The Amish People-Do they Speak German

The Amish in the U. S. are a Christian religious group which arose in the late 17th century in Switzerland, Alsace, Germany, and Russia among the followers of Jacob Amman (12 February 1644—between 1712 and 1730), a disaffected Swiss Brethren, and began emigrating to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. Because of the group’s preference for a traditional way of life as farmers and skilled workers and its disdain for most technological advances, the Amish have fascinated outsiders on both sides of the Atlantic for at least three centuries.   The very popular 1985 film  Witness  starring Harrison Ford renewed that interest, which continues today, particularly in the group’s distinct â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† dialect, which developed from the language of their Swiss and German ancestors; however, over three centuries, the group’s language has evolved and shifted so extensively that it’s difficult for even native German speakers to understand it.   Dutch doesnt mean Dutch A good example of the language’s shift and evolution is its very name. The â€Å"Dutch† in â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† does not allude to the flat and flower-filled Netherlands, but to â€Å"Deutsch,† which is German for â€Å"German.† â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† is a  German  dialect in the same sense that â€Å"Plattdeutsch† is a  German  dialect.   Most of today’s Amish forebears emigrated from the German Palatinate region during the 100 years between the early 18th century and the early 19th century. The German Pfalz region is not merely Rheinland-Pfalz, but also reaches into Alsace, which was German until World War I. The emigrants sought religious freedom and opportunities to settle and to make a living. Until the early 20th century, â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† had been the de facto language across the south of Pennsylvania. The Amish thereby preserved not only their very special fundamental way of life, but also their dialect.   Over the centuries, this led to two fascinating developments. The first is the preservation of the ancient Palatinate dialect. In Germany, listeners can often guess a speaker’s regional background because  local dialects  are common and used daily. Regrettably, German dialects have lost much of their significance over time. The dialects have been diluted by or even supplanted by high German (dialect leveling). Speakers of a pure dialect, i.e., a dialect unaffected by outside influences, are becoming rarer and rarer. Such speakers comprise older people, particularly in smaller villages, who can still converse as their ancestors did centuries ago.   â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† is a serendipitous preservation of the old Palatinate dialects. The Amish, especially the older ones, speak as did their ancestors in the 18th century. This serves as a unique link to the past.   The Amish Denglisch Beyond this wonderful preservation of dialect, the Amish’s â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† is a very special mixture of German and English, but, unlike modern â€Å"Denglisch† (the term is used in all German-speaking countries to refer to the increasingly strong influx of English or pseudo-English vocabulary into German), its everyday use and historic circumstances are far more influential.   The Amish first arrived in the U.S. well ahead of the Industrial Revolution, so they had no words for many things related to modern industrial working processes or machines. Those sorts of things simply didn’t exist at the time. Over the centuries, the Amish have borrowed words from English to fill the gaps—just because the Amish don’t use electricity doesn’t mean that they don’t discuss it and other technological developments as well.   The Amish have borrowed many common English words and, because German grammar is more complicated that English grammar, they use the words just as they would use a German word. For example, rather than say â€Å"sie jumps† for â€Å"she jumps,† they would say â€Å"sie jumpt.† In addition to the borrowed words, the Amish adopted whole English sentences by interpreting them word-for-word. Instead of â€Å"Wie geht es dir?†, they use the literal English translation â€Å"Wie bischt?†Ã‚   For speakers of modern German, â€Å"Pennsylvania Dutch† is not easy to understand, but it’s not impossible either. The degree of difficulty is on a par with domestic German dialects or SwissGerman— one must listen more attentively and that’s a good rule to follow in all circumstances, nicht wahr?

Brazil And The State Of Brazil - 958 Words

According to a survey by Transparency International, Brazil ranked 72nd out of 180 countries when it comes to corruption. This is even higher than economies like Turkey, Bulgaria and Cuba (BRAZIL, n.d.). The government in Brazil separates into three branches. The executive branch is assigned to one president for the entire country of Brazil. Currently serving as the president of Brazil is Dilma Vana Rousseff. She is the first woman elected as president. Rousseff is serving her second term effective January 1, 2011. The legislative branch is assigned to the National Congress. This congress is made up of the Federal Senate. The Federal Senate has 81 members in office. According to Brazil.org.za, â€Å"Each member of the federal senate is elected by a system of proportional representation, in position for a term of four years.† (BRAZIL, n.d.). The legislative branch also has a Chamber of Deputies who serve in different districts. Each State, similarly to the United States, has an elected governor. The Supreme Federal Tribunal is in charge of the judicial branch. Judges within the judicial system serve life long terms and are given the responsibility to charge and uphold laws set by the government. (BRAZIL, n.d.). Brazil is a very litigious society. Currently, the laws that govern employee rights have not been updated and give employees a majority of the rights. Hiring in Brazil is not cheap. With costs such as payed transportation, meals, health insurance, social security, andShow MoreRelatedThe United States And Brazil1289 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The United States and Brazil have similarities nevertheless numerous dissimilarities associated with health care. First and foremost let’s get things straight, The United States is an industrialized nation that has nearly 323 million residents. 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Cross Cultural Business Communication

Question: Discuss about the Cross Cultural Business Communication. Answer: Introduction Thanks to the improvement of technology which has facilitated the globalization of the corporations. However, this has opened the businesses into diverse cultures forcing them to adapt to cross-cultural business communication (Reynolds Valentine, 2011). It is non-disputable that the modern workplaces are rapidly growing big as the business environment widens to comprise different cultures in different geographical regions (Peterson, 2004). Adapting to this type of communication enables the international managers to understand how employees of diverse cultures perceive their environment, how they speak and how they communicate (Hofstede Hofstede, 2005). Therefore, it is the responsibility of every global business to understand business communication diversities of the host country if it is anticipating for success. This report aims to analyze the cross-cultural communication exhibited by the Indians. The report evaluates the critical aspects surrounding cross-cultural business commu nication in India. India Background Information Indian is commonly known as the host of Himalayas Mountains and sacred river Ganges. The immigration and invasion of India by of foreigners greatly influenced the country's economy and culture. Through the initiation of economic reforms Indian economy has continued to strengthen and expand geographically. The continued economic growth has attracted a lot Direct Foreign Investment inflows from countries such as China, America, and Australia. Additionally, the Indian milestone in education has resulted in the provision of experienced technicians, engineers, and scientists making the country an attractive hub for foreign business. Cross-Cultural Business Communication in India Effective business communication is the key to business success. Similarly, understating the Indians traditions and culture in communication forms the foundation of business success which is aiming to enter the Indian markets and industries. For example, in the event of business meetings India has got very different culture from other countries such as China and the United States. This is supported by Moore (2011) who argue that time is irrelevant for the average Indians whereby they dont consider the hour when an event will happen provided at long last it will happen. This makes India a polychromic culture country whereby people change priorities depending on their importance. This creates problems which are not intentional event though they are frustrating and makes things difficult for the international managers. However, these challenges will be easily eliminated if the manager can understand the methods and techniques of managing the team culture effectively. Critical Business Communication Cultures in India Communication style is one of the fundamental aspect that any international manager operating in India should be aware of. According to Maclachlan (2010), Indians prefers to have a broad picture of whom they are communicating with. That is, they prefer highly context communication which has been passed indirectly. In India emotional and body language communications are commonly used when someone's directly avoiding to say no. Now, analyzing the above statement it clearly illustrates that it may cause a huge challenge for a foreigner to overcome cross-cultural communication diversity if he or she is used to lowing context and more direct communication. Another important aspect to consider in Indian Communication is the level of English among the country citizens. The findings indicate the majority of the Indian graduates and the ones residing in the urban centers are well endowed with the high level of English(Patro, 2013). This puts it clear that English is the business language in India. However, understanding of the Indian English language is very challenging. Apart from the deep Indian accent which makes it difficult for the international experts to figure out what they are saying they also use different expressions and vocabulary. According to Maclachlan (2010) the majority of the foreigners are aware of these aspects and thus expect communication with the Indians to be the simple one. However, this has not been the case as many international companies have found it difficult to interpret the Indian English. As a result, many foreigners confuse the Indian English as a result of inappropriate education and language skills. This demands the international managers to be aware of the Indian English to help at minimizing the loss of time and misunderstandings. According to Kawar (2012), effective business communication is not only rooted in spoken words but also how people interact with one another in the workplace. The Indian business culture is majorly based on trust and relationship rather than how someone is geared towards the achievement of the specific business goals. Therefore, effective communication in work will be determined by the established relationship between the manager and the employees of the lower radar. Some of the working relationships that the manager should be aware of include, the boss should create a paternalistic role while at the same time exercising a managerial role(Communicaid Group Limited, 2014). Alternatively, the relationship between the manager and the company employees should be similar to that of the close relatives. As a foreigner manager, the understanding of this unique business culture will help in reducing delays which might hamper the operations of the business. Finally, the report addresses some of the business communication etiquettes that are highly valued and thus ingrained as part of business communication in India. First, the academic achievement titles such as Doctor or Professor are highly encouraged and in the case where they are not applicable it is appropriate to use titles such as Mr. Mrs. or Miss. Secondly, Indian men rarely shake hands with women and thus a man should wait for a female business associate to initiate the greeting. Third, being aggressive in the business negotiations can be termed as disrespect. Fourth, shaking the head from side to side is a reflection that you understand or you agree with the speaker. Fifth, in the case of the group meeting it is a sign of respect to greet the oldest members first. Sixth, Feet are perceived as unclean and thus someone is not allowed to point his or her feet at a person. Seventh, when greeting a business colleague the individual should hold his hands together below his chin, bow and then say Namaste.' However, in contemporary Indian culture shaking hands is also considered appropriate(Commisceo Global, 2012). Conclusion Understanding the cross-cultural business communication in India is only the first step of entering the countys markets and industries. Therefore, international corporations must have a deep understanding of the Indian cultural diversity to be able to cope with them effectively. This can be eased by learning the Indian cultures through India culture awareness program. This will help the international organizations develop a competent intercultural personnel. In return, the company will enjoy huge competitive advantage compared to other foreign companies. References Commisceo Global. (2012, October 3). Indian Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette. Retrieved from Commisceo Global Consultancy Ltd: https://www.commisceo-global.com/country-guides/india-guide Communicaid Group Limited. (2014, December 8). Indian Culture Key concepts and values. Retrieved from Communicaid Group Limited: https://www.communicaid.com/country/india/ Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J. (2005).Cultures and organizations. London: McGraw-Hill. Kawar, T. I. (2012). Cross-cultural Differences in Management. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(6), 105-111. Maclachlan, m. (2010, March 2010). Challenges of Doing Business in India. Retrieved from https://www.communicaid.com: https://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/challenges-of-doing-business-in-india/ Moore, B. (2011, December 25). Cross Cultural Communication: Challenges of Managing Time across Cultures. Retrieved from https://indiathink.com: https://indiathink.com/ Patro, P. (2013, December 30). Cross Cultural Communication in Indian Context. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/prasant26/mc-be-sec-b-group-7 Peterson, B. (2004). Cultural intelligence: A guide to working with people from other cultures. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. Reynolds, S., Valentine, D. (2011). Guide to Cross-cultural Communication. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

The Great Depression Effects on American Economy

Table of Contents Introduction Causes of the Great Depression Effects of the Great Depression The end of the Great Depression Conclusion Reference List Introduction At the end of the second decade of the twentieth century, countries were hi t by a staggering depression in their economies. The severity of this depression was particularly pronounced in the United States.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Depression Effects on American Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In 1929, October, there was a serious fall of the values of common stock which caused crash of the stock market. In this situation, politicians tried to remain calm and exercise optimism but this was to no avail. The situation worsened and people lost their confidence in the government as they bid the last dollars of their savings goodbye. By the year 1932, an approximate quarter of United States population was unemployed. Factories had been shut down due to the harsh economic climate, banks had failed in their operations and businesses had been closed. As 1933 approached, stock exchange in New York was barely a fifth of its 1929 peak. The Great Depression, as this is what it was called, had a number of causes and a lot of effects on American economy and the world as a whole (Smiley, 2008, p. 1). Causes of the Great Depression The main problem behind the stated Great Depression experienced in the United States in 1929 was the mismatch between the consuming capacity of the population of the United States and the production capacity of the country. After the WWI, the country had undergone a serious revolution in innovative production that had seen its output surpassing the purchasing capacity of the people of the U.S. at the time. The inadequate demand of products was the one that led to closure of businesses and the subsequent failing of banks (Temin, 1991, p. 41). Another contributing factor was the investment habits of Americans at the time. The middle class and the wealthy had actively invested in stock market speculations and real estate. With the collapse of the stock market, the middle class and the wealthy lost billions of dollars to their investment naivety (Amadeo, 2010, p. 1). Analysts have attributed the crash of the stock market and the Great Depression that followed to tight monetary policies instituted by the Federal Government at that time. Some of the mistakes that the Federal Reserve made include the following.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The federal government raised their funds rate in1928, in August of the year 1929, the rate was still raising. This culminated in the crash in the stock market that occurred in October the same year. Another mistake was the preservation of the gold value of the dollar by the feds by an increase of interest rates. This is disc ussed in detail below (Amadeo, 2010, p. 1). Prior to 1929, the Franc and other currencies ware undervalued after adopting floating rates for some time. At the end of WWI, countries with devalued currency wanted to return to the gold standard. On the other hand, courtesy of holding on to a fixed gold value for the dollar, a large number of gold deposits had been made to the United States by investors from a number of countries. With this situation the Great Britain and the United States offered to redeem gold for t pounds and dollars respectively. This led to an increase of gold demand. In the year 1928, the French government lowered interest rates which increased interest rates in America. This led to more gold being shipped to the U.S. Other countries initiated policies aimed at lowering economic activity through deflation and reducing price levels. This started the Great Depression. This cause of the Great Depression explains why the United States was among the countries that were affected the most by the depression (Smiley, 2008, p. 1). Effects of the Great Depression The most profound and lasting effect of the Great Depression is the way it changed the involvement of the federal government in economic matters. It occurred due to public demand ignited by the dissatisfaction of the public towards the extent to which the Depression had affected the United States and the fact that recovery was painfully slow. This was despite the fact that people with business interest resented the involvement of the government in these matters. The response of the federal government was the creation of compensation for the unemployed as well as Social Security for the elderly (Amadeo, 2010, p. 1). The depression also brought a revolution in labor laws. The Wagner Act was introduced which introduced the safeguarding of the interests of employees. This was achieved by its intervention in labor negotiations and the promotion of unions. This necessitated an expansion of the feder al workforce which also created employment (Smiley, 2008, p. 1).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Depression Effects on American Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Great Depression had an impact on the philosophy of economics. This is due to the fact that scholars and economists had associated the Great Depression with the inadequate demand that prevailed in the period. There was, therefore, the need to look for scholarly solutions to avoid the occurrence of such depressions in the future. This was responded by the development of the idea that governments should control demand in a bid to prevent occurrence of such depressions in the future. This was summarized as the Keynesian theory (Smiley, 2008, p.1). The end of the Great Depression With the election of Franklin Roosevelt as the president of the United States, in 1932, a new chapter in the efforts of ending the Great Depression was opened. Roosevelt got most of his votes due to his policies regarding the creation of programs with the Federal Government to help in fighting the depression. Within a period of less than three months, his policy was incorporated into law. This saw the creation of about forty-two agencies meant to create jobs. The agencies were also meant to provide insurance against unemployment and allow the formation of labor unions. A large number of the programs that were put in place this time are still in force today and they are very instrumental in protecting the economy against downturns. Examples of the discussed programs include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Social Security and the SEC (Amadeo, 2010, p. 1). Despite Roosevelt’s efforts, the economy was faced with seemingly insurmountable problems that made the recovery process considerably long. For instance, the rate of unemployment was unbelievably high in the decade between 1930 and 1940. It remained more than 1 0% until the start of the Second World War when some jobs related to defense were created (Smiley, 2008, p. 1). President Roosevelt was, however, quick to react to these challenges in a constructive way. For instance, after the occurrence of a third banking panic in 1933 March, President Roosevelt announced a Bank Holiday that stopped a run for financial institutions after their closure.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This ensured that people did not withdraw and hold the finances they had in the banks and kept money in circulation. He also rejected Keynes’ idea of implementing heavy deficit spending and implemented his idea of wealth redistribution that was a great effort towards the fight against the depression (Temin, 1991, p. 39). With the start of World War II, the depression began to end as countries were concerned about the coming hostilities and they had to prepare. Roosevelt adopted a strategy of deficit spending in a bid to arrest the economy. This had an enormous effect on the economy making the United States register record growth rates. This is evidenced by the fact that President Roosevelt achieved a higher economic growth than President Ronald Reagan. Notable among the historic economic figures is the fact that the rate of growth during Reagan’s administration in the â€Å"Seven Fat Years!† (Temin, 1991, p. 23) was lower than the growth realized during the Grea t Depression. Although most of President Roosevelt’s policies and strategies worked for the economic prosperity of the United States, he also made some mistakes. An example is when he reduced deficit spending after the remarkable growth of 14% in the year 1936. His reason for the decision was because he thought that the economy could grow to be imbalanced and so he wanted to balance their budget. The effect of this decision was the recession that took place in the year 1938 (Temin, 1991, p. 32). The Congress also had considerable input to the end of the Great Depression. It helped to foil coup de tat plans by the rich which were organized as a reaction to Roosevelt’s idea of wealth redistribution. It also passed several acts that made economic recovery easier. Examples of such acts are the 1935 Banking Act, the Social Security Act and the National Labor Relations Act (Temin, 1991, p. 11). The World War II was the greatest calamity the world has ever seen, it brought ec onomic advantages to the United States. After becoming the world’s only superpower, America underwent a quick economic recovery registering more attractive ratio of debt as a percentage of their GDP after deficit spending. The tax rate was also significantly lowered with America experiencing an economic boom as from the year 1963 (Temin, 1991, p. 18). Conclusion The Great Depression was inevitable with the limited monetary policies and non-coordination of countries in making economic decisions. There was also limited protection of the workforce which was the reason that the depression hit countries hard. Policies in one country were responded by other countries with desperate counter-policies like currency devaluation that left the latter countries in problems. These problems made them to make more economic mistakes in a bid to reduce the effect s of the mistakes they made earlier. This had a great effect on the world’s economy as a whole. The most affected countries i n such cases were the most developed ones. The occurrence of the Great Depression made the world learnt a very important economic lesson. Since then every country’s central bank, inclusive of the Federal Reserve in United States have been always aware of the essence of monetary policies in maintaining economic stability. Economists have over the years argued that it is impossible for a Great Depression of the same magnitude as the 1929. This is because the world’s economy is unified and therefore the central banks of different countries coordinate their operations to make sure that such an occurrence does not happen again. We should thus be thankful that the Great Depression occurred this early because it is the reason we have commendably stable economies. Reference List Temin, P. (1991). Lessons from the Great Depression. New York. Barnes Noble. Smiley, G. (2008). Great Depression. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/GreatDepression.html Amadeo, K. (201 0). The Great Depression of 1929. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/the-great-depression-of-1929-3306033 This essay on The Great Depression Effects on American Economy was written and submitted by user Martin A. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.