“Already” or “yet”? and what type of resignation?

While watching 오만과 편견, I looked up a few words that puzzled me. I therefore asked my LP about the nuances of them, and thought I would share the answers with you. I admit that these are fairly specific words, but I guess it just shows the type of linguistic oddities I pick up while watching dramas.

이미 vs. 벌써 or 아직:
I have forgotten the specific context, but Chief 문희만 used the word 이미 one time and it for some reason caught my attention.
To complicate matters, my dictionary said “already; yet; (not) any longer; by now; by this time”. Great, now I had more questions than I had before looking it up.
How does it differ from 벌써 (already) and 아직 ((not)yet), which by the way are describing two very different situations?

It turns out that 이미 is closer related to 벌써 than 아직. However, 이미 implies a certain amount of planning compared to 벌써. In other words 벌써 is sudden and somewhat unexpected whereas if some event happens “이미” you’ve prepared for it. She gave the example that if a 9 month old baby is walking perfectly, the correct wording would be 벌써 rather than 이미 because it’s unexpected and unplanned for.

사표 (-를 제출하다) vs. 사임(하다):
Both mean “resignation”. However, they are not entirely the same.
Unlike 사임, 사표 is by definition a physical document. However, there is one more difference: 사표 is more colloquial than 사임, which is more business-like and has a formal air to it.

It makes sense in the context of the drama as well: When Prosecutor 이장원 looses his briefcase containing the case files in the nightclub (for those of you who don’t watch the drama – yes, that mistake is as stupid as it sounds), he’s told by 유광미 that he better prepare a 사표. However, when Prosecutor 구동치 is told by Chief 문희만 that he will effectively be told to resign, Chief uses 사임.

Now it makes a lot more sense 🙂