Konglish abbreviations
There is a love in Konglish for abbreviating words.
The words make sense to Koreans themselves, but when
used in front of an English speaker, the abbreviated
words can be confusing. When talking for example, about
soccer and using the expression ‘DMF’, even
for the most avid soccer
fan, it can be hard to know what this means. ‘What
on earth is DMF?’ I wondered when this expression
was used by a student in one of our classes.
I love soccer (English football) so much that I am
even an Official Member of the England Supporters Club,
yet on hearing the expression DMF, I was confused. On
further investigation, I was to learn that this expression
means Defensive Midfielder.
A day later, in a conversation class, a Samsung employee
started talking about A/S. “What is A/S?”
I asked puzzled: ‘After-sales service’ was
the answer. In American or British English the expressions
‘technical support’ or ‘customer service’
would be used. The most baffling abbreviation though,
was in a discussion about movies with a teenage student.
He said his favourite movies were ‘S/F’
movies.
I had to think for a while but I was still stumped
. I had to ask the student what an S/F movie is - Science
Fiction came the reply. I have to admit that it sounds
obvious now I know what S/F means, but when you never
ever hear S/F used, you are unlikely to know. The expression
‘Sci-Fi’ in English is equally confusing
for Koreans. Other Konglish abbreviations I commonly
heard include:
CC = Campus couple
CCC = Campus Couple Cutter (Cutter means someone who
splits the couple up)
QC = Quality controller
MC = TV presenter (in addition to the English meaning
of Master of ceremony and in some rappers/musicians
names)
