Hunglish.orgNot only do different cultures have different languages, but even words themselves mean different things based on the connotations of those words. It's important to take into account the differences not only in languages, but also in words.
Written by Scott Savoie
One of the things I learned from living abroad and struggling to learn a new culture and language is that words’ meanings are often based on the individual’s personal experience. The meaning of words are only relevant to ourselves and people who have had similar life experiences.
Take the word "shark” (in Hungarian, "capa”). Hungarians know this word, but they don’t actually have too many capak in Hungary. Citizens may have seen a shark down at the Tropicarium, but then it was behind several inches of glass.
So they have the word.
They understand the word.
But.
The Hungarian’s understanding of the shark is perhaps different than that of, say, a one-legged pearl diver in Papua New Guinea.
The same can be true of other words, such as "dog” (in Hungarian, "kutya”) . Hungarians have lots of dogs. They like to keep them chained up in the yard or cooped up in a tiny apartment. For many Hungarians, the word "dog” translates roughly as "combination security system/garbage disposal.”
Hardly ever does "kutya” translate to "companion of the family” as it often does in North America.
And so it goes with word after word. Adverbs are completely meaningless outside of a social context: Words like "quickly” and "slowly” only have relative meaning. For example, most people believe they are working quickly. Even the slow ones.