Today I was trying to explain the difference between animals. I had to explain what a rattlesnake was, but I didn’t know the word in Korean. Instead, I was going on the description of “A snake that has a rattle on it’s tail that it shakes to warn predators.” Seems simple enough, as long as they knew the word “rattle”.
I said “Rattlesnake” a few times, and one student tried translating for another in class. She told her friend that I was talking about a “Pyeonji baem”, which was a really bizarre translation I knew was incorrect.
“Pyeonji baem” would be “Letter snake.”
I drew an envelope with fangs and two eyes to explain what she had told the other student.
“No, that’s not it,” she admitted.
She has problems with her “L” and “R”, so my “Rattle” was her “Letter.”
Her classmate was caught up on what a “rattle” might be. “Is it a castanet? A maraca?” I don’t know how students know what those musical instruments are, but don’t know the word rattle. Eventually I drew a baby holding a toy, which luckily no one confused for a snake.
Once they understood the word rattle, then they knew what a rattle snake was. “Oh, a RATTLESNAKE. We know THAT.”
Ugh.
For anyone curious, after the class I went to look up the words I had needed. The word for a “babies rattle” in Korean is 딸랑이 (ttallangi), while the Korean word for “Rattlesnake” is “방울뱀” (bangulbaem). The “방울” (bangul) part of “rattlesnake” actually refers to a small tinkling bell, like you’d see on a reindeer harness or puppy’s collar. Their word is just as musical as ours, but I think the sound of a rattle more accurately describes the sound a rattlesnake makes.
