Civilities

I'm trying to learn Russian.

It's an uphill battle. First, it uses a different alphabet....36 letters! Second, my teacher-on-CD often says, "Listen closely. This is not a sound used in English" so I find myself twisting my mouth into strange contortions to try to imitate (mostly unsuccessfully) these strange syllables!

But I've noticed something interesting about this gutteral, consonant-filled language. (Honestly, I think more than half the words I've learned begin with consonant combinations like SDR, or ZN, or GD, or SD!) But what I've noticed is not the construction of the words, it's the thought behind the construction of the sentences. Even though the Russian language sounds rough, the actual content of the words is quite courteous.

The teacher explains the prevalent use of 'excuse me' and various introductory phrases such as 'tell me please' and so on. Apparently, the common Russian language involves a courtesy, an almost formal civility.

It causes me to reflect on our get-to-the-point American conversation. By contrast, we sound abrupt. No wonder people from other cultures think we are rude. We might call our approach concise or efficient, but compared with others around the world, Americans probably sound uncaring and brusque.

I'm reminded of articles I've read about cross cultural business dealings: they often mention the fact that in other cultures people take time to get to know each other before they do business together. From what I read, American businessmen have offended many prospective foreign business partners by rushing to the deal without taking time for the relationship building.

The idea of taking time to be courteous and respectful to people around us, I think, is a fundamental transcendent principle.

I'm going to practice talking more courteously. So it takes a few more minutes . . . I'll consider it an investment of some sort. My contribution toward a more civil world.