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If a Syrian comes to Rotenburg (Wümme): How a simple thank you can become a problem

2021-03-04T23:31:40.135Z


Gratitude can be a lifestyle, a philosophy. Where the German only briefly lifts his thumb, we Arabs start a short story.


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Photo: Reinhold Ratzer / imago images / alimdi

Thank you in a Syrian dialect is called "Jislamo".

The voice follows a certain melody.

The last vowel is drawn out and the pitch rises: "Jislamoooo".

I have not yet found a corresponding melody in the German "Danke".

But maybe I have to listen to the German language even better.

Is there a culture of thanking?

Yes of course.

Gratitude can even be a lifestyle, a philosophy.

And if there is a culture of thanks, then there are certainly also cultural differences: how to thank, when to thank and what value that has.

And in every culture, parents try to pass this on to their children.

The way of thanking also says something about a person's socialization.

I recently asked my daughters: "What's the magic word?"

Cilina replied: "Please!"

I asked if there was any other magic word.

Cilina said: “Yes there is.

It means thank you. "

Her older sister Christina corrected: "No, that's not a magic word."

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Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2021-03-04

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