Cultural Post #2

[Byongho Lee]

In Czech, there are formal and informal greetings. For a phrase such as "Jak se Mas" (how are you [informal], you would use "Jake se Mate" [formal]. For a non-native speaker, it is more eloquent to say things formally because the teh-eh sound is easy on the tongue. In contrast, Mas (Mah-shh) is more rough and not as pleasent to hear. I recently realized that most language have formality and informality and that English is one of the few languages that don't. Instead of changing grammer, we add additional words to show respect such as "Mr. Johnson, would you please join me for a drink?" instead of saying "John, could grab a drink with me." In English, it is more about culture and certain phrases that form the formality rather than an official grammer rule.