One of the difficulties of cross-cultural communication is that not everything translates directly. Take, for example, schadenfreude. We don't have a word for that in English. You can also look at the difference between British English and American English. To an American, pants are outerwear. To a Brit, they're underwear.
A similar thing happens with the word "vegetarian." The original English definition, coined by the Vegetarian Society, is essentially one who does not consume slaughter products (or a food that contains no slaughter products). There isn't an equivalent in Korea. Some people avoid land animals, some avoid mammals, and some are vegan (and avoid garlic and onions, to boot). Just as we Americans don't have a special term for "one who is vegan and does not eat any of the five acrid and foul-smelling vegetables." So we do the best we can. We might say, "Buddhist vegetarian," even though not all Buddhists have the same exact restrictions.
I'm guessing that it is not a deliberate exaggeration, but a lack of knowledge about the correct terminology. People don't understand the term "pescetarian" as regularly as they do "vegetarian," and that goes doubly for non-native speakers. In other cultures, too, "fish" and "poultry" are not considered "meat." In America, we do often lump all animal flesh in as "meat." Not so in other places. Only mammals are considered "meat" and are translated as such in the dictionaries and language books. If an English Language Learner is told that a vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat, and understands "meat" to mean "mammalian flesh," it's not unreasonable that they might conclude that poultry and fish are "vegetarian."
It's just something that is lost in translation. Try not to let it get to you. If she comes to America and goes to a vegetarian restaurant looking for fish, she'll learn that she wasn't using the right word. If you meet foreigners who are using the word "vegetarian" incorrectly, you can politely correct them. Many ELLs are glad to find out how to correct mistakes and be better understood.Why do Kpop news say Lee Hyori is vegetarian?
Vegetarian used to be the catch-all term for someone who ate mainly vegetables and avoided red meats. Chicken and fish and seafood were ok in moderation to still be considered vegetarian. Terms have changed over the years, yes, but not everyone has gone with that change.Why do Kpop news say Lee Hyori is vegetarian?
A lot of people confuse pescoterian with vegetarian. That is probably the case.
Why did she steal other people's songs and try to pass them off as hers? Perhaps she's not an honest person?
http://www.allkpop.com/2010/04/lee-hyori鈥?/a>
No comments:
Post a Comment