Do some preliminary research on what interests you about the target culture and describe how this topic relates to language. Do you need any special vocabulary or linguistic knowledge to engage this topic? If so, have you included objectives in your learning plan to engage this topic?
**This journal post is intended to help you formulate foundational preparation (scaffolding) for your final presentation.**
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Food and wine are a significant part of the Italian culture. A certain type of food is recommended to be accompanied with a certain type of wine based on how heavy the food is. For instance, light and aromatic whites go with Miditerranean salads, light fresh seafood dishes. Medium weight, textural whites, are better with richer seafood dishes creamy pastas, roasted vegetables. when it comes to medium, weight savory red, pizza, mushroom based dish, tomato and herb based pastas. For the richer and fuller bodied reds, it is perfect with classic bolognese, also delicious with richer style pasta dishes, sharp and salty cheese like gorgonzola.
The reason why this is relates to my language is that, personally as a foreigner, food is the best way to know one culture. In order to communicate during ordering, I have to know the article, number, case, and so on. Moreover, it is also important to know the and pronounce correctly the name of the wine as Italy is known for its wine culture.
One aspect of my target culture that interests me is the rich atmosphere of Amsterdam. I would love the chance to visit Amsterdam while I am still young. Based on my research, the city never sleeps, and is the home of countless museums, boat rides, and festivals. From the information I have gathered, the citizens of Dutch cities differ from other big cities in the world. Instead of the intense, fast-paced, and no-nonsense environments like Paris or New York City, citizens in Dutch cities are easy-going and welcoming. I also look forward to learning more about the food. Another aspect of Dutch culture that intrigues me is the pride that the Dutch take in the beautification of their homeland. The flowers, windmills, and cycling paths are second to none. I hope to incorporate Dutch culture in my learning plan by understanding the speech patterns and doing more research on the way of life in the Netherlands. My goal is to have a basic understanding of cultural norms, and the dos and don'ts in the Netherlands.
Portuguese universality unites Portuguese, Brazilians, many Africans and some Asians, through the recognition of the Portuguese language as a common cultural heritage. As it does not have a continuous territory, it is not exclusive to one community, but is felt as its own, equally, in distant communities. That is why the language manifests a great internal diversity, depending on the regions where it is used.
Portugal has a gastronomy as rich and varied as its landscape. The sea gives its most outstanding characteristic to Portuguese cuisine. We savor a simple grilled fish, always very fresh, as well as the seafood that is abundant throughout the coast, and we are sure that we are in Portugal. I have been in Portugal several times and eating in their restaurants is an absolute must. That is why I would like to be able to express myself in Portuguese restaurants in order to ask for different meals.High-quality Portuguese olive oil is always present and is part of all dishes, including cod recipes, which is something compulsory to eat if you visit Portugal.
That is why to be able to face a restaurant situation I would need specific vocabulary and certain grammar tenses which are basic to communicate in this situation. There are some basic expressions I am going to list here as essential. Either in Portugal or Brazil ordering food in Portuguese requires pretty much the same words.The most useful word is "Queria" [kree-ah],that is how we should pronounce it, and this means "I would like".When entering a cafe or a restaurant you may have access to a menu "a lista". I also should be able to understand the waiter when coming to ask, so, when the waiter approaches you it will be very likely to hear him saying ‘já pediu?’ [djah pay-dee-oo?], which means if we have already ordered.
Then you'd be ordering your food. Say you want " uma tosta de queijo", which is a cheese toast. Therefore, food vocabulary is also something I should include on my learning plan if I want to be able to express my food desire.
references:
https://www.learn-portuguese-with-rafa.com/ordering-food-in-portugu...
I am primarily interested in the ethnic diversity and history of Morocco. Although it is classified as an “Arab” country, Morocco is a widely diverse nation with many subcultures. The Amazigh people are the Moroccan natives who originally inhabited most of North Africa. Morocco often switched from being ruled by Amazigh kingdoms to being a part of the Carthaginian Empire and then the Roman Empire. Then, in the mid-7th century, the Umayyad caliphate invaded Morocco and North Africa, Arabizing and Islamizing the region. Arab-Islamic dynasties ruled Morocco for over a thousand years, then in the late 19th century, France and Spain colonized Morocco, spreading their language and culture. After achieving independence in 1956, Morocco chose to embrace their Arab-Islamic history, being led by a king from an Arab dynasty with the Islamic title of “Commander of the Faithful.” However, in recent decades, Morocco has acknowledged its Amazigh past, making the Amazigh language one of the two official languages alongside Arabic in 2011. Although commonly spoken, French is not an official language in Morocco because of its colonialist ties.
Thus, Morocco’s complex history has influenced both its culture and language. While Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) remains the official language and is spoken in official speeches by the king and parliament, no common Moroccan speaks it. Generally, people will understand it but will often reply in Moroccan Arabic, which is understood by everyone in the country – Arabs and Berbers alike. The Amazigh languages are only spoken by rural communities of Amazigh people who are isolated from the cities, but they can still understand Moroccan Arabic – because of its Amazigh influence – but not MSA. Thus, while MSA allows me to understand official government documents and videos, I cannot communicate with the locals who primarily pass on Morocco’s diverse history and culture. Therefore, developing communicative competence in Moroccan Arabic will allow me to learn about Morocco from Moroccans themselves, rather than trusting the Moroccan government to give me an accurate picture of life in Morocco. Because of my familiarity with MSA, I will try to focus on learning the Amazigh, French, and Spanish vocabulary in Moroccan Arabic, which is unfamiliar to me yet important for grasping how Moroccan Arabic is a reflection of Moroccan culture and history.
Korean culture is widely known for its healthy food, traditional clothing, and mannerisms towards the elderly. Korean culture is founded based on the idea of Confucian, which emphasizes respect for the elders, ancestors, and senior members. With this emphasis, the language and body movements that is involved in the interaction is restricted and uphold the highest respect. From my perspective as a new Korean language learner, this means longer and structured sentences, no informal words, and bowing deeper when greeting rather than a head nod. In Korean culture, greeting others is usually accompanied with a head nod/ bending the body, and the degree of bent depends on the situation. For an example, if one is meeting an interviewer for a position in a company, the greeting bow is deeper to indicate a sign of respect. On the other hand, meeting a friend with a gentle head nod is sufficient enough.
Structured sentences and longer phrases may have 입니다 or 습니다 attached to the phrase towards the end. These two parts contain no meaning but its purpose is to indicate respect. For an example, 감사합니다 is the formal way of expressing gratitude. On the other hand, 고마워 is the informal way of expressing.고마워 is usually spoken to close friends while 감사합니다 is often used when you are not familiar with that person, meeting them for the first time, or to elders. Another example would be 안녕하세요 is a formal way of saying “hello” whereas greeting friends can use the shorten, informal way 안녕. Therefore based on the situation, the spoken language is different when one is speaking to the elderly or to a close friend due to Confucian ideas dated back through Korean history.