In Los Angeles, You Say, 'Hola!' I Say, 'Ahn-nyung'

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

In Los Angeles, You Say, 'Hola!' I Say, 'Ahn-nyung'
Many Koreans, Hispanics Swap Native Tongues; A Route to Better Business
By MIRIAM JORDAN
June 2, 2007; Page A1

LOS ANGELES -- At the Galleria, a large Korean supermarket here, store manager Yoonah Yoon greets Hispanic cashiers and bag boys each morning with a hearty "buenos dias" -- "good morning" in Spanish. The Latino workers, who make up more than half the store's 162 employees, answer him with the equivalent greeting in Korean: "Ahn-nyung-hah-seh-yo."

These days, English isn't the second language of choice anymore for some immigrants settling in the U.S. In the city that is home to the country's largest foreign-born population, many Spanish- and Korean-speaking immigrants are choosing to learn each other's language before they tackle English.

The interconnection between the two groups is evident throughout Koreatown, the L.A. district of approximately 3 square miles that became a gateway to the U.S. for thousands of Korean newcomers in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the 1990s, the number of Latinos residing here has exploded while many prosperous Korean families have moved to the suburbs. Still, Koreatown -- whose population of roughly 250,000 doubles during work hours -- remains the hub for Korean cultural, social and business life in Los Angeles. In this bustling community, many grocery stores, banks, hardware shops and travel agencies carry signage in both Korean and Spanish.

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More than a courtesy, the language exchange is born out of economic necessity. Korean immigrants here often open liquor stores, garment factories and other small businesses that don't necessarily require English language skills to run them. Their employees, by and large, consist of another group of recent immigrants who don't speak English -- mostly Mexicans and Central Americans. The upshot: Many Korean business owners figure it's more urgent to learn Spanish than it is to master English.

(snip)

Typically, Koreans who enroll in language classes are interested in learning conversational Spanish relevant to their trade. Hispanics generally pick up Korean -- whose characters and grammar are especially tough to master -- on the job. Even so, Latino workers here have come to see the benefits of tackling the language.

(snip)


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118075173328922288.html (subscription)

[ret5hd]

1. Oh man...so much ammo for the haters...

:beer: :popcorn:

[BlooInBloo]

2. AD rules! Come ON!!!

[GOPNotForMe]

3. You beat me with the AD reference!

Actually, I confess the only reason I clicked on this post is because I thought it was related to AD somehow! (Oh how I miss it so.)

[BlooInBloo]

4. That's what I thought too! COME on!!! roflmao!!!

[nickyt]

5. "And he goes with everything!"