Different cultures perceive notions not in a similar way. Let’s look at the concept of "boredom". It would seem that it’s a simple notion, but when feeling it, we can put a completely different meaning.
In Russia, the word "скука", phrase “I miss you” came out of the notion of peasant boredom. Peasants were very homesick melancholy, when they really missed the dead.
Golden youth boredom came from the lack of a habit of mental labor, Eugene Onegin had it.
The intelligentsia was characterized by existential longing.
So did German, their notion of boredom looks like an existential intellectual longing of Faust.
Shakespear described spleen to English. Anna Karenina had an English spleen, which ended logically.
The Frenchman has the concept of "Boredom" that is closer to an active blues.
(Such an important point: while we read classics, we are able to appreciate the shades of the richness of these terms "longing, spleen, blues, melancholy, boredom". You imagine they are now in fact absorbed by one standard word "depression", which is fundamentally wrong).
Therefore, a very important point in understanding cross-cultural communication is that we need to understand how the language works. It will not be superfluous to look at the most diverse aspects of the language, not only sociocultural ones.
Grammar
For example, a verb in German is negated by the particle nicht (not), with “nicht” being put at the end of the sentence. This means that the German must listen to the end in order to at least understand whether an affirmative or negative maxim has sounded.
Does this instill the habit of listening carefully without interrupting?
Compare with the directness and construction of the narrative sentence in Russian.
Courtesy Styles
Each of the Korean 7 styles of politeness has its own unique verbal endings plus degrees within the styles.
1. 하소서체. High formal formal polite style.
2. 합쇼체. Officially polite style.
3. 해요체. Informally polite style.
4. 하오체. Formal neutral style.
5. 하게체. Neutral style.
6. 해라체. Officially familiar style.
7. 해체. Informal familiar style.
In English there is not even a form for «vous». What happens to English when an American speaks it?
Does this indicate the degree of hierarchy of Korean and American, English society?
Conciseness and logic
The French language is filled to the limit with extra letters, extra words.
97 = 4-20-10-7. Quatre-vingt-dix-sept – they say and we have no comments :-).
Take their Italians neighbors. Easy spelling: learned the rules of reading - you can read and write in Italian without thinking about transcriptions. In the grammar there are almost no exceptions to the rules, it can be called simple, harmonious and logical.
Therefore, at least in general terms, but to look at the language and consider some of its differences is useful. Language has a fundamental influence on the way of thinking of its carrier.
Culturally yours,
Anastasia Antarès
