think different

25.05.06

Culture

I’m writing this from a hostel in Calgary. If you wanted to be a social anthropologist, hostels have to be one of the best places to be, because you run into people from all over the world.

Next month I’ll be taking the Ling 210: Language & Society course, which draws on Michael Agar’s book Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation. I ordered the book from Chapters, and have been reading through it to get ahead.

It’s about the relationship between our world view and the words we speak. Language sets a comfortable boundary of the terms we think in, other languages require us to think differently.

Some concepts don’t translate easily, which he calls “rich points”… the differences between cultures, whether cultures of other languages or “sub- cultures” within our own. He talks about expanding how we think, to understand where other people are coming from.

It’s quite intriguing, and I’ve found myself paying more attention to the way people communicate, and the words they use.

Interview

As to why I am in Calgary, I came for an interview with Derryl Friessen, who heads up the Wycliffe Campus Outreach. This wasn’t an official interview with human resources — but a chance to meet a few people who work to support the Bible Translation projects. Also an opportunity to learn what sort of projects I could end up working on if everything comes together.

We went for lunch with Tim Dyck and Doug Lockhart. I also had a chance to finally meet Marjorie, who is processing my application. And I talked to Andrew Weaver (Linux translation software) and Peter Brassington (web content) as well.

A day well spent, to use one of the many monetary phrases engrained into North American society.