FLAGS

This is such a fantastic print campaign by Vittoria School for Language Mediators in Italy!

Using books, notebooks and notepads as props, each ad then represents the flag of a country.

The message that Vittoria School is giving is that not only does it teach a language theoretically but it also teaches about the culture of a country and how the people of that country speak in normal conversations. 

For me, the campaign is extremely creative without losing the simplicity. I just love the way the educational props have been used. The agency behind this campaign is La Fabbrica Creativa, Italy.

The Power of Non-Verbal Acknowledgement

Have you ever been in a situation on the road, where you have left someone else pass the road ahead of you and the person has acknowledged your act through thumbs up sign?

Alternatively, a scenario where the road ahead was too narrow and you have reversed your car to let the car on the other side to come across before you went ahead on that road, and the other car driver has held out his hand to acknowledge and thank you for your act.

On the other hand, what about a situation where you were presenting something to a room full of people and you said something that you wanted validation for, you gave a quick glance to your boss and she/he gave a slight nod of validation and acknowledgement that what you said is absolutely fine.

How about a romantic scenario where your spouse or your partner is sitting a little away from you in a party and you both look at each other and blink and smile to say that I hope you are enjoying the party.

Moreover, how can we forget the many non-verbal acknowledgements that we give and receive on a daily basis on social media in the form of likes, retweets, hearts, etc.

There could have been many other situations like where the person inside the elevator held the door for you as you made a rush towards it and you just smiled in a thanking way, or you stopped on seeing a pedestrian as he crossed the road and he held up his hands to thank you and acknowledge your act. These are just a few examples but I am sure that you may recollect many such situations where there wasn’t any conversation through words but yet there was an exchange that took place through non-verbal acknowledgement.

The beauty of an acknowledgement is that you do not need to know the person, it does not come with the inhibitions of a conversation where an icebreaker is needed and it is a universal language that is understood by all, even though the receiver and the giver may speak completely different languages.

It is an extremely powerful non-verbal tool, which doesn’t have a fixed way and each and every non-verbal cue is acceptable – be it a thumbs up, a nod of the head, a smile, blinking of eyes or any other non-verbal movement as long as the people involved in the exchange of this understand it. It is a small act but it makes both the receiver and the giver feel positive, where the person who is acknowledging appreciates the act of the other and the person who is being acknowledged feels nice that his act has been noticed.

Quite often, in our busy lives, we forget the power of such non-verbal cues, but it is one of the simplest, purest and easiest forms of communication that any two individuals can participate it. It doesn’t take much of an effort but the positive feeling that it leaves you with can suddenly uplift your mood, improve your day, energize you and make you feel thankful for the beautiful life around. Next time, pay attention when you get acknowledged or take the effort to acknowledge someone and you will see the power of this universal language. 

English Language - Laziness or Sheer lack of creativity?

People often say that English is a funny language, where words that are spelt similarly are pronounced differently and the classic example that comes to mind is that of the words ‘to’ and ‘go’, which are very aptly pointed out by Dharmender in the classic comedy Chupke Chupke.

In fact, it is also said that the complexity of the Engilsh language is also evident from the fact that similar sounding words are spelt differently and have completely different meanings eg – Sea and see, there and their.

I however have a completely different take on the English language and its creator. In fact, as far as I see it, all the complexities and oddities pointed out above are a result of the lack of creativity or just plain laziness of the creator. That is the reason two differently spelt words have similar pronunciations and two similar looking words are pronounced differently.

Let me put across a few more points in favour of my argument and my hypothesis. The creator of the English language has very conveniently given just one word ‘You’ to address all people irrespective of age, authority, etc., whereas in comparison, the Hindi language is extremely worked out in detail, where we have words like Aap, Tum and Tu for different kind of people depending on the relationship, age and seniority.

The English language creator did not even explore various relationships in detail and has conveniently given us a few common relationships to be used. Let’s just compare the English term for a relation and its Hindi counterpart options for the same relation, where the name of the relation changes basis which side of the family he/she is. Here is a list of all those relations:

Grandfather and Grandmother: Dada/Nana and Nani/Dadi

Uncle and Aunt: Tauji/Chachaji/Phuphaji/Masaji/Mama/Kaka and Taiji/Chachiji/Bua/Masi/Mami/Kaki

Brother-in-law: Jijaji/Saala/Behnoi

Sister-in-law: Bhabhi/Nanand/Jethani/Devrani


Basis all the above examples shared, I would like to conclude that the creator of the English language either lacked creativity or was plain lazy, whereas on the other hand, the creator of the Hindi language went into complete detail and gave us names for every relation so that the warmth of a relationship is much stronger. With this I rest my case.