Keep in mind that to ameliorate means to alleviate or mitigate something painful or bad. Similarly, to improve means to bring something into a more desirable condition, suggesting that it was less desirable before. Take a look at the following examples.- We’re taking an extreme effort now to make sure that we reach a resolution because we are more and more sinking into a deficit situation that we may not be able to ameliorate, and I’m not just going to sit around and let this situation overwhelm the taxpayers of New York (New York Times, May 4, 2010): The author is trying to ameliorate a budget deficit, which is generally considered undesirable.
- The Indigenous HIV/AIDS Research Training program, designed specifically for indigenous and other underrepresented ethnic minority scholars, mentors and trains the scholars to design culturally grounded research that will contribute to ameliorating health disparities among American Indians and Alaska Natives in the areas of HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, and mental health (Kimberly Teehee, "Together We Must Face the Challenge of HIV/AIDS in Native American Communities", March 19, 2010): Kimberly Teehee argues for ameliorating health disparities, which is also not a good thing to have.
- Europe's economic prospects are improving slightly, despite worries about government debts and persistently high unemployment (Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2010): By saying "improving," the author implies that Europe's economic prospects have not been so bright.
Therefore, when you are talking about a situation that is not necessarily undesirable, do not use "ameliorate" or "improve." The following sentences are some of the mistakes that I have seen very often.- To strengthen its relationship with the U.S., Korea should renew the mutually beneficial trade agreement: If you said "improve" instead of "strengthen," it would imply that the relationship hasn't been very good. By saying "strengthen," you suggest that renewing the agreement makes the relationship even stronger.
- By successfully managing routine multitasking, employees can refine their judgment about information: If you said "alleviate" or "improve" instead of "refine", it would mean that employees didn't have good judgment. By saying "refine," you simply suggest that employees will have even more precise judgment.
The United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. When you say 영국, it means the United Kingdom, not England.
The proper adjective from of the United Kingdom therefore is either "U.K." or "British", not "English." Take a look at the following examples:
- the British government/the U.K. government (o)
- British English (o)
- the British Parliament/the U.K. Parliament (o)
- a British scientist (o)
- an English scientist (x, unless you are emphasizing the fact that this person is from England)
- the English government (x)
- the English Parliament (x)
Cumulative and accumulative are almost synonymous, but there is a subtle difference.
Cumulative means resulting from accumulation, growing by successive addition, 누적, 누계 in Korean. Statistical indexes are mostly called "cumulative something." So for 누적률, say "cumulative rate," not "accumulative rate" or "accumulated rate."
- Over the last decade, workers have received a cumulative wage increase of 14 percent: 지난 10년간 노동자들의 누적임금상승률은 14%이다.
- To qualify for this program, applicants must have a cumulative grade point average (gpa) of 3.5 or higher: 이 프로그램에 지원하려면 전체 평점이 3.5 이상이어야 한다.
- In “The Collapse of Complex Societies”, Mr. Tainter examines three ancient civilizations, including the Roman Empire, and explains how complexity drove them to ruin, essentially by bankrupting them. Does he look at the complexity of the problems facing the United States and see doom? Possibly.“Complexity creeps up on you,” he said in an interview. “It grows in ways, each of which seems reasonable at the time. It seemed reasonable at the time that we went into Afghanistan. It’s the cumulative costs that makes a society insolvent. Everything the Roman emperors did was a reasonable response in the situation that they found themselves in. It was the cumulative impact that did them in.” (New York Times, April 30, 2010)
Accumulative means growing in size or effect, 늘어나는, 커져가는, 축적되는 in Korean. Note that an accumulative AAA implies a sum of AAA, whereas a cumulative AAA usually suggests that you are looking at an increase in AAA over time. For example, when you calculate a cumulative gpa, you don't just add up your grade points from all semesters. You look at the overall average. Take a look at the following examples:
- Accumulated depreciation means the total amount of depreciation that has been recorded for an asset since its date of acquisition: 감가상각총액이란 자산 취득 이후 감소한 자산 가치의 총계를 의미한다.
- Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital PSC said its shareholders approved a proposal to set off accumulated losses against excess statutory reserves (Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2010) : 두바이의 수아 캐피탈 PSC는 법정 준비금을 사용하여 총 누적 손실액을 상쇄하고자 하는 제안을 주주들이 승인하였다고 밝혔다.
