FEEDBACK & DIALOGUE

Vishalji Namaste!
With referrence to your blog on "Do friends need to say Please and Thank You?" I disagree. We are perhaps a little too influenced by the English culture. Thank you and please is a part of that culture. Let us not forget that there are other cultures in Europe and else where that do not use these phrases to the same extent as the English (and still manage to be polite). And how is that possible you ask? Well you mark politeness by the tone of your voice rather than the words chosen. Not convinced? How about Hindi and Nepali. How many times have you said please (kripaya) in Hindi or Nepali? Now to the European example. Before leaving U.K. for Sweden, I presumed all Europeans used the equivalent of please and thank you in their own language, and to the same extent. I was surprised to find that the Swedes, the Norweigeans and the Danes had these words in their language but rarely used them. Just like Nepali the tone of the voice and gesture replaced these two phrases quite often. So let us not be fooled by the English culture and their ways. They do not represent the world or its culture. You and I come from a far older and a better developed civilisation (language, education, religion etc). I see no reason to adopt their ways in my home with my Nepali or Indian friends. I'll save the excessive use of please and thank you for the Brits.
Namaste,
Rajiv.



Dear All,

The above is a comment by Rajiv from Sweden on my last blog about Thank You & Please.
Rajiv is not only a very regular reader of the blog he is also very articulate (as can be seen from his reply). However I would like to point out that when I began sermonizing about minding our P’s & Q’s I meant it in general and not specifically in ENGLISH.

My whole rant was about the lack of manners and etiquette. The language it is delivered in is secondary. If the tone and gesture can indicate respect, why not? That’s what I was preaching about.
Basic Manners!
Not the propagation of English as a superior Language or, god forbid, as a superior Culture

Now as far as the question about our culture being far older and better developed, well, it is very true and the very reason it is so is its inclusiveness. We cannot say we have a great culture and yet live in a vacuum. Islam faces its biggest challenge simply because some fanatics have hijacked the middle ground and made it seem like a right-wing cult. One of the greatest languages, French, is today facing a major upheaval simply because it is not able to adapt itself to the new and fast changing world. And the only reason English is the lingua franca today is because it is able to adapt the best from all languages and in the process improve itself (see sample below)

Pride in one’s language, culture & heritage is all very good but we have to remember that there is a very thin line between Pride & Arrogance.

P.S. By the way Pride come from the old English word Prud and Arrogance from the Latin Arrogantem

Love the feedback though.

Till next time

Vish



Language Word
Afrikaans Apartheid
Bengali Bungalow
Cantonese Lychee
Danish Kidnap
Dutch Lottery
Farsi Shawl
French Ambulance, Diplomat, Camouflage, Omelette, Renaissance, Visa
Gaelic Whiskey
German Blitz, Muffin, Kindergarden
Greek Academy, Hero, Monarch, Nemesis, Olympic, Panorama
Gujrati Tank
Hebrew Amen, Kosher, Messiah
Hungarian Coach, Papkira
Italian Bankrupt, Fascist, Opera, Violin, Escort, Ditto, Balcony
Japanese Karate, Soy, Futon, Honcho, Rickshaw, Tsunami, Tycoon
Congo Funky, Zombie, Chimpanzee
Latin Calendar, Data, Maximum, Uniform
Latvian Sleazy
Malay Bamboo, Compound
Malayalam Atoll, Teak
Mandarin Typhoon, Kowtow
Marathi Dhow, Chit
Nepali Gurkha
Norwegian Ski, Walrus
Russian Bistro, Mammoth, Vodka, Tsar
Sanskrit Aryan, Ashram, Camphor, Guru, Indigo, Mantra, Nirvana, Swastika, Yoga
Swedish Mink, Moped, Scuffle, Wicker
Tibetan Sherpa, Yak, Yeti, Lama
Turkish Caviar, Kebab, Tulip, Yoghurt
Urdu Balti, Purdah