VIETNAM: VN Proverbs dealing with WORDS in human interactions,
© Part 2
Once it was written:
" East is East and West is West and never the twains shall meet"
Interestingly in this instance, the East and the West cultures do meet. We shall examine the similarities in the two cultures.
As Americans teach their children : " The truth will set you free", Vietnamese were taught that : " No'i ga^`n , no'i xa, cha(?ng qua no'i tha^.t"
(It is better to tell the truth than to make allusion about something -to talk near or far-. A better advice to help people deal with the hurt when faced with a painful truth, or to help them realize that speaking the truth is not always easy :
" Thuo^'c dda('ng dda~ ta^.t, Lo+`i tha^.t ma^'t lon`g". (the bitter medicine will help heal the sickness, the honest words might cause the person to be vexed).
Americans often say that something is " easier said than done ", the equivalent Vietnamese proverb is " no'i de^? , la`m kho'"
In the USA, we often need to provide written evidence. We learn the importance of documentation, everything needs to be on paper, we are told.
The Vietnamese people also learn through their proverb:
""Lu+o+?i kho^mg xu+o+ng, nhie^`u ddu+o+`ng la('t le'o. Mie^.ng kho^ng va`nh mo' meo' tu+' tung". ( The tongue has no bone , it can twist and turn in so many ways. The mouth has no fixed frame, it can take on so many shapes at any time).
Another similarity, " no'i mo^.t ddu+o+`ng, la`m mo^.t nga~" implies that sometimes people say one thing but do another way
in America, we have : " this person talks from both sides of his mouth".
In the business word, a verbal contract can still be quite binding. If you give a verbal " buy" or " sell" order to a broker, you will be on a recorded line and the transcript of your " words " is a legal contract.
" A man's word is his bond " .
The Vietnamese proverb of "nha^'t ngo^n ky' xua^'t , tha^'t ma~ nan truy" evokes the same idea. (one word uttered out of your mouth cannot be caught back even by seven horses)
It cautioned the people to be careful in the choice of their words.
Vietnamese children were taught to
"Uo+'n lu+o+~i ba?y la^`n" which means : " Fold your tongue seven times before you speak" whereas we are more direct in saying to our children : "Think before you speak".
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