read over the work several times. It is vital to know the big picture of the work and to fully understand the work and what the writer is trying to put across. It is easier to figure out what the writer is trying to say when you know the different techniques that are used in fiction, such as literary devices, character and plot (see page 18). Writers try to write succinctly in order to make readers concentrate and to make them try to figure out the hidden meanings. Reading over the work for several times will help to dig out the hidden meanings and help you to understand the writer’s work more easily.

I think my best writing is the final draft of my research paper (see page 14); ‘What are the qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters need to have?’. I wanted to find out more about simultaneous interpretation through this research. Therefore, I ended up with a question asking which differing qualifications were needed for simultaneous interpreters. As HUFS is especially famous for English interpretation and translation and as many students expect a future career in the field of simultaneous interpretation, I thought my research question would also help students at HUFS.

I think there are several things that I’ve done well in my research paper. First of all I came up with a research question that isn’t interesting to just me, but a question that all of

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HUFS student’s would have had. To help the readers understand the qualifications of interpreters with more ease when reading the research paper, I explained the different terminologies related to the topic (see page 14). I think this was a well-made choice, as I explained the difference between interpreter and translator as well as providing an in-depth definition of a simultaneous interpreter. Giving the definition first gives a clear idea of who simultaneous interpreters are, and by knowing this before explaining the different qualifications, readers are prepared to absorb the information regarding different qualifications. After giving the definitions, I explained how the qualifications that are going to be explored chose as the ones that simultaneous interpreters need. I thought explaining this would make my research paper more reliable (see page 14).

The paragraph of discussion at the end was another part that I’ve done well. I have explained in the introduction that I was interested in the qualifications that simultaneous interpreters should have. In the discussion paragraph, I explored the different qualifications, their differences and similarities as well as adding my own trail of thought. As I first claimed that I was interested in this topic, I believe giving my insight made my research paper unique and linked well with the introduction and conclusion (see page 16).

Throughout the semester I have learnt several things about myself as a writer as well as about different writing skills. As a writer, I realized that always write down all of the ideas that pops up in my mind and try to arrange them into order. After that, I start writing body paragraphs; expanding the ideas that I have organized. Finally, based on the body paragraphs, write the introduction and conclusion. Time wise, I try not to put my work to the last minute but rather hand in all the works before the due date. Through the class of Professor Olaf, I learnt the different styles of writing and believe by practicing these, I would be able to get hold of a handful of skills that will be useful in the future years. I also learnt that when writing, although having inspirations are important, but being able to explain one’s ideas clearly and persuasively is more crucial. Having exceptional ideas is great, but without clear explanation it is nothing. Furthermore, I’ve learn the importance of peer review. I realized that even though I check work several times, I might not point out all the mistakes as it is my own work. But by showing my work to another person before handing in the work I can explain my points clearly and find out the mistakes that I’ve made. From now I will always have someone to review my work before handing it in. Lastly, I think I’ve earned A- or B+. Although I have long way to go to become an exceptional writer, I think the works that I’ve done, especially in the second half of the semester has shown my better sides as a writer.

I believe understanding and correcting the mistakes that Professor Olaf pointed out and trying my best for all assignments shows the efforts that I’ve made this semester. I’m still in the process of learning and experiencing different styles of writing, so I will continuously work hard to become a better writer and always be hungry to achieve more than what I have before.

Writing about a person6-word Autobiography

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JungWon KWAK 201500168Olaf ForsBasic Writing16 March 2015

6-word Autobiography“Following dad to Vietnam changed me”

Out of these six words, “Vietnam” is the most important. I spent almost half of my life in Vietnam and it’s a place which changed me to become a different individual in many aspects. Before moving to Vietnam I was an introvert. Going up to a stranger and starting a conversation wasn’t easy for me, I feared being ignored. This was the same when I first went to the British International School in Vietnam. I was waiting for someone to talk to me. I expected one or two students to talk to me but strangely, almost all of the students in my class came up to me. I was startled. The warm welcome that everyone gave me made me a strong impression and made me think to myself that I want to be a person who can talk to a stranger first. After some time, I was able to accomplish it with the help of friends. However, soon I faced another problem. The class environment was completely different from Korea. Even though I was unable to communicate in English, I had to participate in classes. Being quiet in class made teachers think I didn’t understand what I was taught and that my English ability was lacking. I was on the verge of moving down a grade. That was when I started to change into an extrovert. I got out of my comfort zone and tried things that I’ve never tried before, from answering questions to giving speeches in front of people. To improve my English I started joining clubs to meet more people and interact with them. This helped me to become an extravert and more sociable. I gradually got used to participating, speaking in front of people and communicating with others. Participating more in class helped me not only to improve my English but to get higher grades. Following dad to Vietnam was a huge opportunity for me. There I went to International School for the first time in my life and became a confident extrovert and fluent in English.

JungWon Kwak is a freshman at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. She majors in English Interpretation and Translation. JungWon wants to be one of the most exceptional interpreters in Korea.Professional Student Profile

Jung Won Kwak

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Jung Won Kwak is a freshman at Hanguk University of Foreign Studies who is majoring in English Interpretation and Translation. For the last eight years, Jung Won has lived in Vietnam studying in a British international school. Although it wasn’t her choice to move to

Vietnam, she says that it was the turning point in her life. Given the privilege to study in an English-based education system, learning has become more enjoyable for her: “Rather than just memorizing everything, they taught me how to interact with what I was learning.” Meeting friends from all around the world also has made her a more active and outgoing person. Her meaningful experience in Vietnam has changed her as a person, student, and lead her to HUFS. She chose HUFS because she wanted to become more professional in the English language and knew that HUF’s well established education system would help her achieve that goal. Jung Won wants to become

an English translator that plays the mediator role in international commerce. In order to reach her future dream, she will take part in HUF’s translating events and build her skills and experiences. Jung Won is looking forward to the advice she will get when meeting HUFS graduates at the Wednesday freshman seminars.

Jung Won “feels like I am alive” when she helps other people in need. Starting from secondary school, she has voluntarily taken part in the school extracurricular program where students went to help local Vietnamese children. Since she was a good swimmer and student, she was able to teach the children how to swim and speak English. From the experience, she found her passion to share her gifts with others and became motivated to competent in other areas. Her main reason for applying for the English Interpretation and Translation department is so that her English could one day be advanced and professional enough to lend a hand to people who need her help. Although she hasn’t been able to “actively” participate in voluntary activities after she left Vietnam, she is looking forward to joining “Georeumma” which is a volunteering club that serves both the school and community. In addition, if she gets the opportunity, she would like to double major in Social Welfare. She hopes this study will make her a bigger helping hand. “For most people, volunteering is just a hobby. However, for me, it’s what keeps my heart beating.”

Joo Eun Sung

Joo Eun Sung is a freshman at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. She majors in English Interpretation and Translation. She wants to be able to speak five different languages fluently in the future.

Collaborative Writing

Group Research Paper

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JungWon KWAKSoBin LeeYoo Jin LeeJae Hyeong JangMyeongJin Yoon

Olaf ForsBasic WritingApril 13, 2015

Top guidance:What helps you to make a good website?

The numbers of newly created websites are increasing day by day, but not many of them gets attention. All website creators desire to make a good website to have high number of visitors, but not many know what characteristics are needed in order to do this. In this essay we are going to talk about how navigation, design, convenience, accessibility and being informative help to make a good website.

One of the most important features of a good website is navigation. If website owners fail to provide well navigated websites, its readers will quickly leave. As navigation is probably the most important thing of any given website, it should be well organized and clear. The blog section of my researched website ‘yola.com’ explains that website owners should ‘think of the general path that they would like a site visitor to take’ and add sub-pages into specific topics. This way, readers can look for the topics that they want to take a look at with ease and reduce the time wasted on surfing. When readers are satisfied, they will come to visit the website when they need other information or even introduce the website to others. When more people come to visit the website, the website creator can gather more information of what people think of the website and upgrade it to readers’ taste. Although organized navigation is an important part of attracting readers, colours used in website are another critical aspect. As colour is something that attracts attention, navigation should be used well along with choice of colour.

In order to make an impact and effective web design, you need to consider few things. Firstly, depends on the target age group you need to show your purpose clearly on each page of the website. In this way, people can fulfill their specific needs from your website. Once you have showed your purpose, the layout of each page should look clear, easy to read. Using contrasting colors for the text and background is very easy for the readers. Moreover, using the space wisely will also make your website look modern and unclutted. Secondly, the image. As a picture is worth a thousand words, it is crucial to choose the right picture to grab the reader’s attention. Furthermore, think about using not just a picture but using some videos and graphic can make your website more effective. Last but not least, you can think about making your website mobile friendly. It is more commonplace for the people to use their smart phones to look around your website. Therefore, you can consider rebuilding dedicated mobile site.

Convenience is one of the crucial things needed to make a good website. First step to bring convenience to website is making simple icons. Simple icons are easy to be seen by website users. For examples, ‘Comment’ and ‘Follow’ from websites make the website users

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to click the button easily. Besides, a well organized context is important too. Last but not least, there should not be too much advertisements on the website. That can make website users to be troublesome and also may contain virus. This can make people not to visit the website constantly. Too much advertisements bring unconvenience. Convenience can bring more accessbility to website users

A good internet site have a convenient accessibility. Many people serching internet for get a good information and contents. Good internet site and power blog include many information contents about that people wants. It has many words and contents, and exposed many searching websites, like google or naver. For example when people search good restaurant, power blog include restaurants, mood, tasty, location, and another things. And it specialized its peculiarity and exposed many searching web site, so people get information easy. And people who wants get restaurant information, have many aspects of good restaurant. Many people use internet for searching like this, and exposed relevant things help them. Much exposed to people, and get more accessibility, internet site have useful and convenient.

Finally, if you want your website to be well-known, it needs to be informative. People who visit your website want information in detail about the products or maybe services. Information should be well organized and apparent in order to help the visitors get the point easily. If you give the visitors a good impression, it is most likely that they introduce the website to somebody else. I’m sure that being informative can leave a good impression.

There are several aspects which a website should cover in order to be a good website and to attract readers’ attention. Many of the aspects explained above might seem simple, but they contain important contents. As internet researchers are increasing these days making a good website is important and it should include variety of aspects, which are as mentioned above navigation, design, convenience, accessibility and being informative.

Group App Proposal

Han Jae Cho 201503269Ji Seon Lee 201502627Jung Won Kwak 201500168Myeong Jin Yoon 201502121

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Olaf ForsBasic WritingApril 26, 2015

Apportunity

Many people have a desire to write something very well. But it is real hard to write without any idea. Whether people write, they still worry for grammar mistake. Moreover, if there is limited time, it will be much more difficult to complete writing. So what we are going to do is that make an application that can useful for someone who always have trouble in writing. We have proof and we found the answer. This application will be useful to people who have lack of time and grammar error. It makes people to write the writing at the proper time and check the grammar too.

To write better, we have found four different apps. These apps are about grammar checking, time saving, focus and studying the words during the writing. After the discussion, we decided to combine two apps’ advantages to make a new version of app. That is the grammar checking app and the time saving app. A person uses the time saving app to measure how many hours he or she takes it to write. With saving the time, they could check their grammar mistakes. So in a result, it will be killing two birds with one stone.

Write or die is an application which helps us to be productive when we are writing. This application has several modes that we can choose before we start writing. For the gentle mode, if we don’t write for certain period of a time a box pops up to remind us to write again. Another mode called kamikaze mode, again, if we don’t write for certain period of time, the application starts deleting the words that we’ve written until we start writing again. We thought this application would be useful when we use it when we are writing as it helps us to focus on the work and to finish it quickly. However, we thought this application doesn’t have an important function that is crucial for writing applications, which is grammar check. Grammar is something that everyone wants to get check. As getting a grammar check is an important thing, we decided to customize write or die application and to add giving a grammar check function in it. This way when we use this customized application we don’t have to go back and forth between the grammar check application and our writing. This reduces the time wasted getting grammar check in a separate application and also helps us to focus only on our writing increasing our productivity.

The match of the app ‘Write or die’ and ‘Ginger Grammar’ is truly harmonious. It helps people who are trying to write without disruption and even helps them with their grammar mistakes instantly. We strongly recommend people two use these apps at the same time to hit maximum effectiveness.

Blog

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Research PaperPage 11

First Draft

Jungwon Kwak 201500168Olaf ForsBasic WritingResearch Paper25 May 2015

What are the qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters needs to have?

As the world develops, communication and interaction between countries are becoming easier. In this developing world, it is necessary to interact with other countries in various ways for one’s country to prosper. For the past few decades Korea has developed noticeably in various areas. Such as the radical increase in trading, interactions and conferences; which lead to the increasing need of interpreters in order to communicate precisely. As all of the communications are now done face-to-face, out of interpreters, the need of simultaneous interpreters became important. As the role of simultaneous interpreters are getting important day by day, the skills they need to have is looked at with more importance. This essay examines the qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters need to have.

Before exploring the different qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters need to have, it is necessary to know the exact definition of an ‘interpreter’. This is because of the fact that many people are unaware of the exact difference between interpreters and translators. An ‘interpreter’ is a person who interprets, especially one who translates speech orally or into sign language1. A ‘translator’ is a person who translates from one language into another, especially as a profession2. To be exact, a simultaneous interpreter is ‘a person who interprets into the target language as quickly as possible while the speaker is still peaking in the source language’3. Knowing the exact meaning of an ‘interpreter’ and a ‘simultaneous interpreter’ will help understand why interpreters need to have different qualifications that differ from those of translators.

It might sound obvious, but interpreting as accurately and precisely as possible with speed is the key of interpreting. Interpreters are there to help two or more people communicate. To do this successfully, whatever the speaker has said should be interpreted accordingly with no misunderstanding. Little differences in information can change the entire meaning of what a speaker has said and in situations as international conferences, interpreting information incorrectly can trigger a disaster. In addition, accuracy can said to be the heart of interpreting, however, in some cases providing additional explanations can be necessary. In situations where the interpreter judges that an individual might not fully understand the speaker’s statement, additional explanation should be provided in order to help the person understand it well. Being able to interpret accurately and make quick decisions in different situations is crucial. 1 Oxford dictionary2 Oxford dictionary3 Collins dictionary

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As interpreters are asked to interpret in many different environments, interpreters need to have wide background knowledge in many different fields such as business, economics, environment, sports and so on. If interpreters don’t have much knowledge in different fields it would be difficult for them to interpret the given information. If an interpreter has only limited field of knowledge, than that interpreter will only work in the field that he or she is talented at. This may mean that an interpreter can become exceptional at one field, however, this means the field at which the interpreter can work at is limited. Therefore, the opportunity for the interpreter to work can be low and this can lead to inexperience in interpreting. It is important to have knowledge across wide range of fields; however, the most important trait is knowing the crucial and frequently used terminologies in different fields. Without knowing the crucial technical terms in various areas, it is impossible to interpret information accurately

There is a critical difference between consecutive and simultaneous interpretation. The difference between these independent types of interpretation is what makes simultaneous interpretation more difficult to handle. In simultaneous interpretation, interpreters need to start interpreting as soon as the speaker speaks. The interpreters need to listen and translate it in their mind and complete that translation orally, this requires accuracy and it needs to be carried out at the same speed of speech as the speaker, with only a few seconds of lag time. Therefore it is vital for simultaneous interpreters to have good memory to remember what they’ve heard and to interpret that accurately. In simultaneous interpretation, both correction and re-listening is impossible. As interpreters can’t listen to the speaker’s explanation or argument again, it is necessary for them to have good memory.

To receive the content of statement that comes out instantly in a language which has different sentence structure and to express it orally, is a matter of intellectual dexterity than the matter of technique. Simultaneous interpreters should have a ‘clear and alert brain’ which means that they need to have the ability to handle continuous changes promptly. Along with intellectual dexterity, high concentration is needed. As simultaneous interpreters need to listen and understand what they’ve heard in foreign language and interpret it instantly in oral, high concentration and the ability to maintain it is crucial.

Having an insight is not only needed to make decisions and solve problems, but it is an important skill in simultaneous interpret to help interpreters make a prediction. In Korean-English interpretation, where the sentence structure is completely different, interpreters can’t just wait for the speaker to complete a sentence before starting to interpret it. After understanding the argument and the purpose of the speaker, stating the interpretation by making predictions is crucial to catch up with the speaker’s sentence.

Research Paper

Final Draft

Jungwon Kwak 201500168Page 13

Olaf ForsBasic WritingResearch Paper7th June 2015

What are the qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters need to have?

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies is a university most famous and popular for its English interpretation and translation department. Here, a great number of intellectuals hope to become interpreters, and many of them to be a Korean-English interpreter. Students are taught different skills that are needed in order to become professionals. However many of them, including a freshman like me, only have a vague idea of what skills are useful, and have no idea at all what qualifications are considered important. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting and useful to research the qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters needs to have, for me and students at HUFS who want to become simultaneous interpreters.

Before exploring the different qualifications that Korean-English simultaneous interpreters need to have, it is necessary to know the exact definition of an ‘interpreter’. This is because of the fact that many people are unaware of the exact difference between interpreters and translators. A ‘translator’ is a person who translates from one language into another, especially as a profession4. An ‘interpreter’ is a person who interprets, especially one who translates speech orally or into sign language.5 To be exact, a simultaneous interpreter is ‘a person who interprets into the target language as quickly as possible while the speaker is still peaking in the source language’6. Knowing the exact meaning of an ‘interpreter’ and a ‘simultaneous interpreter’ will help understand why interpreters need to have different qualifications that are going to be explained below.

After reading through different research papers regarding the qualifications that simultaneous interpreters need, I realized that there were skills with importance that came up more frequently than others. The skills that came up frequently in various research papers that I’ve looked at and the qualifications which I personally thought were the most important ones overlapped. Therefore, I decided to write about why the qualifications that will be introduced below are the ones that are vital that simultaneous interpreters should be in hand with.

As everyone knows interpreting as accurately and precisely as possible with speed is the key of interpreting (Lee Yoo Ah, 2009). Interpreters are there to help two or more people communicate. To do this successfully, whatever the speaker has said should be interpreted accordingly with no misunderstanding. Little differences in information can change the entire meaning of what a speaker has said and in situations as international conferences, interpreting information incorrectly can trigger a disaster. “Accuracy can said to be the heart of interpreting, however, in some cases providing additional explanations can be necessary” (Lee Yoo Ah, 2009, p.201). In situations where the interpreter judges that an individual might

4 Oxford dictionary5 Oxford dictionary6 Collins dictionary

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not fully understand the speaker’s statement, additional explanation should be provided in order to help the person understand it well. Being able to interpret accurately and make quick decisions in different situations is crucial.

According to Lee Yoo Ah (2009, pp.224-226), if interpreters don’t have much knowledge in different fields it would be difficult for them to interpret the given information, as interpreters are asked to interpret in many different environments, such as business, economics, environment, sports and so on. If an interpreter has only limited field of knowledge, than that interpreter will only work in the field that he or she is talented at. This may mean that an interpreter can become exceptional at one field, however, this means the field at which the interpreter can work at is limited. Therefore, the opportunity for the interpreter to work can be low and this can lead to inexperience in interpreting. It is important to have knowledge across wide range of fields; however, the most important trait is knowing the crucial and frequently used terminologies in different fields. Without knowing the crucial technical terms in various areas, it is impossible to interpret information accurately.

In simultaneous interpretation, interpreters need to start interpreting as soon as the speaker speaks (Lee Ji Eun, 2012). The interpreters need to listen and translate it in their mind and complete that translation orally, this requires accuracy and it needs to be carried out at the same speed of speech as the speaker, with only a few seconds of lag time. Therefore it is vital for simultaneous interpreters to have good memory to remember what they’ve heard and to interpret that accurately. In simultaneous interpretation, both correction and re-listening is impossible. As interpreters can’t listen to the speaker’s explanation or argument again, it is necessary for them to have good memory.

A review of research paper by Kim Yong Jo (1973) propose that to receive the content of statement that comes out instantly in a language which has different sentence structure and to express it orally, is a matter of intellectual dexterity than the matter of technique. Simultaneous interpreters should have a ‘clear and alert brain’ which means that they need to have the ability to handle continuous changes promptly (Kim Young Jo, 1973, p.73). Along with intellectual dexterity, high concentration is needed. As simultaneous interpreters need to listen and understand what they’ve heard in foreign language and interpret it instantly in oral, high concentration and the ability to maintain it is crucial.

Having an insight is not only needed to make decisions and solve problems, but it is an important skill in simultaneous interpret to help interpreters make a prediction (Lee Yoo Ah, 2012, p.178). In Korean-English interpretation, where the sentence structure is completely different, interpreters can’t just wait for the speaker to complete a sentence before starting to interpret it. After understanding the argument and the purpose of the speaker, stating the interpretation by making predictions is crucial to catch up with the speaker’s sentence.

When I thought about the skills that simultaneous interpreters need to have, the ones explained above are the ones that came up to my mind instantly. However, within those five different qualifications mentioned, I believe having a wide range knowledge and knowing different terminologies are the most vital skills that simultaneous interpreters need to have. As a freshman at HUFS, I’ve felt its need to the skin in a listening lecture. In order to be a

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professional simultaneous interpreter, listening and interpreting at the same time is essential. However, as a freshman, not only was I unable to understand some of terminologies but I also wasn’t able to interpret what I heard quickly. Not knowing some terminologies approached as a critical problem as it made understanding the whole idea difficult. Therefore, I believe knowing different terminologies in different languages is crucial for simultaneous interpreters.

Throughout this research paper the qualifications which simultaneous interpreters should possess have been explored. Out of the numerous skills that professional interpreters should have, I believe the qualifications explored above are most important. Across wide range of fields, simultaneous interpreters should work hard in order to develop the qualifications mentioned above to become exceptional in the field of interpretation. With these skills in hand, students who are want to become a Korean-English interpreter at HUFS will be able to excel when they achieve their dreams.

References

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Lee Yoo Ah. (2012). 동시통역 과정에서의 언어능력에 관한 고찰

Kim Young Jo. (1973). 동시통역사의 자질과 훈련

Lee Ji Eun. (2012). What skills do Interpreters need to have in Translation Training?

Lee Yoo Ah. (2009). 동시통역시의 등가실현과 처리노력에 관한 고찰

Literary Analysis Essay

First Draft

Jungwon Kwak 201500168Olaf ForsBasic WritingLiterary Analysis

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7th June 2015

In My Own Country by Rajith Savandasa

In literature digging out meanings that the writers are trying to put across is the key. One might be able to see the big picture that the writer has drawn, but without understanding the little details that are included, one couldn’t get a grip of the real story. To enrich the content of their works, writers often provide details for the readers using various ways; including delivery through character, conflict and narrative. However, besides these I believe the technique which really helps to enrich the writers’ work is literary devices. Literary device is a literary or linguistic technique that produces a specific effect, especially, a figure of speech, narrative style or plot mechanism7. There are few literary devices which are used throughout the story of ‘In My Own County’. This analysis will look at the different literary devices that are used in this story and explore the meaning of the story that the writer has tried to put across using these devices.

Before jumping into the story to look for different literary devices, it is necessary to explain the big picture, the overall plot of the story. The story ‘In My Own Country’ by Rajith Savandasa is about a person living in a land which was once the narrator’s village’s land that has been taken by people from outside, there by rejecting everything that the country or the people from the country which took the narrator’s village is trying to offer him, which is referred as ‘you’ in this story. The person seems to have lost whole family and neighbors from the same village. The narrator explains what happened in the past and talks about what the narrator would do if the narrator dies.

The first literary device that is used in the story is figurative language, which is language that contains or uses figures of speech, especially metaphor8. Figurative language is used in the section: “Your steaks. Your burgers, it is all meat. I cannot get the smell out of my head-the smell of burning flesh, the smell of something that was once alive being bled. How can I eat it after seeing all the things I have seen?” showing what happened to the narrator’s family and the villagers. In the process of ‘you’ taking the land from the villagers, ‘you’ flamed the village, burning the entire village as well as its inhabitants. The narrator has seen his neighbors burning to death and has smelt the scent of burning flesh. Therefore, the narrator explains he can’t get the scent of steaks and burgers out of his head; nor neither be able to eat them, after having seen the villagers burn in front of his eyes.

Figurative language is used in another section: “It is good when heroes always somehow narrowly escape bullets, explosions and ten-foot monsters. But I worry-was there someone left behind? Did the flames burn a child? Did the hundreds of bullets tear a mother’s flesh? Did a brother lose a limb? I cannot stand it-it is too much. Makes me want to run away again”. In this section although the narrator is talking about heroes who always seems to easily escape danger, the narrator is actually talking about what happened to the narrator’s family. The narrator is explaining that “you’s” attempt of trying to take over the narrator’s village killed the narrator’s family. Therefore, when watching hero movies the narrator is more concerned about the fact that people around the heroes might have been hurt. Having ran away from where his family was burning, the narrator can’t stand the scenes in the hero movies as it reminds him of that day.

Diction means the style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words9. Diction is used in the section: “I always lost. In the ends, as fast as he was, running did not

7 Dictionary.com8 Dictionary.com9 Dictionary.com

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save him. It was slower, older me who escaped. It was scared and shameful me that left everyone behind. Now I have these shoes but it’s too late. I have no one to race against”. The word ‘scared’ and ‘shameful’ is well used here; showing how the narrator is feeling right now and why the narrator keeps rejecting “you’s” offers. The word ‘left behind’ is well used to help readers understand why the narrator now has no one to race against, though the narrator now has the running shoes that the narrator always wanted to have. The word explains that the narrator left his family and friends to be burnt and ran away by himself, which is why the narrator has no one to race against as no one escaped alive, except the narrator. The words are well chosen to show the narrator’s situation and emotions.

Imagery is used in the end of the story: “Become air and fly, over the oceans and find my country. Look down and there’s my father smiling. Mother’s hand on my cheek. Sister and brother singing songs. I am everything. Everywhere”. This section figuratively describes what the narrator would become when the narrator dies; where and how the narrator would see his family. The image of the narrator moving around after becoming air, being welcomed by his family is printed in the reader’s minds thanks to the writer’s use of figurative language. The narrator flying over the land that was once his village’s land and seeing the narrator’s dead family who became water, earth and air, staying in his village and acting how they used to before they died.

Literary devices are used to enrich the work of writers and it is another way of attracting more readers and submerging them under the writer’s literature. Figurative language, diction and imagery are used in the story ‘In My Own County’ to succinctly explain the narrator’s situation as well as his emotions. Explaining the narrator’s past using different techniques resulted in a story full of impact and enjoyment.

Resource:http://culture360.asef.org/short-story-contest/in-my-own-country-rajith-savanadasa-australia/

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