【Talk about English】 我们究竟是什么 (Episode3-3/6)
文化和语言有什么关系？本期主播Marc Beeby认为应当把语言当做是文化的基础，并且发现原来世界各地的人都是用不同的方式来描绘同一个世界的。一起来听听吧。
Hints:
Rebecca Fong
Eilidh Hamilton
Dr George Zhang
"otsakari samadeshda"
英式拼写
全文听写
http://t1.g.hjfile.cn/listen/201301/201301301211351632449.mp3Rebecca Fong. Languages are different—and not just in the way they sound, or the words they use. The customs of a language, its grammar, the words themselves, are a product of the way the people of a culture experience the world. And we don't all experience the world in the same way. This means that accurately translating words from one language to another may not be enough for us to understand the cultural meaning that lies behind the words. To illustrate this here are three examples of language that might be difficult to translate because of its cultural content. From Rebecca Fong, Eilidh Hamilton and first, Dr George Zhang from China:
In Chinese language we have words which actually show the kind of subjective view of the people towards time. Either being fast or being slow has a lot to do with how we feel as a person rather than being measured by objective unit. If you sit next to a beautiful girl, time goes very fast, if you sit next to a very ugly lady time goes very slow. You can see this kind of thing in the Chinese language.
I can remember being very confused in Japan in the intervals between work when I'd meet someone in the corridor and they'd say to me “otsakari samadeshda". And I spent ages wondering what “otsakari samadeshda" meant. And it actually means “we're all very tired, aren't we?" The effect of that isn't to express our tiredness, it's just a way of greeting someone in a corridor and showing that we're all working hard together. I soon started using it myself - but it was not something that I'd ever say in the equivalent work situation in Britain. People would all think I was mad if I said “we're all very tired aren't we?". This example just goes to show that there are often times when we can't translate or where there isn't the right expression to use in a particular context. And even when we can translate the words it doesn't carry the same cultural meaning as it does in the original language.
Religious terminology features a lot more in Arab culture. People would invoke the name of God as protection over a new born child, they would say “praise God" if they mean I'm fine or if something good has happened, “if it's the will of God" when they're talking about hoping that something will happen. So that is a very strong feature in the language which means that a direct translation into English often sounds strange.
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