<pre>
When we learn the language, we
know the
culture as well. When we know a culture, we gain wisdom. When we know every culture, maybe, we will one day find the very 1 thing in us that we were created with. The following list is my personal impression which is based on writings & sounds (not when they argue). The sound here refers to the slang or dialect of that language spoken in that particular place. As we all know, some countries share a language. Some countries even have few
languages spoken. Some countries with different language but share some same features of their culture. This is actually based on the degree of the sound spoken by those languages. Language with asterick sign attached means I have yet to find a good and suitable
words to describe it. Short explanation follows as it is quite hard to describe any language in a single word. Arabic* - Solemn
()
Celtic - Peaceful/Tranquil
(Is it true they argue the least? Nature-like culture)
Cantonese* -
()
English* (American) - Plain
(With only very minor addition of accented vowels making up the whole language, plain and straight forward)
English* (UK) - Rule
(Pronounciation and spelling suggest 'obedience'. Written language is similar to the combination of simplified version of Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Russian among others)
French - Loving/Fond
(The reason we feel French romantic?)
German* - Modest
(Avoid bragging)
Greek - Symbolic/Representive
(Universally used as standard symbol. Greek origin words can be found in many other modern languages)
Hebrew* - Solemn
(Degree of intonations shows torment or suffering. Maybe result of war or deaths)
Hindi* -
()
Italian - Freedom
(Slight mixture of love from French. Love of
Freedom to do or to be)
Japanese - Categorised/Unspecific
(Avoid specific words for many things, mainly generalised. A group-culture)
Korean* - Want/Desire
(Will change to have or to be, and look neat or nice like their roundish alphabets. Appearance/image culture)
Malay - Passive
(New words are always borrowed. A multi-culture. Generalised pronouns shows tendency to group. Inconsistent in pronounciation suggests subtlety. Subtle group)
Mandarin* (China) - Emphasisive/Meek
()
Russian* - Plan/Secretive
()
Spanish* - Attractive
()
Tamil* -
()
Thai - Expressive/Aggresive
(Languages are expressive but Thai is slightly more)
Language is the autobiography of the human mind. - Author unknown
It is indeed amusing knowing that each culture can be determined by their language. It may not tell us everything about a culture but it has its own distinct feature that actually explains the psychology of a culture. Some cultures are guessable by the writing and some by the spoken language. Although I'm unable to tell how high the accuracy rate is but since the writing and the language is part of the culture, they are ALWAYS related.
Being someone with a mixture of different blood, I am an english educated whom Chinese usually call me 'ABC' or sometimes 'banana' which is actually an insult. For them, I'm a perfect example that fits their definition of someone who betrayed their own culture. When I finally figure out, being a different or mixed breed is not acceptable in a colony full of pure breeds, I concluded that no race is as good as it claims. How far does this hold true? Not because of the race itself, but because of the way culture changes how they view and treat things. A culture can appear inviting but the reality may show you otherwise. And I would never burden my mind figuring which group I belong or even bother explaining the group I belong. I've seen people judging others no matter what group they belong to so what difference does it make? If I were given a choice, I wouldn't choose to be any.
My interest in Italian actually was from few Italian customers of mine. The first was actually a family maybe from a tour or something. I actually forgot the whole free-gift thing so when they made the payment, I was lucky that my colleague mentioned and I hurried back to get 1 and gave it to them. They were so happy that they gave me, a stranger, a hug. My manager was smiling to herself and well, I ended up in a major bookstore Kinokuniya and got myself an Italian for beginner and equipped myself with basic greetings. The second customer was wearing a suit which I believe works somewhere nearby or perhaps here for a meeting or something. I did make an effort to practise so I thanked him in Italian, and as you know beginner's mistake, he corrected me, a foreigner, on my plural and even gave me a short explanation on why plural instead of singular. I find him quite straight forward which amazed me how 2 subjects from a similar culture could be different. Only recently, after I started 'examining' the relationship between language and culture, did I find out the similarity behind. Freedom. A familiar word, a foreigner in lives of many, and worse still, the jealousy of all. They are
Free to be happy and hug a stranger whom they felt has helped them. They are free to express their opinion and correct the wrong, free to carve statues out of stones and be known all over the world for their art, free to draw their impressions and be known all over the world for their creativity. I learned that, if they were not given the freedom, many things are not what they are supposed to be.
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