![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Monetary Thaumaturgy Part I: Language
Mar. 21st, 2013 12:57 pmOne of the better tiny books I've ever bought has to be, in my opinion, In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World by Christopher J. Moore. In it, we learn that there are languages without certain terms speakers of other languages take for granted. Once those terms are made known, the odd language out might embrace the foreign term to express what was absent yet blazingly obvious once it was expressed and explained.
Some great examples include the French term Esprit de escalier, literally "the spirit of the staircase;" it's the feeling you get after figuring out the perfect thing to say at a party . . . once you are coming down the stairs leaving the party. There's the Yiddish kvell, a word Harlan Ellison defined as happiness beyond all other forms of happiness, like "the sun shining in the pit of your stomach." From Finnish, there's sisu, a dogged determination to avoid defeat against all odds of winning, even when the odds are seemingly impossible. The author provides an amusing example of sisu in the introduction:
For this post, perhaps the Japanese tatemae might be appropriate, meaning "the reality that everyone professes to be true, even though they may not privately believe it," and it's counterpoint honne, "the reality that you hold inwardly to be true, even though you would never admit it publicly." Both of those seem awkward to me, since I usually am quite open with my silly notions. Hey, let's face it: I come from the land of the phrase "The squeaky wheel gets greased," meaning those that complain are usually first to get their complaints addressed. We in the States are a very personally opinionated crowd in general (not that any given internet community would provide excessive evidence of this). In Japan, no such squeaky phrase exists . . . but they do say "The nail that stands tallest gets hit first." Two cultures, two attitudes toward expression of personal opinion.
I recently heard a TED Talk that extended the concept of language ( in directions I had honestly not thought possible. )
X-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
talk_politics.
Some great examples include the French term Esprit de escalier, literally "the spirit of the staircase;" it's the feeling you get after figuring out the perfect thing to say at a party . . . once you are coming down the stairs leaving the party. There's the Yiddish kvell, a word Harlan Ellison defined as happiness beyond all other forms of happiness, like "the sun shining in the pit of your stomach." From Finnish, there's sisu, a dogged determination to avoid defeat against all odds of winning, even when the odds are seemingly impossible. The author provides an amusing example of sisu in the introduction:
"We're outnumbered," one soldier says. "There must be over forty of them, and only two of us."
"Dear God, it'll take us all day to bury them!"
For this post, perhaps the Japanese tatemae might be appropriate, meaning "the reality that everyone professes to be true, even though they may not privately believe it," and it's counterpoint honne, "the reality that you hold inwardly to be true, even though you would never admit it publicly." Both of those seem awkward to me, since I usually am quite open with my silly notions. Hey, let's face it: I come from the land of the phrase "The squeaky wheel gets greased," meaning those that complain are usually first to get their complaints addressed. We in the States are a very personally opinionated crowd in general (not that any given internet community would provide excessive evidence of this). In Japan, no such squeaky phrase exists . . . but they do say "The nail that stands tallest gets hit first." Two cultures, two attitudes toward expression of personal opinion.
I recently heard a TED Talk that extended the concept of language ( in directions I had honestly not thought possible. )
X-posted to
talk_politics.