Wednesday, October 15, 2003
The Village Idiom
One of the interesting things about doing an MBA at a decent school is the mix of nationalities. We have over 30 nationalities here at the Judge and it can make for interesting cross-cultural conversations.
For a start, it's kinda difficult for foreigners to 'get' British humour. Certain idioms just don't make sense out of context. Take the title above. It's a play on Village Idiot, whis is something of an idiom.
This puts a certain discipline on interlocultors when communicating. It really opens our eyes to how often we use metaphors and idioms as shortcuts to communication and in so doing forces us to be very clear. This is a good thing; it's almost like re-learning how to walk straight. And if you work hard enough, there's plenty of humour everyone can understand for you to use to 'connect'.
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For a start, it's kinda difficult for foreigners to 'get' British humour. Certain idioms just don't make sense out of context. Take the title above. It's a play on Village Idiot, whis is something of an idiom.
This puts a certain discipline on interlocultors when communicating. It really opens our eyes to how often we use metaphors and idioms as shortcuts to communication and in so doing forces us to be very clear. This is a good thing; it's almost like re-learning how to walk straight. And if you work hard enough, there's plenty of humour everyone can understand for you to use to 'connect'.
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