Oh, I see! moments
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06

Oct

Culture Smart: How’s Life in Costa Rica?

by Sheron Long on October 6, 2013

Tile floor showing the traditional Costa Rican greeting "Pura Vida," which represents deeper cultural values on the love of life

Tile floor in a Costa Rican restaurant greets visitors with a love of life.
© Sheron Long

When It Comes to Greetings & Good-byes, “Pura Vida” Sings

Ciao! That’s a pretty universal way to say “good-bye,” though in Italian—the language that gave this word to the world—it’s used for both “hello” and “good-bye.” In that respect, it’s much like aloha in Hawaiian or pura vida in the Spanish language of Costa Rica.  Read more...

 

Costa Rica/Cultural Encounters/Language & Culture

16

Sep

10 Words to Borrow from Different Cultures

by Janine Boylan on September 16, 2013

Two men standing on opposite cliffs with overlapping speech balloons sharing borrowed words from different cultures. (Image © Thinkstock)

Pardon me. Can I borrow that word?

Better Than Translation

Language makes us who we are. It’s how we share opinions, feelings, directions, knowledge. The complex spoken language that we have is uniquely human.

UC San Diego Professor Jeff Elman told NPR, “The Earth would not be the way it is if humankind didn’t have the ability to communicate, to organize itself, to pass knowledge down from generation to generation.”

It’s also the way we pass ideas into different cultures.

In fact, sometimes a word in one language is so perfect, people speaking another language have that “Oh, I see” moment and incorporate the word, as is, into their language.  Read more...

 

Crossing Cultures/Language & Culture/Worldwide Sites

15

Sep

Culture Smart: How Do I Love Thee in French?

by Sheron Long on September 15, 2013

Girl playing daisy love game that varies across different cultures

Looking for answers in the daisy love game

Daisy Love Game in Different Cultures

In the USA, when wondering about the chance of love, people pull petals and alternate outcomes: He loves me. / He loves me not. It’s not that clear-cut in France, where the choices are recited like this:

Il m’aime un peu,               He loves me a little, 

beaucoup,                           a lot,

passionnément,                passionately,  Read more...

 

Cultural Diversity/France/Language & Culture/USA

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