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Total entries in this category: 51
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
Total entries in this category: 51
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
No Problem
For cultures as different as American and Chinese,
there are surprising similarities in their languages.
Not in the way the languages are written; the use
of characters in Chinese is uniquely different. And not in the way that the
languages are spoken. After more than six months of studying, I am still tongue
tied when I try to pronounce Chinese
words.
But the meanings of Chinese words and expressions often match English words and expressions almost exactly. We seem to talk about the same things in the same way. China and America share many idioms. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" is an idea common to both cultures. "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach" also translates almost word for word.
So it's always interesting to find cases where there are differences between English and Chinese. One example is that Chinese has only one word for what we think of in English as both a question and a problem. If you want to say "I have a question" or if you want to say "I have a problem" you can use the same exact words.
There are two ways to think of this. The charitable perspective is that having a problem is no more serious than asking a question. Or, if you want to be paranoid, you can believe that asking a question is seen as causing a problem. Recently though, I have thought of a third explanation, and it's the least flattering of all.
In America it is now fashionable, especially in a professional environment, to euphemistically refer to problems as "issues." (At least this was true when I was last in America.) For example, "I have an issue with the way that you're doing your job." Or, "We have an issue with people coming in late for work." Like most euphemisms, it does a bad job of disguising the truth, and it's an affront to the value of direct communication.
So when the Chinese speak about "problems" and "questions" using the same word, maybe the use of this word is equivalent to our "issues." Maybe, in a 5000 year old culture which prizes discretion, euphemisms have put a stranglehold on language.
If that's true, then I will welcome every scrap of Chinese rudeness and vulgarity as a breath of fresh air.
But the meanings of Chinese words and expressions often match English words and expressions almost exactly. We seem to talk about the same things in the same way. China and America share many idioms. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" is an idea common to both cultures. "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach" also translates almost word for word.
So it's always interesting to find cases where there are differences between English and Chinese. One example is that Chinese has only one word for what we think of in English as both a question and a problem. If you want to say "I have a question" or if you want to say "I have a problem" you can use the same exact words.
There are two ways to think of this. The charitable perspective is that having a problem is no more serious than asking a question. Or, if you want to be paranoid, you can believe that asking a question is seen as causing a problem. Recently though, I have thought of a third explanation, and it's the least flattering of all.
In America it is now fashionable, especially in a professional environment, to euphemistically refer to problems as "issues." (At least this was true when I was last in America.) For example, "I have an issue with the way that you're doing your job." Or, "We have an issue with people coming in late for work." Like most euphemisms, it does a bad job of disguising the truth, and it's an affront to the value of direct communication.
So when the Chinese speak about "problems" and "questions" using the same word, maybe the use of this word is equivalent to our "issues." Maybe, in a 5000 year old culture which prizes discretion, euphemisms have put a stranglehold on language.
If that's true, then I will welcome every scrap of Chinese rudeness and vulgarity as a breath of fresh air.
Posted: Thu - April 1, 2004 at 09:29 PM