Fascinating! Namjoon also sometimes shifts between accents/dialects when speaking English. When in England or when speaking with James Corden (a US nighttime TV host) his accent goes British. And he sounds a little different when he speaks at the White House versus when he's speaking with Pharrell. It's fascinating. He's like a language sponge/chameleon.
That's sooo true. He definitely "code switches" his English just like native English speaker do. Even in the same country like when he's in the usa. Your POTUS vs Pharrell example is spot on. It's very cool to hear.
Yeah him using a British accent is BS. He should speak english the way he learned it. He said he learned it from watching the TV show Friends which is American, so he should have an American accent. He learned with the American accent so to fake a British one is a pretentious facade. If I was British I would be insulted bc of his mocking foolery.
this videos is making ARMYs understand how hard the volunteer translators work. I'm so thankful for them as they're one of the reasons that make this fandom connected to other fans and BTS.
Oh,yes, I am so thankful for the translators. I have been watching Chinese Dramas and sometimes the translator is translating into gibberish. The English makes absolutely no sense. Even if you are trying to find perhaps a connection between the translated word and what they are seemingly talking about. ( grass is no way related to ice cream).
Namjoonie went to New Zealand to an English Academy & he thought all the British people he met sounded "very cool" - so occasionally he will when talking to UK talkshow hosts use thar intonation. (Unfortunately though, Namjoonie spends more time in the U S & he apes their accent to sound "more relatable" - bc unlike in the UK - Bangtan had a VERY hard time in the U S - espc from 2016/ 2017 up until way after BWL just pre Pandemic- people there, espc in the Ent Industry were Not Nice to them (that anti E○○○ Asian thing that the U S always has - as of Koreans are anything to do with Vietnam or Japan buy- yes; that's what it was.) Even now; it's as if the U S Industry "don't take BTS seriously" which is ridiculous🙏🏻💜🇬🇧💜🌏💜
Namjoon has such an interesting approach to language. I’m constantly amazed by his insights into not just Korean but also English. Like in Seoul when he makes the distinction between one day ‘leaving’ Seoul but always ‘living’ Seoul. Or when he uses a Korean word that sounds similar to another Korean word and fuses both together and translates both into English to create a whole new meaning (flowerwork, bibily hills). He’s such a neologist. Reminds me of how Shakespeare coined new words.
4:15 Even though Namjoon comes across as a bookish intellectual, he's also a very online person. So I'm not surprised that he knows all these slang words. He's very much in tune with his fans 🤣
This was *fascinating*. As a non-Korean speaker I'm always bummed that there's just some things about the way the boys talk and write their lyrics that I'll never really understand, no matter how much our fan translators try to explain, so this little glimpse gave me so much joy. Thank you so much. And thanks to your subscriber for asking you to do this.
It doesn't surprise me when you said his brain is working over time in the language department because as a lyricist/poet/rapper his brain is so skilled with words/language, he also interprets English for the boys at lightening speed!
Yeah. That's something that always fascinated me about rappers, especially the best rappers. The ability to string so many words together in a poetic and sometimes chaotic fashion to communicate a message.
Joonie picks up dialects from EVERYONE it doesn't even matter. I find it adorable even when he speaks with English speakers he picks up their accents too. I always wondered if he knows he does that I love his mind.
I think what frustrates me about it when he does it in English is that he means it respectfully and with a genuine interest in accents, sounds etc. But, at least in the past, he’s been accused of using an American accent when he raps that isn’t “authentic.” It’s like, what does authentic even mean when English isn’t your first language?? He uses the rhythms and accents he hears from native speakers.
@@LB-eq6bnVery true! English is my third language and I learned most by watching Friends (like Namjoon but coincidental) over and over, conversing with online strangers on countless music message boards (I miss the good ol' internet of the early 2000's, it used to be so much more fun 😢), and ofc, reading books. You just pick up all the bits and pieces as you go along. Just as my Korean contains northern 시골 satoori (thanks, mom) and a strong German accent. So I guess my Korean isn't "authentic" at all to those kind of people lol.
Danny Kim of dkdktv tried to translate a letter that RM posted online and you saw his struggle in realtime trying to translate it. He started doing a close translation and then becoming more and more general then just trying to give the overall intent of what he was saying and finally giving up, complaining that Namjoon was just too poetic. Now I have a better understanding of what he meant by that.
@@dysmissme7343 I don't remember which one. It was some time in the last year, maybe just after their last festa. That was my thought too. How does being poetic make it hard? I don't think it was because he didn't understand him but he struggled with how to explain in another language to convey the same sense of what Namjoon was saying. If it had been just one paragraph Danny probably would have done it but it was a long letter that made him give up about half way through.
As a linguist and an army, this vid is seriously amazing. It’s fascinating to have people’s language broken down and for RM, knowing about his personality and who he is, his language use makes so much sense in the ways you described and explained. I’ve studied many languages including Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Mongolian and started learning Korean around a year ago. Korean is by far my favorite.
Yes love this! We call Namjoon's dialect as NAMTOORI and it's so him. This was insightful and Namjoon is an actual genius so the fact that his writing and speaking is poetic is no surprise to ARMY who live for his speeches and the song lyrics he wrote for BTS's entire discography as the main song writer. We love it and we love him.
Namjoon is the poet philosopher of the group. He's a wellspring of knowledge, incessantly curious, and a gifted wordsmith to boot. I think his mind works in very intriguing ways.
Also yes ARMY translators often have a heard time translating Namjoon because his words are so poetic and meaningful they want to potray it exactly but on the flip side he talks so fast it can sometimes be easy to miss!
This is really interesting! Absolutely love it! You'll have to listen to their song "Paldogangsan" where they really explore the different dialects that they all speak! It's one of the songs that when I delved deep into BTS just made me love them more. I'd love to hear your analysis of it!
IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SERIES OMGG the reason i started learning korean is because i wanted to understand bts more, we have amazing translations for everything but the nuances still get lost sometimes, and even tho ive been their fan for years now and know them pretty well it’s a bit disheartening when native korean speakers elaborate on the way they talked at a specific moment and the differences in intonations when speaking and i realise that i may not ever fully understand them and their quirks lol cause there’s only so much a translation can convey so thank you for this series. i love your videos so this is like my two worlds colliding haha
This video really adds value beyond my interest as an ARMY. It added further nuance of understanding about how and when to use 나 and 저. Even beyond BTS, I'll be watching for these kinds of "lessons" that come from reflecting on the word choices of native Korean speakers. Thanks for the effort you're putting in. I'm getting so much value from the money I've allocated to supporting you on Patreon; it's money well invested.
What a great video! I learned more about RM and the Korean language too. I have watched many of your videos, study with your book, and really appreciate your work and skill in teaching others the language. I really look forward to the rest of this series. I have been a fan of BTS for about 6 or 7 years now. You said after a month of prep for this series, you understand why BTS are so popular. I am curious to know more about your thoughts on that and find myself thinking you could still be surprised. These young men are very talented singers, rappers, dancers, and performers but they share so much more than that with the world. They really have touched hearts and minds across the globe. BTS have inspired fans to read literature, study psychology, Study Greek Mythology, learn about Korea’s history & language, give to worthy causes, organize to give our free time and skills to help others, try to love ourselves and to take care of our mental health, to work hard and try to become the best versions of ourselves possible. You may think this all sounds ridiculously extreme but it is true. Being a teacher myself, all of this positive influence is something I greatly admire about BTS. It is also encouraging to see a Cinderella success story for a group of people and a company who spread positive messages to the world. I actually found your channel years ago due to BTS’s influence.
I'm fascinated by how they use polite and casual language kind of freely. I've noticed before that the younger ones don't always say 저 or 요 and wondered if there were situations in which they could get away without it. But maybe it really is just that BTS magic
If you want a song that is pretty much textbook Namjoon language, listen to Spring Day!! It's my favourite song and the lyrics are really really poetic. He is one of the best-spoken people I've seen, and honestly I just love to listen to him talk. Even in English, which isn't his first language, he speaks so beautifully!!
This video gave so much insight to Namjoon's intellect! We all knew he was an incredibly talented poet and speaker, but this just reaffirms it for me! I can't wait to see the other videos in the series thank you for doing this!
Speaking of dialects, it'll be interesting to check out the BTS song "Paldogangsan"... Satoori song pretty much, speaking of the different regions using all the different Satoori, poking fun but in the end bring people together regardless of their differences. They also have an episode in their show Run BTS guessing satoori meanings. I think while most metropolitan areas (ie. Seoul, and the same syndrome exists in any country, Asian and West also, ie. New York City, Paris) tend to look down to dialects from countrysides (or even simply just not the major Metropolitan areas, like LA vs Texas), RM really has Korean soul (Suga mentioned this in "Let's BTS" show on KBS) and is really into culture, so he's embracing these satoori and various aspects in their Korean culture (of course, also with his members from many different regions), instead of being stuck up or snotty about it like stereotypical city people (again, not just a Korean thing, but world-wide, it's a society thing, I grew up in both Asia and US, it's really a stigma how city people hearing others speaking with country accents, no matter where you are.). Anyways, the point being, RM, 148 IQ, thoughtful and philosophical and well-read (helps in writing skills, their boss Bang-PD also said so when a younger member ask how to write lyrics with more depth and nicer word usage and expression), of course he's such a sophisticated human being. There's a reason why he's THE PRESIDENT... Hahaha...
Thank you for this analysis! Kim Namjoon has such an incredible talent for language. Look at his use of “y’all” in his AMA Artist of the Year acceptance speech last year. Not to mention being well read, e.g., quoting Hamlet (!) during his last speech at the UN (“the future is an undiscovered country” which the UN translators reflected as “unexplored territory”). Oh and he learned enough Spanish to cover Becky G’s part in Chicken Noodle Soup. The examples are endless.
Korean seems so much like a puzzle. You really can take sections of multiple words and create a whole new one. That's so beautiful. I'm glad you're doing this series. Its fascinating to hear what their speech style really is like. I know RM is a poetic lyricist but it's cool to find out that he brings that poetic edge into his regular speech too. I can't wait to hear about the others.
The creating new words thing, I think it's rather common in certain Asian languages. I can only speak of a few, since I don't know all, but for sure Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language nouns and phrases can do this, and is quite common, probably bc the nature of words, how each has a meaning, so you can cut and regroup into something different. Growing up in a Mandarin Chinese environment, I could never understand newspaper headlines, bc they smash up a lot of words, shortening several into another phrase to be succinct for headlines. That's also why new slang come out all the time, and often it's a play on words itself, not only phrases. In English it's usually phrases or expression slangs, since words are longer. But you see some smashed words here and there sometimes (can't think of any right this moment... haha).
And yeah, I've heard people comment about RM's speech, how he's very eloquent and uses sophisticated words and phrases and expressions, and his creativity really reflects in his song writing. Well-read king! Although I have also heard comments that J-Hope, when not being extra, also very eloquent. Suga is insightful, Jimin also, and Jin uses more formal and respectful terms often also.
@@mollyfurball In English it's called a "portmanteau" (although I don't think this is a commonly used word itself) where we put together words to make a new one (i.e. cyborg, motel, guestimate, mansplain, romcom, stash etc....)
This is such an awesome concept because international armys were just discussing how we’ll never experience what native Korean hear when they speak like their intonation, choice of words etc. THANK YOU FOR THIS AND THANK YOU FOR DOING RESEARCH WE APPRECIATE IT 💜💜💜
This was so interesting, Billy! Cant wait for the rest of the series. RM definitely has a poetic style of speaking and writing. Suga is fast too (tongue technology is what he calls it). I watched a video analysis on each BTS member's song writing style and yes, RM's unique rapping style has poetic roots. So interesting that he knows all the latest trendy Korean slang (he's crazy smart though so it shouldnt be such a surprise).
Yay! Go Billy has fallen down the rabbit hole! I’m so excited for more. Namjoon will also adopt dialects in English too. British accent in Britain and US accent in the US. Thanks so much for breaking down their speech. I’ve been learning for about a year now and I love your videos. BTS videos will definitely get me back into learning again!
As an international Army this topic has always intrigued me . However me personally never could differentiate the dialect or accents that members use. This was such an informative video 👏💜 Above all Namjoon's writing made me feel like he is writing a novel in his unique style
this is a great video and i learned a lot from it, Billy. i have been so frustrated by not understanding the slang and you taking the time to go through it helped! army knows that namjoon is quite poetic, but the fact that you went through specific grammar and vocabulary as examples is also deeply appreciated. if you would ever be open to analyzing lyrics and helping army understand their poetic nature and meaning, also as a way for us to learn vocabulary - please, please do! understanding bangtan lyrics is what motivated me to learn korean in the first place (and thank you! your channel helped me a lot!). i can't wait for the rest of the series - thanks again.
RMs relationship with language rivals Shakespeare. He weaves vast elemental tapestries of imagery, stories, concepts, moods, tones, sentiments, poetry, puns, triple entendres, and more, all with words. And much of this is clearly such a natural gift, he’s a conduit for communicating otherwise very difficult things. Because he wants people to be active participants in what he’s conveying, vs the very western style of being a passive receiver of words, coming from an authority figure or someone on a screen. Instead of giving you four he gives you two plus two. You have something very rare as a result; agency. He trusts us to arrive where we will.
That is beautiful insight you wrote. Thank you for sharing. I'm just a new BTS fan so may have to learn some Korean. Love that there are so many videos!
I think he is great adapting to language. And regardless of language or dialenct he will use the words that best describes the feeling or thought he wants to get across. Bc he does this with language between English/Korean. He even used Spanish in Home bc “mi casa” was a better choice
Ok these 17 mins flew by…I feel like I could watch this analysis for ever! I literally can’t wait for the rest of the members! I also wish he could do a supplemental translation for every BTS vid out there with these details and nuances lol 💜💜💜
as someone who has been watching your videos for almost as long as i've been learning korean (more than 2 years now!), & as an army (if my username wasn't indicator enough lol), this video was an absolute treat!! thank you so much for the video; you pointed out some really interesting things, some i knew before, but some i realised just now, & i can't wait for the next parts
Thank you, Billy!! This video series is so interesting. As a language learner, it's always great to have an interest related to the language you are learning. BTS are so inspirational and learning their language to be able to appreciate them more has become a must for me. Also, Namjoon is such a wonderful person and artist, he always shines and stands out at everything he does. Thanks again! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Namjoon is no doubt a very deep minded person. He is naturally smart person! 💜🙂 I love all of the members uniqueness. They don't simply give an amazing performance, but you can really see they are a group of very smart and talented members! 💜 I love the word play they do with their lyrics!
This was fascinating! I was particularly struck by the paradoxical combination of formal grammar constructions and poetic vocabulary with up-to-date youngster slang! But it isn't that surprising when I think about someone just being fascinated by language in all its forms. Probably also why he picks up and plays with dialect. (Also, LOVE the "reactor face" thumbnail! I literally cried laughing!)
If you look at Namjoon's lyrics they're all very poetic as well, he actually said before becoming a rapper he wanted to be a poet and he got into rap because to him writing rap is like writing poetry... So that's maybe why he speaks/writes in a kind of poetic way sometimes
Amazing job!! You put so much work and research into it! I love this! All A.R.M.Y's will have a good sense of Namjoon's poetic nature and eloquance, but only a fluent Korean speaker will be able to catch all these nuances in his speech. This video is eye opening! Can't wait for the rest of the series!
As I’m learning Korean,besides the satoori, I noticed that each of the members have a certain way of speaking and thought that was always cool! It makes Korean more interesting to learn; even in English everyone speaks it differently so it’s fun to talk/listen to someone who has a unique way of doing it.
I had inferred from listening to the Bangtans converse that 나 and 저 both meant "I" as a subject, and I had guessed that choosing one or the other had something to do with formality and politeness (I'm a native speaker of American English, but I studied French for many years and my parents were both native speakers of Mandarin, Japanese, and Taiwanese Hokkien) but I had absolutely no idea why they chose one or the other when speaking to each other, since their relationships are long-established and they didn't seem to do it consistently. That's a level of social subtlety that even Bangtan Subs hasn't touched. Thanks for clearing that up! I look forward to seeing what you have to say about Jin, since he's such a character; plus, while he's the oldest, the members consistently joke about him being the "real youngest," which Jimin appeared to express as "막내 막내" in this conversation with RM (who then responded by naming 석진이, instead of 진형): th-cam.com/video/1mkhdpbe4R0/w-d-xo.html
My love for Korean began during the pandemic, when I started to watch Kdramas... the sound of this language is soooo beautiful! (I'm Chilean, but I live in Brazil). That's why I've learned it for almost two years. Nowadays I can understand some words hehehe it's very few, but I feel in heaven when I can understand a sentence! After the Kdramas, I fell in love with BTS and... here I am! I found you thanks to BTS. Thanks for your excellent lecture! Hope to learn more Korean with you... Borahae!! 💜💜💜💜💜
I’m really fascinated by this video- especially by your translation of Namjoon’s extremely poetic writing Because I was just wholly unaware that he was speaking/writing in that way I’d love to hear more about it and about that grandiose, old times sounding version/style of Korean
This video was truly interesting and I am looking forward to the series. It is so interesting for people who don‘t know Korean but also for learners to understand just a little bit more about how BTS is perceived by Korean speakers. And it teaches more about their culture too. It’s a great idea and I like how you put it together :)
Yep, this all sounds like our sexy-brained leader in a nutshell. The guys have very busy schedules, but you constantly see them either reading, gaming, or on their phones, so they would have a lot of access to modern slang. When I first encountered RM, I actually thought he was Korean-American, because when I first heard him speak English he sounded to me like he'd grown up in California. His facility with language really is astounding, and one of the reasons I love his music so much. Thank you so much for these insights, and I'm really looking forward to this series! (You've got a new subscriber here!) I'm insanely grateful to the BTS ARMY translators who provide translations for us non-Korean-speakers in near real-time, but I know there are nuances I'm missing, and even if I start learning Korean (which I fully intend to do!) I'll be years away from grasping those subtle differences.
I started learning Korean because of GOT7 and BTS so I could understand them (I'm failing miserably at this point) so all I could do was laugh when you said you have to be advanced to understand RM. Can't wait to hear how advanced you need to be to understand most of them 🤣 love this series already!!
It’s about time you fell down the rabbit hole! lol So happy to see you’re FINALLY an ARMY! Loved your in depth explanation of Namjoon’s dialect & look forward to your next 6 dialect vids!! You learned so much about Bangtan in a month! I’m envious of your Korean fluency & think you would make a great foreign actor/translator in Kdramas or as BTS’ personal translator for their comeback 2025! Thank you for doing this!
ahhh this was so funny and informative i loved it! Thank you very much 😭💗 ps: just a heads up that while i quite literally bursted out laughing at the "why? because he's weird! (unique)" comment i would advise not to do it with certain members (v) because of a history of mocking and rude comments made against him back in their early days, it's a sore spot for the fandom and now that i like your channel i wouldn't want to see you get attacked for calling him (v) weird or anything like that
Thank you for helping us appreciate his sexy brain even more 😆 seriously though, it’s those amazing little things that none-Korean-speaking fans miss, I truly appreciate you explaining them like that. I knew he was special even on daily basis doing normal things like speaking, yet I am still at awe in fascination 💜 it also helps me appreciate the Korean language for the culture hidden meanings it can carry within it
I absolutely ADORE listening to Joon speak “Brit” whenever they perform in the UK - using words like “knackered” - words you don’t hear in America. I also love his British accent! He really is a language prodigy. I don’t entirely buy into the legend of his learning English by watching Friends. While the show might have motivated him to learn to speak English, and he probably did learn some conversational English from watching it, Namjoon is first and foremost a scholar and his strong command of English came from thorough language study. But, as previously mentioned in the comments, I love the way he tailors his English to the audience to which he’ll be speaking, for example spicing up his English with certain British slang words to speak to his British audience. I just adore everything about this man 💜💜💜
I am sure you know that many of us found you in a quest to learn Korean in order to understand BTS’ lyrics and KDramas better. I started Japanese during the pandemic just to keep myself busy but this Spring, after a fall into the KDrama hole followed by and even bigger fall in to the BTS hole, I am seriously enjoying how much easier (IMO) Korean is than Japanese! I already liked it because, to me, it has similar intonation as English and the writing system was blissfully logical and easy to learn. Your videos are the best!! I have watched them many times. THIS video was the BEST! I was not surprised but I really appreciated how you analyzed Namjoon’s linguistic ‘nature’. He is amazing and seems like such a sponge for knowledge and language. You did not have any clips of his Encyclopedia of Useless Knowledge appearance, but on that show, he speaks slower and super clear. I cannot wait for Jin and his ridiculously funny way that he sometimes scolds the guys. I am sure it must be a ‘Korean thing’. Thank you for this series. I am looking so forward to it.
Yes please! A sequel would be great. It’s so fascinating to hear a non-Korean break down the Korean language because as a fluent speaker, you don’t think about your native language, you just speak it. Super interesting, thank you!
Thank you so much for doing this series! As a beginner in the language (and a huge fan of bts 😉) I find this incredibly fascinating! This is something you just can’t get through subtitles and really shows their personalities in a way that people who don’t speak Korean wouldn’t understand! 선생님 감사합니다!
He doesn’t need an English translator he’s fluent in English too🙃also thank you for delving into BTS!! & I think all of them at times talk insanely fast to the point that my brain hurts😵💫Korean is one of the hardest languages I’ve ever come across(to me anyways lol)I look forward to seeing more! Welcome to the BTS rabbit hole!💜보라해!🫰🏼
"Why BTS was so big" --->>> "Now I get it!" ...... See! Once you get you get to know them and go beyond the surface of an idol group, you really see how unique and sincere and down to earth they are a HUMAN BEINGS. Yes, good songs, good dancing, good looks, but what kept fans around are them as people, human beings, that made them loved and respected by millions. People who have worked with them (outside of their usual company staff that knows them already) are always amazed at how nice and good and humble of a person they are, considering their super star status. Which just to show you, if entertainment people are surprised how humble they are as super stars, imagine how many stars in entertainment they've encountered that are egotistical, snotty, diva, demanding, etc. Their sincerity and humanity is what really made them standout in this crazy entertainment industry. And common industry people still winder and trying to figure out "how do they do it?" Trying to analyze what's their WINNING formula to have so many loyal fans... umm... being good at your actual job as a MUSICIAN, and be a good person? They really broke what a stereotypical kpop idol is perceived as, and it's exactly what Bang-PD set out to do when he started everything. And personally, I think it's also fate-like that he met RM, bc they had the same ideals, and RM was the vessel, and Bang-PD gave him the platform and guidance. Without their fateful meeting, it might not be what it is today. The 7 member bond is also a result of RM's leadership (but then Jin was also a key factor in their group dynamics, heck, all 7 members brought their own value to the group) really set the tone since trainee periods, minimized some of the typical toxic competition gloom at other agencies (and Jin set the tone at the dorms being makhyung, he was loving and caring in his own way). Ah, sorry, went on a tangent, bc too many sentiments in their history. Haha... bottom line, success story, much?! Ha.
Other trainees also said that Joonie also set an example of them pulling together and helping each other instead of other agencies where it is hard core competition…
I am in heaven right now. I started learning Korean because I wanted to be able to understand BTS without subtitles, and understand their sentiments behind their messaging in Korean. So the fact that you're doing a series on each member is absolutely a dream come true. I have always wondered if anyone else thought Suga was hard to understand, so I'm really excited to watch that episode. As an intermediate learner, Suga tends to be really hard to understand for me. Anyways, excited to see this series!
THANK YOU!!! I felt like I was taking crazy pills cuz I was told over and over you have to use 저 with anyone older regardless of the situation. But when I watch BTS I swear it's like 나 나 나 나 allll day every day. Thank you for de-gaslighting me. I look forward to the rest of the series as well. Especially Jin, since he's a special space-baby crashed landed from another planet and requires further explanation.
As someone who studies speech communication, im in love woth this series! I just started watching but the wag you describe their speech styles and how you articulated namjoon's articulation!! I love it!
I feel like it was just the other day that I was trying to explain 보라해 in your comments 😂 I learned so much from this! I'd heard of 남투리 but didn't really understand... It sounds like he's constantly playing with words. I can relate, too - I'm also a writer and sometimes a poet, started writing poetry quite young, and I'm fascinated by language... And I read a whole lot of 19th century literature before I reached double digits. I continued to read absolutely everything I could, but found archaic language fascinating. The end result of this is that when my partner and I were writing an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, I wrote all the dialogue we had to invent. I have a bizarrely huge English vocabulary, full of words no one has used in hundreds of years 😂
This is such a cool series! Korean is a beautiful language, and I admire Namjoon’s poetic style of speaking Korean and coming up with new words. Thank you for translating and explaining!
This was so fun and interesting, thank you! Please cover all of the different members - thy all have such unique ways of speaking. Also, this really highlights the hard work of ARMY translators who kindly volunteer to interpret and translate BTS on weverse, lives, in interviews etc.
Love this analysis! Also, I find it funny you mentioned translators would probably struggle with him because on Twitter army translators always mention how difficult it is to live translate his lives on weverse, for the exact reasons you mentioned lol
I really appreciate your efforts and amount of research/observations you have share with us. RM is very poetic and such a deep thinker, as non-Korean speaker I believe we might have loss the depth of meaning due to translation. He have such a sexy brain and insane vocab, hahaha.
Found you because of this video. Love love the insight you are giving into how language choices and style say so much about a person in Korean. We English only folks lose so much nuance when we read most translations… You offer great insights. Thank you.
I was learning Korean (I got to Go Billy lesson 26) but unfortunately irl has put it on pauze but seeing this has really set my interest on fire again, it was very interesting to hear special focus on the way Namjoon speaks & excited for the complete series. Ofcourse we read translations of their songs & know they're amazing lyricists, but to hear about their daily speach, habits and the culture of it all really adds a special layer I didn't know I wanted to hear about. Thank you!
This was so interesting and fun to watch! Thank you for shining a light on an aspect of BTS I haven't been able to really truly understand before - our amazing ARMY translators work hard but are often pressed for time (and tweet space)! Now I definitely understand why they often throw their hands up when Namjoon posts his letters and will say they need to really dedicate time for the translation. As a learner and a Yoongi bias, your comment about how easy Namjoon is to understand [especially compared to Yoongi] made me laugh so hard. I'm looking forward to his episode and all of the others a lot! Thanks again!
Wow~ You gave me a lot of Korean information through BTS' conversations. The detailed analysis of RM is particularly impressive. I am a 'Korean' studying English. With Korean content and English explanations, I understand well and it helps me a lot. thank you. 와~ BTS의 대화를 통해서 많은 한국어의 정보를 주셨네요. 특히 RM에 대한 자세한 분석이 인상 깊습니다. 전 영어를 공부하는 '한국인'이에요. 한국어로 된 컨텐츠를 가지고, 영어로 설명을 들으니 잘 이해가 되고 저도 많은 도움이 됩니다. 감사합니다.
This was fascinating. If you ever decide to do a full translation of one of those Namjoon writings you quoted, I'd love to see/hear it. I'm always interested in the nuances of the original thought and expression of it before translation.
As ARMY I am soooo excited for this series! Thank you for doing this as I've always found the Korean dialects so fascinating as a native English speaker. It's only taken me years of watching K dramas and BTS to start picking up the differences between the standard Korean and regional dialects. My ear perks up and goes "Oh! That sounds different!" :)
I don't really know much (any) Korean but from watching TONs of Korean shows can hear slight changes in the tone/accent (like when watching Pachinko, I knew they were using sartoori.) However, I am a student of langauge overall ( speech and langauge therapist) so this topic is super interesting to me. I really really enjoyed your video. Would love to hear more about Namtoori too. Can't wait to hear more from you.
Oooh, I'd love a dissection of Namjoon's "namtoori" esp in his lyrics. And I'm most impressed by the fluidity with his usage of languages and words (and their style/format/structure) to construct his music. It's a big part of what attracted me into paying attention to his and BTS's lyrics when I first got into them. Another wonderful video! I can't wait to see the next to come out (esp now that you're abt to get to the more dialect-heavy members). I have a harder time differentiating dialects, so it'll be really helpful to hear your take on the differences between them. But I've heard J-Hope's dialect (from Gwangju) is supposed to sound friendlier and Suga's and V's (from Daegu) should sound more masculine. And I _think_ I can hear it when they speak, but I'm not entirely sure if it's bc of the members themselves, who tend to lean into those respective attributes, or if it's actually the dialects.
Fascinating! Namjoon also sometimes shifts between accents/dialects when speaking English. When in England or when speaking with James Corden (a US nighttime TV host) his accent goes British. And he sounds a little different when he speaks at the White House versus when he's speaking with Pharrell. It's fascinating. He's like a language sponge/chameleon.
I think that is pretty normal for non native English speakers.
That's sooo true. He definitely "code switches" his English just like native English speaker do. Even in the same country like when he's in the usa. Your POTUS vs Pharrell example is spot on. It's very cool to hear.
Yeah him using a British accent is BS. He should speak english the way he learned it. He said he learned it from watching the TV show Friends which is American, so he should have an American accent. He learned with the American accent so to fake a British one is a pretentious facade. If I was British I would be insulted bc of his mocking foolery.
@@Yellow-Rose it's natural to switch. You don't have to be rude 💀
@@Yellow-Rosewow rude much and he’s not mocking anyone. If you have such a problem with the way he speaks then why are you watching the video
this videos is making ARMYs understand how hard the volunteer translators work. I'm so thankful for them as they're one of the reasons that make this fandom connected to other fans and BTS.
Oh,yes, I am so thankful for the translators. I have been watching Chinese Dramas and sometimes the translator is translating into gibberish. The English makes absolutely no sense. Even if you are trying to find perhaps a connection between the translated word and what they are seemingly talking about. ( grass is no way related to ice cream).
Fr
Namjoonie went to New Zealand to an English Academy & he thought all the British people he met sounded "very cool" - so occasionally he will when talking to UK talkshow hosts use thar intonation. (Unfortunately though, Namjoonie spends more time in the U S & he apes their accent to sound "more relatable" - bc unlike in the UK - Bangtan had a VERY hard time in the U S - espc from 2016/ 2017 up until way after BWL just pre Pandemic- people there, espc in the Ent Industry were Not Nice to them (that anti E○○○ Asian thing that the U S always has - as of Koreans are anything to do with Vietnam or Japan buy- yes; that's what it was.) Even now; it's as if the U S Industry "don't take BTS seriously" which is ridiculous🙏🏻💜🇬🇧💜🌏💜
Namjoon has such an interesting approach to language. I’m constantly amazed by his insights into not just Korean but also English. Like in Seoul when he makes the distinction between one day ‘leaving’ Seoul but always ‘living’ Seoul. Or when he uses a Korean word that sounds similar to another Korean word and fuses both together and translates both into English to create a whole new meaning (flowerwork, bibily hills). He’s such a neologist. Reminds me of how Shakespeare coined new words.
4:15 Even though Namjoon comes across as a bookish intellectual, he's also a very online person. So I'm not surprised that he knows all these slang words. He's very much in tune with his fans 🤣
agree
He loves reading everything and learning something and he also watch
This was *fascinating*. As a non-Korean speaker I'm always bummed that there's just some things about the way the boys talk and write their lyrics that I'll never really understand, no matter how much our fan translators try to explain, so this little glimpse gave me so much joy. Thank you so much. And thanks to your subscriber for asking you to do this.
It doesn't surprise me when you said his brain is working over time in the language department because as a lyricist/poet/rapper his brain is so skilled with words/language, he also interprets English for the boys at lightening speed!
Yeah. That's something that always fascinated me about rappers, especially the best rappers. The ability to string so many words together in a poetic and sometimes chaotic fashion to communicate a message.
Joonie picks up dialects from EVERYONE it doesn't even matter. I find it adorable even when he speaks with English speakers he picks up their accents too. I always wondered if he knows he does that I love his mind.
I think what frustrates me about it when he does it in English is that he means it respectfully and with a genuine interest in accents, sounds etc. But, at least in the past, he’s been accused of using an American accent when he raps that isn’t “authentic.” It’s like, what does authentic even mean when English isn’t your first language?? He uses the rhythms and accents he hears from native speakers.
@@LB-eq6bnVery true! English is my third language and I learned most by watching Friends (like Namjoon but coincidental) over and over, conversing with online strangers on countless music message boards (I miss the good ol' internet of the early 2000's, it used to be so much more fun 😢), and ofc, reading books. You just pick up all the bits and pieces as you go along. Just as my Korean contains northern 시골 satoori (thanks, mom) and a strong German accent. So I guess my Korean isn't "authentic" at all to those kind of people lol.
Danny Kim of dkdktv tried to translate a letter that RM posted online and you saw his struggle in realtime trying to translate it. He started doing a close translation and then becoming more and more general then just trying to give the overall intent of what he was saying and finally giving up, complaining that Namjoon was just too poetic. Now I have a better understanding of what he meant by that.
Lmao what?! How could I find that stream??!
And how damn poetic could namjoon be that he can’t even be understood??!!
@@dysmissme7343 I don't remember which one. It was some time in the last year, maybe just after their last festa. That was my thought too. How does being poetic make it hard? I don't think it was because he didn't understand him but he struggled with how to explain in another language to convey the same sense of what Namjoon was saying. If it had been just one paragraph Danny probably would have done it but it was a long letter that made him give up about half way through.
It's dkdktv. When it's about BTS, everything is hard for then 🙄
As a linguist and an army, this vid is seriously amazing. It’s fascinating to have people’s language broken down and for RM, knowing about his personality and who he is, his language use makes so much sense in the ways you described and explained. I’ve studied many languages including Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Mongolian and started learning Korean around a year ago. Korean is by far my favorite.
Same here, but it is sooo difficult. I keep going, only because it is fun.
Yes love this! We call Namjoon's dialect as NAMTOORI and it's so him. This was insightful and Namjoon is an actual genius so the fact that his writing and speaking is poetic is no surprise to ARMY who live for his speeches and the song lyrics he wrote for BTS's entire discography as the main song writer. We love it and we love him.
Namjoon is the poet philosopher of the group. He's a wellspring of knowledge, incessantly curious, and a gifted wordsmith to boot. I think his mind works in very intriguing ways.
Also yes ARMY translators often have a heard time translating Namjoon because his words are so poetic and meaningful they want to potray it exactly but on the flip side he talks so fast it can sometimes be easy to miss!
This is really interesting! Absolutely love it! You'll have to listen to their song "Paldogangsan" where they really explore the different dialects that they all speak! It's one of the songs that when I delved deep into BTS just made me love them more. I'd love to hear your analysis of it!
Oh! I literally just suggested the same song!
The English title of the song is Satoori Rap, I think. In case you can't find it in Korean somehow
omg yes!! you have to listen to this song, you're going to go crazy
Oh please do this reaction Mr Billy :)
he made a video before about all the different provinces/dialects in Korea
IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SERIES OMGG
the reason i started learning korean is because i wanted to understand bts more, we have amazing translations for everything but the nuances still get lost sometimes, and even tho ive been their fan for years now and know them pretty well it’s a bit disheartening when native korean speakers elaborate on the way they talked at a specific moment and the differences in intonations when speaking and i realise that i may not ever fully understand them and their quirks lol cause there’s only so much a translation can convey so thank you for this series. i love your videos so this is like my two worlds colliding haha
Yes! Part 2 of Namtoori please 🙏🙏🙏💜💜💜
Yes + all the othet members too
Yeeees!
yes plz
@@hajarahmad473no one cares about those fucks this comment was about nj
Yes!!
This video really adds value beyond my interest as an ARMY. It added further nuance of understanding about how and when to use 나 and 저. Even beyond BTS, I'll be watching for these kinds of "lessons" that come from reflecting on the word choices of native Korean speakers.
Thanks for the effort you're putting in. I'm getting so much value from the money I've allocated to supporting you on Patreon; it's money well invested.
Thanks for your support! There will be more episodes! :D
Same!
What a great video! I learned more about RM and the Korean language too. I have watched many of your videos, study with your book, and really appreciate your work and skill in teaching others the language. I really look forward to the rest of this series.
I have been a fan of BTS for about 6 or 7 years now. You said after a month of prep for this series, you understand why BTS are so popular. I am curious to know more about your thoughts on that and find myself thinking you could still be surprised. These young men are very talented singers, rappers, dancers, and performers but they share so much more than that with the world. They really have touched hearts and minds across the globe. BTS have inspired fans to read literature, study psychology, Study Greek Mythology, learn about Korea’s history & language, give to worthy causes, organize to give our free time and skills to help others, try to love ourselves and to take care of our mental health, to work hard and try to become the best versions of ourselves possible. You may think this all sounds ridiculously extreme but it is true. Being a teacher myself, all of this positive influence is something I greatly admire about BTS. It is also encouraging to see a Cinderella success story for a group of people and a company who spread positive messages to the world. I actually found your channel years ago due to BTS’s influence.
I loved this, and would love a deep-dive on Namtoori! I hope when you get to Taehyung you'll discuss Taetae language too.
I’m so looking forward to that one
Namjoon thinks a lot, he has a beautiful mind.
💜💜💜💜💜💜
I'm fascinated by how they use polite and casual language kind of freely. I've noticed before that the younger ones don't always say 저 or 요 and wondered if there were situations in which they could get away without it. But maybe it really is just that BTS magic
Namjoon is so poetic even in normal conversations 🥹😍
Suchwita ep 1 is proof of that 🥰
If you want a song that is pretty much textbook Namjoon language, listen to Spring Day!! It's my favourite song and the lyrics are really really poetic. He is one of the best-spoken people I've seen, and honestly I just love to listen to him talk. Even in English, which isn't his first language, he speaks so beautifully!!
This video gave so much insight to Namjoon's intellect! We all knew he was an incredibly talented poet and speaker, but this just reaffirms it for me! I can't wait to see the other videos in the series thank you for doing this!
Speaking of dialects, it'll be interesting to check out the BTS song "Paldogangsan"... Satoori song pretty much, speaking of the different regions using all the different Satoori, poking fun but in the end bring people together regardless of their differences. They also have an episode in their show Run BTS guessing satoori meanings. I think while most metropolitan areas (ie. Seoul, and the same syndrome exists in any country, Asian and West also, ie. New York City, Paris) tend to look down to dialects from countrysides (or even simply just not the major Metropolitan areas, like LA vs Texas), RM really has Korean soul (Suga mentioned this in "Let's BTS" show on KBS) and is really into culture, so he's embracing these satoori and various aspects in their Korean culture (of course, also with his members from many different regions), instead of being stuck up or snotty about it like stereotypical city people (again, not just a Korean thing, but world-wide, it's a society thing, I grew up in both Asia and US, it's really a stigma how city people hearing others speaking with country accents, no matter where you are.). Anyways, the point being, RM, 148 IQ, thoughtful and philosophical and well-read (helps in writing skills, their boss Bang-PD also said so when a younger member ask how to write lyrics with more depth and nicer word usage and expression), of course he's such a sophisticated human being. There's a reason why he's THE PRESIDENT... Hahaha...
Thank you for this analysis! Kim Namjoon has such an incredible talent for language. Look at his use of “y’all” in his AMA Artist of the Year acceptance speech last year. Not to mention being well read, e.g., quoting Hamlet (!) during his last speech at the UN (“the future is an undiscovered country” which the UN translators reflected as “unexplored territory”). Oh and he learned enough Spanish to cover Becky G’s part in Chicken Noodle Soup. The examples are endless.
Korean seems so much like a puzzle. You really can take sections of multiple words and create a whole new one. That's so beautiful. I'm glad you're doing this series. Its fascinating to hear what their speech style really is like. I know RM is a poetic lyricist but it's cool to find out that he brings that poetic edge into his regular speech too. I can't wait to hear about the others.
The creating new words thing, I think it's rather common in certain Asian languages. I can only speak of a few, since I don't know all, but for sure Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language nouns and phrases can do this, and is quite common, probably bc the nature of words, how each has a meaning, so you can cut and regroup into something different. Growing up in a Mandarin Chinese environment, I could never understand newspaper headlines, bc they smash up a lot of words, shortening several into another phrase to be succinct for headlines. That's also why new slang come out all the time, and often it's a play on words itself, not only phrases. In English it's usually phrases or expression slangs, since words are longer. But you see some smashed words here and there sometimes (can't think of any right this moment... haha).
And yeah, I've heard people comment about RM's speech, how he's very eloquent and uses sophisticated words and phrases and expressions, and his creativity really reflects in his song writing. Well-read king!
Although I have also heard comments that J-Hope, when not being extra, also very eloquent. Suga is insightful, Jimin also, and Jin uses more formal and respectful terms often also.
@@mollyfurball In English it's called a "portmanteau" (although I don't think this is a commonly used word itself) where we put together words to make a new one (i.e. cyborg, motel, guestimate, mansplain, romcom, stash etc....)
This is such an awesome concept because international armys were just discussing how we’ll never experience what native Korean hear when they speak like their intonation, choice of words etc. THANK YOU FOR THIS AND THANK YOU FOR DOING RESEARCH WE APPRECIATE IT 💜💜💜
This was so interesting, Billy! Cant wait for the rest of the series. RM definitely has a poetic style of speaking and writing. Suga is fast too (tongue technology is what he calls it).
I watched a video analysis on each BTS member's song writing style and yes, RM's unique rapping style has poetic roots. So interesting that he knows all the latest trendy Korean slang (he's crazy smart though so it shouldnt be such a surprise).
Yay! Go Billy has fallen down the rabbit hole! I’m so excited for more.
Namjoon will also adopt dialects in English too. British accent in Britain and US accent in the US. Thanks so much for breaking down their speech. I’ve been learning for about a year now and I love your videos. BTS videos will definitely get me back into learning again!
lmao exactly, I was so happy hahaha
As an international Army this topic has always intrigued me . However me personally never could differentiate the dialect or accents that members use. This was such an informative video 👏💜 Above all Namjoon's writing made me feel like he is writing a novel in his unique style
this is a great video and i learned a lot from it, Billy. i have been so frustrated by not understanding the slang and you taking the time to go through it helped!
army knows that namjoon is quite poetic, but the fact that you went through specific grammar and vocabulary as examples is also deeply appreciated.
if you would ever be open to analyzing lyrics and helping army understand their poetic nature and meaning, also as a way for us to learn vocabulary - please, please do! understanding bangtan lyrics is what motivated me to learn korean in the first place (and thank you! your channel helped me a lot!).
i can't wait for the rest of the series - thanks again.
Wow that's a GREAT idea for a future series!!!
YES! LYRICS ANALYSIS 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
RMs relationship with language rivals Shakespeare. He weaves vast elemental tapestries of imagery, stories, concepts, moods, tones, sentiments, poetry, puns, triple entendres, and more, all with words.
And much of this is clearly such a natural gift, he’s a conduit for communicating otherwise very difficult things. Because he wants people to be active participants in what he’s conveying, vs the very western style of being a passive receiver of words, coming from an authority figure or someone on a screen. Instead of giving you four he gives you two plus two.
You have something very rare as a result; agency. He trusts us to arrive where we will.
That is beautiful insight you wrote. Thank you for sharing. I'm just a new BTS fan so may have to learn some Korean. Love that there are so many videos!
Just when I thought I couldn’t love Namjoon any more than I already do. How can someone be so gifted and excellent. 😍
I think he is great adapting to language. And regardless of language or dialenct he will use the words that best describes the feeling or thought he wants to get across. Bc he does this with language between English/Korean. He even used Spanish in Home bc “mi casa” was a better choice
Ok these 17 mins flew by…I feel like I could watch this analysis for ever! I literally can’t wait for the rest of the members! I also wish he could do a supplemental translation for every BTS vid out there with these details and nuances lol 💜💜💜
I knooooowwwww! ! ! ! !
I was in heaven and didn't want it to end! ! !
his intelligence shows through his speaking skills
very much so...
BTS is the best selling Korean artist* of all time, not only group ☺
Your explanation is interesting and beautiful and as always BTS is one of a kind~
You know, Namjoon is a genius, right? It's no surprise that he excels at language and speaks in an advanced and refined way.
I can't thank you enough for this content ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! So many of us BTS fans that miss out because we can't understand Korean get sad about it
as someone who has been watching your videos for almost as long as i've been learning korean (more than 2 years now!), & as an army (if my username wasn't indicator enough lol), this video was an absolute treat!! thank you so much for the video; you pointed out some really interesting things, some i knew before, but some i realised just now, & i can't wait for the next parts
Thank you, Billy!! This video series is so interesting.
As a language learner, it's always great to have an interest related to the language you are learning. BTS are so inspirational and learning their language to be able to appreciate them more has become a must for me.
Also, Namjoon is such a wonderful person and artist, he always shines and stands out at everything he does.
Thanks again! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
I like how in these videos where you get specific to each member, there is still a constant across these videos of J Hope laughing at something.
I've started learning Korean because of Namjoon's lyrics. Now I understand it won't be easy 😁
Namjoon is no doubt a very deep minded person. He is naturally smart person! 💜🙂
I love all of the members uniqueness. They don't simply give an amazing performance, but you can really see they are a group of very smart and talented members! 💜 I love the word play they do with their lyrics!
Oh he’s in deep 😂 I love this! The word interesting doesn’t even cut it. Can’t wait to watch all the other ones!
This was fascinating! I was particularly struck by the paradoxical combination of formal grammar constructions and poetic vocabulary with up-to-date youngster slang! But it isn't that surprising when I think about someone just being fascinated by language in all its forms. Probably also why he picks up and plays with dialect. (Also, LOVE the "reactor face" thumbnail! I literally cried laughing!)
If you look at Namjoon's lyrics they're all very poetic as well, he actually said before becoming a rapper he wanted to be a poet and he got into rap because to him writing rap is like writing poetry... So that's maybe why he speaks/writes in a kind of poetic way sometimes
Amazing job!! You put so much work and research into it! I love this! All A.R.M.Y's will have a good sense of Namjoon's poetic nature and eloquance, but only a fluent Korean speaker will be able to catch all these nuances in his speech. This video is eye opening! Can't wait for the rest of the series!
As I’m learning Korean,besides the satoori, I noticed that each of the members have a certain way of speaking and thought that was always cool! It makes Korean more interesting to learn; even in English everyone speaks it differently so it’s fun to talk/listen to someone who has a unique way of doing it.
Please do a part 2. I truly enjoyed watching your analyzation of BTS members.
I had inferred from listening to the Bangtans converse that 나 and 저 both meant "I" as a subject, and I had guessed that choosing one or the other had something to do with formality and politeness (I'm a native speaker of American English, but I studied French for many years and my parents were both native speakers of Mandarin, Japanese, and Taiwanese Hokkien) but I had absolutely no idea why they chose one or the other when speaking to each other, since their relationships are long-established and they didn't seem to do it consistently. That's a level of social subtlety that even Bangtan Subs hasn't touched. Thanks for clearing that up!
I look forward to seeing what you have to say about Jin, since he's such a character; plus, while he's the oldest, the members consistently joke about him being the "real youngest," which Jimin appeared to express as "막내 막내" in this conversation with RM (who then responded by naming 석진이, instead of 진형): th-cam.com/video/1mkhdpbe4R0/w-d-xo.html
Can't wait for Suga's video 🤣 this is gonna be fun !
he's a brilliant man, i love his ✨uniqueness✨
I thank the voulenteer translateors everyday for their hard work !!!
Thank you for efforts in making this video. Today I learned new thing about RM which I didn't notice before. He is such a genius and unique.
My love for Korean began during the pandemic, when I started to watch Kdramas... the sound of this language is soooo beautiful! (I'm Chilean, but I live in Brazil). That's why I've learned it for almost two years. Nowadays I can understand some words hehehe it's very few, but I feel in heaven when I can understand a sentence! After the Kdramas, I fell in love with BTS and... here I am! I found you thanks to BTS.
Thanks for your excellent lecture! Hope to learn more Korean with you... Borahae!! 💜💜💜💜💜
I’m really fascinated by this video- especially by your translation of Namjoon’s extremely poetic writing
Because I was just wholly unaware that he was speaking/writing in that way
I’d love to hear more about it and about that grandiose, old times sounding version/style of Korean
Can't wait for the others and thank you to the subscriber who suggested this
This video was truly interesting and I am looking forward to the series. It is so interesting for people who don‘t know Korean but also for learners to understand just a little bit more about how BTS is perceived by Korean speakers. And it teaches more about their culture too. It’s a great idea and I like how you put it together :)
Yep, this all sounds like our sexy-brained leader in a nutshell. The guys have very busy schedules, but you constantly see them either reading, gaming, or on their phones, so they would have a lot of access to modern slang. When I first encountered RM, I actually thought he was Korean-American, because when I first heard him speak English he sounded to me like he'd grown up in California. His facility with language really is astounding, and one of the reasons I love his music so much.
Thank you so much for these insights, and I'm really looking forward to this series! (You've got a new subscriber here!) I'm insanely grateful to the BTS ARMY translators who provide translations for us non-Korean-speakers in near real-time, but I know there are nuances I'm missing, and even if I start learning Korean (which I fully intend to do!) I'll be years away from grasping those subtle differences.
I started learning Korean because of GOT7 and BTS so I could understand them (I'm failing miserably at this point) so all I could do was laugh when you said you have to be advanced to understand RM. Can't wait to hear how advanced you need to be to understand most of them 🤣 love this series already!!
It’s about time you fell down the rabbit hole! lol So happy to see you’re FINALLY an ARMY! Loved your in depth explanation of Namjoon’s dialect & look forward to your next 6 dialect vids!! You learned so much about Bangtan in a month! I’m envious of your Korean fluency & think you would make a great foreign actor/translator in Kdramas or as BTS’ personal translator for their comeback 2025! Thank you for doing this!
I agree 👍🏼!
ahhh this was so funny and informative i loved it! Thank you very much 😭💗
ps: just a heads up that while i quite literally bursted out laughing at the "why? because he's weird! (unique)" comment i would advise not to do it with certain members (v) because of a history of mocking and rude comments made against him back in their early days, it's a sore spot for the fandom and now that i like your channel i wouldn't want to see you get attacked for calling him (v) weird or anything like that
Thank you for helping us appreciate his sexy brain even more 😆 seriously though, it’s those amazing little things that none-Korean-speaking fans miss, I truly appreciate you explaining them like that. I knew he was special even on daily basis doing normal things like speaking, yet I am still at awe in fascination 💜 it also helps me appreciate the Korean language for the culture hidden meanings it can carry within it
I absolutely ADORE listening to Joon speak “Brit” whenever they perform in the UK - using words like “knackered” - words you don’t hear in America. I also love his British accent! He really is a language prodigy. I don’t entirely buy into the legend of his learning English by watching Friends. While the show might have motivated him to learn to speak English, and he probably did learn some conversational English from watching it, Namjoon is first and foremost a scholar and his strong command of English came from thorough language study. But, as previously mentioned in the comments, I love the way he tailors his English to the audience to which he’ll be speaking, for example spicing up his English with certain British slang words to speak to his British audience. I just adore everything about this man 💜💜💜
I'm so glad that you're doing a video series about the BTS members' unique speaking styles.
I am sure you know that many of us found you in a quest to learn Korean in order to understand BTS’ lyrics and KDramas better. I started Japanese during the pandemic just to keep myself busy but this Spring, after a fall into the KDrama hole followed by and even bigger fall in to the BTS hole, I am seriously enjoying how much easier (IMO) Korean is than Japanese! I already liked it because, to me, it has similar intonation as English and the writing system was blissfully logical and easy to learn. Your videos are the best!! I have watched them many times. THIS video was the BEST! I was not surprised but I really appreciated how you analyzed Namjoon’s linguistic ‘nature’. He is amazing and seems like such a sponge for knowledge and language. You did not have any clips of his Encyclopedia of Useless Knowledge appearance, but on that show, he speaks slower and super clear. I cannot wait for Jin and his ridiculously funny way that he sometimes scolds the guys. I am sure it must be a ‘Korean thing’. Thank you for this series. I am looking so forward to it.
That's funny. I find Korean harder than Japanese, but I think it's mostly the pronunciation.
Yes please! A sequel would be great. It’s so fascinating to hear a non-Korean break down the Korean language because as a fluent speaker, you don’t think about your native language, you just speak it. Super interesting, thank you!
Thank you so much for doing this series! As a beginner in the language (and a huge fan of bts 😉) I find this incredibly fascinating! This is something you just can’t get through subtitles and really shows their personalities in a way that people who don’t speak Korean wouldn’t understand! 선생님 감사합니다!
He doesn’t need an English translator he’s fluent in English too🙃also thank you for delving into BTS!! & I think all of them at times talk insanely fast to the point that my brain hurts😵💫Korean is one of the hardest languages I’ve ever come across(to me anyways lol)I look forward to seeing more! Welcome to the BTS rabbit hole!💜보라해!🫰🏼
"Why BTS was so big" --->>> "Now I get it!" ...... See! Once you get you get to know them and go beyond the surface of an idol group, you really see how unique and sincere and down to earth they are a HUMAN BEINGS. Yes, good songs, good dancing, good looks, but what kept fans around are them as people, human beings, that made them loved and respected by millions. People who have worked with them (outside of their usual company staff that knows them already) are always amazed at how nice and good and humble of a person they are, considering their super star status. Which just to show you, if entertainment people are surprised how humble they are as super stars, imagine how many stars in entertainment they've encountered that are egotistical, snotty, diva, demanding, etc. Their sincerity and humanity is what really made them standout in this crazy entertainment industry. And common industry people still winder and trying to figure out "how do they do it?" Trying to analyze what's their WINNING formula to have so many loyal fans... umm... being good at your actual job as a MUSICIAN, and be a good person? They really broke what a stereotypical kpop idol is perceived as, and it's exactly what Bang-PD set out to do when he started everything. And personally, I think it's also fate-like that he met RM, bc they had the same ideals, and RM was the vessel, and Bang-PD gave him the platform and guidance. Without their fateful meeting, it might not be what it is today. The 7 member bond is also a result of RM's leadership (but then Jin was also a key factor in their group dynamics, heck, all 7 members brought their own value to the group) really set the tone since trainee periods, minimized some of the typical toxic competition gloom at other agencies (and Jin set the tone at the dorms being makhyung, he was loving and caring in his own way). Ah, sorry, went on a tangent, bc too many sentiments in their history. Haha... bottom line, success story, much?! Ha.
Yes I loved this! I started screaming like RIIIIIGHT!!! lol loved every moment of this.
Other trainees also said that Joonie also set an example of them pulling together and helping each other instead of other agencies where it is hard core competition…
This is so interesting! My 10yo is studying korean (intermediate level) and I'm sure she's really appreciate this being an ARMY! Thank you, Billy! 😍💜
Really interesting! I can't wait for the videos about the other members and I'd love a part 2 about RM as well!!
우와.. 한국말 엄청 잘하시네요. 한국식 농담, 신조어까지 제대로 알고 계시는거 정말 놀랍습니다.
I am in heaven right now. I started learning Korean because I wanted to be able to understand BTS without subtitles, and understand their sentiments behind their messaging in Korean. So the fact that you're doing a series on each member is absolutely a dream come true. I have always wondered if anyone else thought Suga was hard to understand, so I'm really excited to watch that episode. As an intermediate learner, Suga tends to be really hard to understand for me. Anyways, excited to see this series!
thank You For making video like this .. Being an Army. It's really interesting way for me to learn vocabulary .💜
THANK YOU!!! I felt like I was taking crazy pills cuz I was told over and over you have to use 저 with anyone older regardless of the situation. But when I watch BTS I swear it's like 나 나 나 나 allll day every day. Thank you for de-gaslighting me. I look forward to the rest of the series as well. Especially Jin, since he's a special space-baby crashed landed from another planet and requires further explanation.
As someone who studies speech communication, im in love woth this series! I just started watching but the wag you describe their speech styles and how you articulated namjoon's articulation!! I love it!
I feel like it was just the other day that I was trying to explain 보라해 in your comments 😂
I learned so much from this! I'd heard of 남투리 but didn't really understand... It sounds like he's constantly playing with words.
I can relate, too - I'm also a writer and sometimes a poet, started writing poetry quite young, and I'm fascinated by language... And I read a whole lot of 19th century literature before I reached double digits. I continued to read absolutely everything I could, but found archaic language fascinating.
The end result of this is that when my partner and I were writing an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, I wrote all the dialogue we had to invent. I have a bizarrely huge English vocabulary, full of words no one has used in hundreds of years 😂
This is such a cool series! Korean is a beautiful language, and I admire Namjoon’s poetic style of speaking Korean and coming up with new words. Thank you for translating and explaining!
Oh wow someone finally covering Namtoori.. i speak 3 other languages and am evading learning Korean fluently. I appreciate this episode.
This was so fun and interesting, thank you! Please cover all of the different members - thy all have such unique ways of speaking. Also, this really highlights the hard work of ARMY translators who kindly volunteer to interpret and translate BTS on weverse, lives, in interviews etc.
Love this analysis! Also, I find it funny you mentioned translators would probably struggle with him because on Twitter army translators always mention how difficult it is to live translate his lives on weverse, for the exact reasons you mentioned lol
I really appreciate your efforts and amount of research/observations you have share with us. RM is very poetic and such a deep thinker, as non-Korean speaker I believe we might have loss the depth of meaning due to translation. He have such a sexy brain and insane vocab, hahaha.
This is really amazing, Billy! Thank you so much! 💜
Found you because of this video. Love love the insight you are giving into how language choices and style say so much about a person in Korean. We English only folks lose so much nuance when we read most translations… You offer great insights. Thank you.
Hi Billy! More Nam-toori please!! We need a part 2 to this!! 🙏🏼
Hello from Kentucky!! Borahae! 💜
I was learning Korean (I got to Go Billy lesson 26) but unfortunately irl has put it on pauze but seeing this has really set my interest on fire again, it was very interesting to hear special focus on the way Namjoon speaks & excited for the complete series. Ofcourse we read translations of their songs & know they're amazing lyricists, but to hear about their daily speach, habits and the culture of it all really adds a special layer I didn't know I wanted to hear about. Thank you!
This was so fun, entertaining and educational. I love it and can't wait to hear your analysis of the other members
Lmao "normal person cosplay" I never realized Korean has a phrase that perfectly describes my public persona.😂
As a Linguistics student, this entire video was of special interest to me. 😍I look forward to the sequential videos!
This was so interesting and fun to watch! Thank you for shining a light on an aspect of BTS I haven't been able to really truly understand before - our amazing ARMY translators work hard but are often pressed for time (and tweet space)! Now I definitely understand why they often throw their hands up when Namjoon posts his letters and will say they need to really dedicate time for the translation.
As a learner and a Yoongi bias, your comment about how easy Namjoon is to understand [especially compared to Yoongi] made me laugh so hard. I'm looking forward to his episode and all of the others a lot! Thanks again!
Thank you! This was fascinating!
남투리, I love it! Joanie speaks too fast for me to understand everything he says. Thanks for doing this💜
Wow~ You gave me a lot of Korean information through BTS' conversations. The detailed analysis of RM is particularly impressive.
I am a 'Korean' studying English. With Korean content and English explanations, I understand well and it helps me a lot.
thank you.
와~ BTS의 대화를 통해서 많은 한국어의 정보를 주셨네요. 특히 RM에 대한 자세한 분석이 인상 깊습니다.
전 영어를 공부하는 '한국인'이에요. 한국어로 된 컨텐츠를 가지고, 영어로 설명을 들으니 잘 이해가 되고 저도 많은 도움이 됩니다.
감사합니다.
This was fascinating. If you ever decide to do a full translation of one of those Namjoon writings you quoted, I'd love to see/hear it. I'm always interested in the nuances of the original thought and expression of it before translation.
As ARMY I am soooo excited for this series! Thank you for doing this as I've always found the Korean dialects so fascinating as a native English speaker. It's only taken me years of watching K dramas and BTS to start picking up the differences between the standard Korean and regional dialects. My ear perks up and goes "Oh! That sounds different!" :)
I don't really know much (any) Korean but from watching TONs of Korean shows can hear slight changes in the tone/accent (like when watching Pachinko, I knew they were using sartoori.) However, I am a student of langauge overall ( speech and langauge therapist) so this topic is super interesting to me. I really really enjoyed your video. Would love to hear more about Namtoori too. Can't wait to hear more from you.
I've been a subscriber of yours for many years, and a fan of BTS for many years. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series!!
Oooh, I'd love a dissection of Namjoon's "namtoori" esp in his lyrics.
And I'm most impressed by the fluidity with his usage of languages and words (and their style/format/structure) to construct his music. It's a big part of what attracted me into paying attention to his and BTS's lyrics when I first got into them.
Another wonderful video! I can't wait to see the next to come out (esp now that you're abt to get to the more dialect-heavy members).
I have a harder time differentiating dialects, so it'll be really helpful to hear your take on the differences between them. But I've heard J-Hope's dialect (from Gwangju) is supposed to sound friendlier and Suga's and V's (from Daegu) should sound more masculine. And I _think_ I can hear it when they speak, but I'm not entirely sure if it's bc of the members themselves, who tend to lean into those respective attributes, or if it's actually the dialects.