In general, language is a means for people to communicate. But even when we translate accurately from one language to another, the message can be misunderstood – Manisha Somai pointed this out in her recent blog, Glocalization; think global, act local. This time, I will explain it through the different cultural concepts of politeness.
To give you an example: when we want to introduce ourselves to another person, we may give our business card and say: ‘here you go’. In the Western culture you can simply lay your business card on the table and slide it to the other person. In The Netherlands, we once were asked to throw our business card in the air and pick up a random card from the ground, and look for the owner to start a conversation.
In Chinese culture, it’s very rude when you don’t hold your business card with two hands, look at the other person and give them your card. You express yourself by presenting your business card. So, the phrase: ‘here’s my business card’ could be misinterpreted through body language or attitude. Both languages contain culture ‘codes’ about the message.
Another example: in The Netherlands, when we say to a guest: ‘please eat something’, you may answer: ‘sorry, I don’t eat fish’, and it is accepted, the host may even say: ‘sorry I didn’t know you don’t eat fish’. In Taiwan, it can be very rude not to eat what your host is offering. You have to be brave and eat something even though you don’t like the food. Therefore, your reply to ‘eat something’ can be the difference between being polite and very rude: another example of a ‘language code’.
We have to be aware of different kinds of politeness if we want to bring your story to the other side of the world, as we try to do at Textcase. The only way to discover those language codes is to communicate between languages as human beings.
Please share some of your own examples of cultural ‘language codes’ in the comments below. It’s also very interesting to us to hear from bilingual people: how do you deal with cultural differences while using language?