languages and popular images

fab   Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:28 am GMT
We often tend to associate in our mind specific kind of ambiance and landscapes to a specific language.
Most of the time it is not completly in adequation with the reality of the countries that speak the language.

It is funny to see for exemple that Spanish language is often linked, in the common imaginary, with hot places, with palm trees or with arid lanscapes. Spanish language is less associated with green forests of north spain, or with the rude lanscapes of pirinees or castilla sierras.
The tierra del fuego region does not fit in the hot/exotic stereotype that is often linked with Spanish language. We may have difficulties to imagine a almost polar place, like south Argentina and Chile with spanish writings, despite the fact that it is the reality.

What can be the images that you (or the culture where you live in) associate with languages - for exemple with English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Arabic, Chinese, etc. ?
Guest   Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:57 am GMT
franco, the question was not about the people but what landscapes evoques a language.


For English, there would be two distinct images :
- Wet, green, rainy and freshy hilly landscapes (relation with england's stereotype). towns of lined red brick houses with bow-windows .
- Wild and extreme natural horizons, often dry or even desertic with endless straits roads with isolated gas stations (relation with US landscapes stereotype, but also Australian.). towns made of lined individual wood houses.
Uriel   Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:15 pm GMT
French -- with soft, hilly landscapes covered with grapevines and grain fields, picturesque villages, and cows.

Scandinavian languages -- spacious interiors filled with modular furniture and lots of blond wood, not a speck of dust in sight, and a snowy forest in the window.

German -- half-timbered houses with bright red flowers in windowboxes, narrow cobblestone streets winding up to grim-looking castles, a gray sky that looks like it wants to spit rain at any minute.

Russian -- a bleak winter landscape of endless plains and stunted, wind-bent trees.

Italian -- bucolic, sun-drenched, golden hills cut by twisting two-lane roads occasionally filled with the roar of a very fast car....
Mustaffa   Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:40 pm GMT
When I hear French I think of massive city riots provoked by the racist French government and the "selfproclamer ethnic french".
Joâo   Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:46 pm GMT
When I hear Arabic I think of massive bomb attacks provoked by Hesbollah .
Guest   Sat Aug 12, 2006 1:56 pm GMT
To troll "mustaffa"

When I hear french I thing of 60 million people being proud of a national football team in which 90% of the players are black.
Guest   Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:10 pm GMT
When I hear Hebrew I think of massive bomb attacks on innocent civilians. That, or a mountain of shit.
Uriel   Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:12 pm GMT
Focus, people. LANDSCAPES.

(You can fight on the playground later, during recess.)
Nightingale   Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:13 pm GMT
Japanese...
- Massive urban sprawl with nondescript 3~5 storey concrete blocks as far as your line of sight goes.
- A hill with a waterfall and an inn with an onsen (hot spring) at its base.

Cantonese...
- Dirty, noisy wet markets =p

Estuary English...
- Traffic jam on the M25 motorway, lots of drivers with raised middle fingers.

Scottish English...
- A hilly landscape, random people in kilts doing some Highland Fling, and Edinburgh Castle rising above all.

General American English...
- Dilapidated wooden house with a large lawn and some car from the 70s.
Giorgio   Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:46 pm GMT
English = Los Angeles
Spanish = Rural Mexico
German = 17th Century-looking Bavaric town
Italian = The Vatican
French = Paris
Arabic = Sand
Chinese = China



Just cuz of the Nastalgia though, just cuz...
Franco   Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:05 pm GMT
British English - hilly area all covered in wet. Old farmers with berets. Otherwise, young punks walking around like gangsters all pale and ugly looking for bad stuff to do.

American English - disgusting urban sprawl somewhere like LA. Endless concrete and houses that look the same. Motor bike riders.

Spanish - Colonial style buildings, Buenos AIres, people tangoing on the streets and smoking with harsh raspy voices.

French - Paris cobbled streets, golden sun, beuatufil landscape and girls.

Arabic - desert sweltering really old buildings, mosques, people chanting

Japanese - huge crowd on metro with sweet womans voice over loud speaker. urban sprawl of tokyo. skinny roads with buildings close beside.

Cantonese - DIrty hong kong streets hot and vibrant

Mandarin - Similar to honk kong but dirtier.

Russian - Snow covered squares and wide boulevards and old 50's style concrete apartment blocks with people in fur walking along the streets and fairly old and rusty stuff. Also can see skinheads.

Samoan - Islanders :))))) wooooo!

Maori - marai of a South Auckland slum with beer bottles covering the ground
Sander   Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:19 pm GMT
It is funny (or sad) to see that all of this is based on people rather than languages.

Apart from that ... its kind of ridiculous. When you think of Spanish you don't think of the north pole, you think of a hispanophone country/region.
laa   Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:28 am GMT
There are multiple landscapes and images I associate with certain languages.

For instance,

English - London and Los Angeles

Spanish - Madrid, Havana, Mexico City, and Los Angeles.

I've lived in Spanish speaking parts of Los Angeles, and English speaking parts of Los Angeles.
greg   Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:31 am GMT
Imaginaire perso (du moment).

Japonais : ikébana, cérémonie du thé etc (on parle peu).

Allemand : conversation de philosophes, mélomanes etc.

Russe : narration d'une histoire poignante.

Espagnol : discussion animée en extérieur.

Italien : apostrophe publique.

Portugais : évocation de souvenirs.

Arabe : harangue.

Polonais : échange de vues littéraires.

Chinois : tractations commerciales.
fab   Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:59 am GMT
" its kind of ridiculous. When you think of Spanish you don't think of the north pole, you think of a hispanophone country/region "


And what about hispanophone regions such as Patagonia or "Tierra del fuego" that look like more to Iceland than to Andalucia ?
I continue to find it strange that Spanish-speaking cultures are almost always associated with regions of hot climates, while it is not the case of a big part of them