Cultural Differences In English Literature Essay

Language is a complex category. It is used to convey cultural nuances, and just by the language it can also determine one’s origin. Although it developed in each country, as the world experiences globalisation, language has become more interactive, hence translation is now essential for people from different backgrounds to communicate. As this phenomena develops, the little differences in language is now more apparent. As discussed in class, translation is very complex. Sometimes meaning gets lost in translation. Of course, difference in perceiving a word is crucial, but especially in the literature field, those little differences in the nuance will have a significant influence. One example is poems. Since poems use many complex words and usually put hidden meaning, meaning often gets lost in translating poems. However, understanding the core background of the language and culture, it becomes more clear.Thus, literature studies cannot only help us learn other languages but also the culture backgrounds.

When Japanese people say ‘sumimasen’, it is often the case where foreigners actually thinks that one is apologizing. Hence, they will be confused of why the person is apologizing. However, this is not the case. Most of the times when Japanese people say ‘sumimasen’ it is not that they are apologizing, even though translation of the word may be ‘sorry’. It is more similar to the phrase ‘excuse me’ in English. Perhaps also because Japanese people are less hesitant in saying ‘sorry’ that is does not bother Japanese people at all. On the other hand, foreigners usually does not want to say sorry until they truly feel they had done something wrong and need to apologize. Although it is unconcious, this can be one of the elements of why mismatch