I wish I knew…..

31/03/2008 by stefi.

We would like to hear in our blog views and experience on language and culture when travelling abroad. “I wished I knew….”, for example, that in England windows open towards the outside, and not towards the inside, like in Italy: I would have avoided a bump on my head running outside my friends’ house. “I wished I knew…”, not only culture differencies, but also language phrases, false friends. “I wish I knew” that “phon” (the German word for hardryer in Italy) is not an English word, as I thought…..I could not dry my hair calling a telephone helpline….So many embarassing situations could be avoided by knowing a bit more about foreign languages and other cultures. I cannot wait to hear from you!

The project is featured on the UNESCO International Year of Languages website http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36630&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

The best stories will be awarded with a copy of our publication “how to speak culturese”, a guide to intercultural dialogue (dos and don’ts when travelling abroad). Prepared by expert consultants and translators, it aims to raise awareness on culture diversities and to show the importance of the knowledge of languages and culture in interpersonal contacts. To do or not to do? Si fa o non si fa? Macht man das oder macht man das nicht? There are no better or worse cultures, just different cultures.

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