Cultural Language

One cross culture observation I have witnessed in Spain is the way language is used in a country or certain area all depends on the culture.

bell hooks wrote this same reasoning when she was promoting the benefits of a "local language", meaning to allow ethnicities within the U.S. to preserve their variation of English.  With the numerous provinces in Spain all having their own language adaptation, this is the perfect field to observe the interplay of language and culture.  And more so, being a foreigner helps make the way in which their cultural standards manipulates a "standard" form of language more apparent.  Therefore, language is molded by how people are trained to use it, and the training naturally fluctuates with the variance in culture.

One result of the inevitable variance is the mistranslations or phrases that just don't hold the same significance no matter how you say it in another language.  This must be because of the implicit meaning that is molded around words of the language.
As I previously mentioned, some provinces of Spain have their own distinct form of Spanish -- most well known is the Catalan of the Catalonian Providence of Spain - while they are able to communicate with Spaniards from other regions there have their own phrases of greeting. The (full) meaning doesn´t carry over. Qué guay in Madrid doesn´t produce the same response as it may in Valencia.

In regards to the cross-Atlantic transcomunication, of Spanish and English there is an apparent difference in the vocabulary and grammar.  Moreover there is also a difference in the "attitude" of the language.  One example of this would be how our culture in the US has taught us to confront a situation by "beating around the bus" ( a cultural phrase that does not hold the same meaning when translated cross culturally). We were taught it is rude to directly tell a person you have a problem with them or they upset you or you don't like there solution.  Where as in Spanish you know when someone has a problem.
It is very apparent in the many phone calls that my supervisor answers at work. If she didn't agree with them her tone stiffens and the speed of her sentences increases to that of a bullet train. But then five minutes later after they resolve their difference it becomes very friendly again with usually departure of vale! Gracias y hasta luego!

If I were to use the same tone and direct words that she uses, in an office in the United States, I would be the hated coworker that eats lunch alone.

It's quite strange for me to hear her conversations because it always sounds like she is getting in a fight with whomever is constantly calling. But that's just it, its not a fight at all, they are just directly resolving an issue. I suppose this is much more effective. Why must we make confrontation such a game in the US?

I was also previously made aware of this difference when I was taking classes in at AIP in Valencia.  We had the same discussion. "If you are upset/ disinterested with someone do you tell them?"
The answer was unanimous,  yes of course ... Except for the three Americans in the room that disorientedly replied no?  Usually, you don´t just come out and say it.

I never really had to analyze my interaction before, but now that it was brought to my attention I realized how true it was. Even with my friends at home, if someone is on my last nerve I usually notice my tone of voice change with them and then I try to distance myself from them for some time. Then they get the hint.

After I explained this in the class our instructor was distraught? "Es la verdad?"

"Yes of course," I responsed.
And yes of course was the response of the Italian girl sitting next to me about directly (and immediately) telling her friends when she has a problem with them.
We can both use language to solve a problem but we use it very differently.


My spanish instructor's conclusion was that we are all really good actors in the U.S.
     And Yeah I guess that's true.

Her valid point made me realize how manipulative we can be. But I have been trained to think this is polite.

Perspective.
Attitude.
Language.