One of the challenges of teaching English to immigrants is explaining subtle differences in meaning of English words. No two languages have exactly the same concepts, so simple translations don't always work. When a student, for example, called fund-raising letters she was stuffing into envelopes at the Heart and Stroke Foundation "propaganda," she couldn't understand why her boss was taken aback.
What's wrong with what I said? she asked...
It was difficult for her to grasp the difference in connotation between the terms advertising, information and propaganda! The subtleties evaded her.
But words impact our perceptions... For instance, when I hear politicians in the US talk about Canada's health care system as "SOCIALIZED medicine," I cringe, because, to me, the word SOCIALIZED conjures up images of socialism and communism.
(Yet Canada is no less democratic than the US!)
I prefer the term Health CARE or Medi-CARE, with the implied focus on CARING for people.
I like to think that we are a caring society that INVESTS IN PEOPLE - providing education, medical care and equal opportunity to all.
I don't mind paying the taxes it costs to live in a society where we look out for each other. As my father used to say at tax time: Be thankful you have to pay taxes. In the Communist regime I grew up in, the government just came in and took it all!
No comments:
Post a Comment