Lectures were great so far as it is still the most relaxing one as compared to the rest of my modules. Let's hope it will stay in this way till the very end.
Just like to mention about the section on compliments. To me, compliment is like an art while responding to it is a challenge. This is because with an inappropriate response, the other party might feel offended.
Below are some of my random thoughts:
Speech is one of the power tools humans used to express themselves. It works well with people standing right in front of you or geographically distant. Its something that people rely on at the onset of their life (eg. infants crying for their milk bottles), at different places (eg. be it Japan, Korea or Singapore) and time (eg. Qing Dynasty or even the Stone Age). However, speech is not proprietary to human only but is used extensively by animal of all types as well (just that we do not understand, how sad...).
What makes thing worst is that humans have a very complicated mindset when it comes to interpretation of a sentence. For instance, to an American, the phase “see you later” would mean “goodbye” to them. But to the Chinese, it might mean that he would be coming back later. Such confusion is ubiquitous yet we have to live with it (how sad * 2). As said by a wise person: “The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility”.
In spite of this, standardizing a language for everyone to use might not be a good idea. My personal view of it is due to the lost of its underlying meaning, sentiment and its inner beauty. This is especially so in poetry. For example, the following Chinese phase:
春有百花秋有月 [There are spring flowers autumn months]
夏有凉风冬有雪 [Summer there are cool winter snow]
若无闲事挂心头 [If there are no big deal to hang their hearts]
便是人间好时节 [Earth is a good season]
Hmm... Does not sound that impressive after translation (Sad * 3).
Well, seems quite long already. Better sign off here. Stay tune for more...
Just like to mention about the section on compliments. To me, compliment is like an art while responding to it is a challenge. This is because with an inappropriate response, the other party might feel offended.
Below are some of my random thoughts:
Speech is one of the power tools humans used to express themselves. It works well with people standing right in front of you or geographically distant. Its something that people rely on at the onset of their life (eg. infants crying for their milk bottles), at different places (eg. be it Japan, Korea or Singapore) and time (eg. Qing Dynasty or even the Stone Age). However, speech is not proprietary to human only but is used extensively by animal of all types as well (just that we do not understand, how sad...).
What makes thing worst is that humans have a very complicated mindset when it comes to interpretation of a sentence. For instance, to an American, the phase “see you later” would mean “goodbye” to them. But to the Chinese, it might mean that he would be coming back later. Such confusion is ubiquitous yet we have to live with it (how sad * 2). As said by a wise person: “The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility”.
In spite of this, standardizing a language for everyone to use might not be a good idea. My personal view of it is due to the lost of its underlying meaning, sentiment and its inner beauty. This is especially so in poetry. For example, the following Chinese phase:
春有百花秋有月 [There are spring flowers autumn months]
夏有凉风冬有雪 [Summer there are cool winter snow]
若无闲事挂心头 [If there are no big deal to hang their hearts]
便是人间好时节 [Earth is a good season]
[Translated by Google]
Hmm... Does not sound that impressive after translation (Sad * 3).
Well, seems quite long already. Better sign off here. Stay tune for more...
Thanks for the compliment on the lecture. Here you are: making a compliment seems pretty natural.
ReplyDeleteyes yes... loss in translation...
ReplyDeleteI think one of our course mates commented on how tone could also be lost once you do that translating, like the indonesian case.
Great poem there! but somehow its dificult to portray that same impact after being translated. With regards to compliments, I think I respond differently to them when it is given in different languages. Maybe it is because the media that we're exposed to in English is mostly Westernized (after all, most English movies/dramas are produced by Hollywood) and thus, we're subconciously adopting the way Westerners respond to compliments. There we have it, the power of media!
ReplyDeleteIndeed it seems true the fact that literal translation will never sufficiently capture the meaning of utterances in another language. I guess this further highlights the importance of taking into account the social and cultural contexts of language use, since speech is a mirror for societal and cultural values.
ReplyDeleteHowever, even though the interpretation of utterances in another language may be 'complicated' as you mentioned, I do not think that it is necessarily 'sad'. It is inevitable that each community will have its own patterns of language use, owing to the fact that each possesses its own worldviews, arising from different ways of living and thinking on a daily basis.
Thus, even though effective communication may be somewhat hindered, these differences ought to be appreciated. The process of clarifying speech acts peculiar to different cultures is likely to be beneficial, as it provides us with novel and interesting perspectives about the world, and our own relation to it.
Yes, I agree with ur point that various languages have their own underlying meanings, sentiments,and inner beauty. Isn't it common to hear that someone is learning French because it's a beautiful or romantic language?
ReplyDeleteThis is despite the fact that, other than in arts, French is also used in day-to-day activities, meaning the language also carries technical jargons and other what-nots which are neither beautiful nor romantic.
Moving closer to home, the youngsters in Indonesia mostly have their own choice of language when it comes to confess their love: anything but Bahasa Indonesia. "Aku cinta kamu" just feels cheesy now. Maybe we need to learn appreciate our own mother tounge.