Sunday, July 15, 2007

Sociolinguistics

1. In French, the word droit means "right" (as in human rights) and it also encompasses part of the meaning of the English word "law". I wonder if this overlap leads to a different perception of law and rights as compared with how these concepts are perceived by people for whom they are two completely separate words?

2. In Iceland, your surname is based on your father's name - it is literally translated as [father's]son or [father's]daughter. In Russia, patronymics are used in a certain register of address - those of us who have studied French (or Spanish or German or Polish) would perceive it as a third level of formality between tu and vous (or tĂș/usted, or du/sie, or ty/pan(i) respectively). I wonder if this everyday necessity of knowing your father's name affects cultural attitudes towards people who don't know who their father is? Or cultural attitudes towards creating children who don't know who their father is?

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