More on Empowerment - Moderation and Languages

[Artur Ferreira da Silva]

At 22:13 29-05-2002 +0200, Nino Novak wrote:

>certainly you were right - in so far as French people can never _completely_
>understand the world in the way you (or the Portuguese) do. But, if I may ask
>so - why should they? The french way of understanding the world leads them to
>different attitudes - but they are not worse nor better.
>
>All the bi- or multilingual grown up people know that thinking in one
>language occurs in an absolutely different way than thinking in another
>language. And neither is better (...)

Yes, Nino, you are completelly right. And only reading your message,
I understood that, reading mine, someone could assume that I was trying
to prove that Portuguese is "better" than French. And I was not, it is
not! (on the contrary, I would add).

I gave that example, but I could give many reverse ones. For instance,
we use "desejar" (to desire) to express things that in French have
two words - "desirer" and "souhaiter". So one can understand that the
frenchs are much more experts in "desire" than we are ;-)

My point was preciselly that one must understand the differences
between languages. And that we all are prisioners of what our native
language allows us (or condemns us) to think. And that someone that
only knows one language has a very big difficulty in what refers to
inter-culturality (if is not only one word and some "techniques" but a
practice). After all how can I show respect for the other if I am imposing
him (or them, as in international mediation) my language?

It's very difficult to correct that, with people of my age - but we all
have childhen
and/ou great-children and maybe we can do something.

Regards, Nino. Nice to "see" you ;-)

Artur

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