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.
A common point of confusion: to charge vs. to accuse
To "charge someone with something" means to make a formal claims of wrongdoing against someone, 기소하다 in Korean.
- The police charged him with arson but he adamantly claimed innocence: 경찰은 그를 방화 혐의로 기소하였으나 그는 자신의 결백을 단호하게 주장하였다
To "accuse someone of something" means to allege or blame someone for doing something, 비난하다, 혐의를 제기하다 in Korean. It usually implies that there is not enough hard evidence to substantiate the accusation yet, or that the accusation is not made in a legal or official form.- Currently on a publicity tour of the UK, Bhutto has given talks to packed houses hosted by luminaries such as Henry Porter, the London editor of Vanity Fair. In India, her book is topping the non-fiction bestseller list. But back in Pakistan, Songs of Blood and Sword has stirred an angry reaction from critics, including several relatives, who accuse her of twisting history to make unsubstantiated allegations that slur the memory of her aunt Benazir, who was assassinated in December 2007. (Guardian, April 29, 2010)
As you know, in English writing, capital cities represent their respective countries. For example, instead of saying "the United States decided to do something," you can say "Washington decided to do something."However, make sure to use a country's capital only when the national government is doing something on behalf of the entire nation. Otherwise, your sentence could be misunderstood as concerning the city government or the capital city itself. Take a look at the following examples.미국의 지적자본이 경쟁국들의 지적자본보다 뒤쳐짐에 따라 우리의 명성이 위험에 처해있다. - As Washington's intellectual capital lags behind that of its competitors, our prominence is at risk (x): You are not talking about the intellectual capital of federal government officials or the city of Washington, D.C.
- As America's intellectual capital lags behind that of its competitors, our prominence is at risk (o) (Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2009)
영국의 한 저명한 기후과학자는 영국 정부의 기후 변화 정책이 위험할 정도로 낙관적이라고 경고하였다. - A leading UK climate scientist warned that the UK government's climate change policies are dangerously optimistic (o) (Guardian, June 23, 2009)
- A leading UK climate scientist warned that London's climate change policies are dangerously optimistic (x): London here could mean either the city government of London or the UK government, depending on the context.
When something “comes out,” it means that the entirety of the situation has been revealed to the public (진실이 알려지다, 사실이 드러나다). When something “turns out,” that means something ultimately becomes something else, or something is proved/found to be something else (되다, 밝혀지다). Take a look at the following examples:
- When I first saw the film, it struck me as the most impressively articulated response to the Reagan era I'd seen. Since then it has come out that Moore has -- either intentionally or through lack of skill -- fuzzied the chronology of events, creating the impression that the plant closings and layoffs took place all at once, around 1986 and '87, instead of over a period of more than a decade. (Washington Post, January 12, 1990)
- Much of the intelligence on Iran's nuclear facilities provided to UN inspectors by US spy agencies has turned out to be unfounded, diplomatic sources in Vienna said today (Guardian, February 22, 2007).
Constructing a sentence with especially or because without the second clause is a mistake that many many many many Korean and Japanese speakers make.
"특히 ~은 ~하다" is perfectly fine in the Korean language. It is a complete sentence with a proper beginning. However, in English, this is neither a complete nor a good way of starting your sentence. Especially is an adverb to mean particularly or notably, not a conjunction (접속사) as it could be in Korean. So especially should be used to modify something, not to start a sentence. Take a look at the following:
정부는 고용 안정을 위한 구체적인 조처를 취해야 한다. 특히 취약 계층의 직접 고용이 필요하다.- The government should implement concrete measures to stabilize employment. Especially, direct hiring of the disadvantaged is needed (x): this is a direct translation of 특히 into especially. "Especially + S + V" is not a complete sentence.
- The government should implement concrete measures to stabilize employment, especially direct hiring of the disadvantaged (o)
The same is true for because. In Korean, "왜냐하면 ~하기 때문이다" is a complete sentence with a proper beginning. But "because+S+V" as a sentence does not make sense in English. Take a look at the following:이란 청소년 여자 축구팀이 청소년 올림픽에 참가하지 못하게 되었다. FIFA 규정에 따르면 선수들은 이슬람식 두건을 착용할 수 없기 때문이다.- The Iran girl's soccer team was thrown out of the Youth Olympics scheduled for August in Singapore. Because the rules of FIFA prevent players from wearing an Islamic headscarf (x): This is a direct translation of 때문이다 into because. Because subordinates a clause to a sentence, but "because+S+V" alone cannot be a sentence.
- The Iran girl's soccer team was thrown out of the Youth Olympics scheduled for August in Singapore because the rules of FIFA prevent players from wearing an Islamic headscarf (o) (April 5, 2010 New York Times)
