Second Cultural Post: Formality and Informality in Target Language
After speaking to my language partner I learned that Bengali could be spoken in informal and formal language. Informal language is often used with friends or those who are very close to you. Formal language is mostly used with those who are older in age or strangers. For instance, the word “you” translates to “apne” for formal language and “tumi” for informal language. A lot of times older people get very angry at those who are younger for speaking informally with them. My language partner stated how, in Bangladesh, this gives a glimpse into one’s upbringing and whether or not they can show respect to those who are older. I will definitely need to learn the formal language since I will be working with older people.
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