Today, I want to share a brilliant point raised by Guy Deutscher in Through the Language Glass. Every time I read these definitions, I can’t help but laugh and marvel at how perfectly they encapsulate the quirks of their respective cultures. I hope they bring a smile to your face too!
Culture: Cultivation, the state of being cultivated, refinement, the result of cultivation, a type of civilisation.
— Chambers English Dictionary
This is the quintessence of Englishness: amateurishly noncommittal, politely dodging anything remotely definitive. Classic stiff upper lip – no fuss, no muss!
Kultur: Gesamtheit der geistigen und künstlerischen Errungenschaften einer Gesellschaft.
(The totality of intellectual and artistic achievements of a society.)
— Störig German Dictionary
What could be more German than this definition? Mercilessly thorough, overtly intellectual, knocking the concept on the head with charmless precision.
Culture: Ensemble des moyens mis en œuvre par l’homme pour augmenter ses connaissances, développer et améliorer les facultés de son esprit, notamment le jugement et le goût.
(The collection of means employed by man to increase his knowledge, develop and improve his mental faculties, notably judgment and taste.)
— ATILF French Dictionary
Grandiloquent, hopelessly idealistic, and utterly obsessed with le goût. Très français, non?
Each definition is like a cultural Rorschach test – highlighting the English love of understatement, the German passion for precision, and the French flair for elegance and ideals.
Which one resonates most with you? Let me know in the comments!
#CulturalStereotypes #LanguageAndIdentity #ThroughTheLanguageGlass
