Mieszkając w Japonii, znalazłem serię książek Xenophobe’s ® Guides opisujących różne nacje. Serdecznie polecam ich lekturę! Przytaczam poniżej cytaty opisujące Szwedów, Polaków i Japończyków. Każdą z nich, napisała osoba należąca do opisywanej nacji.
While living in Japan, I found a series of Xenophobe's ® Guides describing different nations. The series that highlights the unique character and behavior of different nations. I heartily recommend reading them! I give below quotes describing the Swedes, Poles and Japanese. Each of them was written by a person belonging to the nation being described.
Swedes
“The Swedes are unique in they do not actually dislike any nationality in particular. The patronizing posture they adopt vis-à-vis their Scandinavian neighbors stems not from dislike but simply from the confident belief that Sweden is superior. …. Basically, foreigners are good news: their funny faces and foibles help remind the Swedes how wonderful is to be Swedish and normal.”
Poles
“During the Second World War, in Palestine, Polish officers who had escaped from occupied Poland were incorporated into the British Army. Within days, they were transforming the standard issue British Army tropical baggy shorts into natty bum-hugging numbers.”
Japanese
“The Japanese are trained throughout their lives to read each other`s minds. This means it is not necessary to have or to express an opinion. The Japanese are polite even when they do not mean to be. It comes with tradition. The language and the culture make it almost impossible to be impolite.”
To rzeczywiście prawda. Formy grzecznościowe są częścią gramatyki języka japońskiego a nie po prostu kwestią doboru słów jak w językach europejskich z polskim włącznie.
© Alfred E. Szmidt, 2014.