Unlocking Multilingual Doors
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Apr 20, 2024
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
Sitting up in bed, PETER checks WhatsApp messages.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, the teacher has already set up a class group and given homeworking instructions.
Clicking a link, Peter downloads files and listens to the pronunciations of Korean vowels:ㅓ,ㅏ, ㅗ,ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Ah, correct ways. Very helpful.
On screen, Peter sees others' thankful words and stickers.
PETER (V. O.) (Cont’d): How should I respond? I knew "gamshamnida" is "thank you" in Korean.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And I’ve learned in my first Korean lesson that “soen-saeng-nim” is teacher and “Pi-teo" is Peter.
Having typed “seon-saeng-nim: gamshahamnida! Pi-teo”, Peter sends it.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont’d): It’s a shame that I don’t know how to input Korean…
Act 2
INT. BEDROOM - 07:15
Waking up, Peter grabs his mobile.
PETER (V.O.): I still owe seon-saeng-nim a separate reply in Korean.
We see on screen: 안녕하세요? 피터 씨 .
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Google Translates it as "Hello, Peter sir".
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I must explore how to type the Korean syllable blocks…
FLASHBACK
EXT. STREETS, SEOUL - DAY (Feb, 2024)
Strolling with his WIFE and elder DAUGHTER, Peter notices the latter typing Korean on her mobile.
PETER: You’re typing Korean?
DAUGHTER: Yes, a Korean friend is asking me something.
PETER (V.O.): Yes, she has been studying Korean in SNU…
END FLASHBACK
Having surfed the web, Peter taps “Setting” on his iPhone and adds Korean as a preferred language.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Touching the “world” icon of the keyboard, I'd be able to input the Korean syllable blocks.
Having selected the Korean input option, Peter sees Korean syllables appearing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What's "Yes, teacher, I'm Peter!" in Korean?
Using Google Translate, Peters gets "네, 선생님,저는피터예요!" (ne seonsaengnim, jeoneun piteoyeyo!). Peter taps the speaker icon to listen to the sentence.
PETER: ne seonsaengnim, jeoneun piteoyeyo! ne seonsaengnim, jeoneun piteoyeyo!.
Typing the initial consonant on the left and then the vowel on the right, Peter gets the syllable block"네".
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.): My son-in-law-to-be says "네" (ne) from time to time. It's wonderful that I can type it in Korean. Yes!
Syllable block by syllable block, Peter completes the sentence in Korean. He replies to his 선생님 (seonsaengnim).
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): This is my first Korean sentence I've ever typed!
Peter shares his Korean sentence"네, 선생님,저는피터예요!" to his family chatgroup.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): My elder daughter should be happy that Dad would support her to such an extent!
Soon, Peter gets thumbs-up stickers from his 선생님 and his elder daughter.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I'm motivated to learn more!
Peter starts browsing online tutorials to learn French.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): My wife and I will be visiting France in July.
After learning some French, Peter brows online tutorials to learn Spanish.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Spanish is another mega language that I've always wanted to learn.
Having listened to 100 phrases in Spanish, Peter turns to Japanese.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): While having Kaiseki in Mashiko, I found that my wife could understand a bit what the waitress was talking about, but I couldn't!
Smiling subtly.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Constantly having challenging goals is my way to keep up the momentum.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 14:00
Peter inserts an AI drawing entitled "Unlocking Multilingual Doors" to a draft.
PETER (V.O): There're multiple languages waiting to be explored, each offering unique perspectives and connections.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Language learning opens new opportunities and experiences for me to connect with like-minded people and different cultures.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): 네, unlocking multilingual doors requires the courage to try and the commitment to learn!
FADE OUT
THE END
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