How much do we value what our grandparents, great-grandparents or even our own parents taught us?
We are talking about what we can’t find in textbooks or on the Internet. We are talking about what we have learned through experience and pass like a treasure to our children, cousins and nephews. We create a collective memory, a specific and shared identity which ends where it starts, with our family.
Social practices and habits are derived from the common wisdom contained in our learnt-by-heart traditions. These traditions come from ancient generations and are passed on, mainly orally. One might say that the social practices and habits of a certain place determine the attitude towards life and leave a mark behind with the hope that it will be collected and shared. Language, society, and culture can’t be separated; they are guided and assimilated. Therefore, diving into a foreign culture usually entails
acquiring knowledge but also interpersonal communication skills. Culture will be studied by attending to its use, as well as to the specific events and concrete situations in which it is displayed. Above all, in the case of Spain, we should study the uniqueness of the regions which give rise to many cultural manifestations throughout the country.
In this section we will question ourselves and think about how Spanish people live and act, and relate it to their idiosyncrasy. Then we will be able to access to the sociocultural components inherent to language. We will see the family and social celebrations, the way to behave in bars and restaurants, popular festivities, etc. Also, you will discover the general and specific practices of daily life in Spain. We will have a section on informal language, with everyday, polite expressions and popular sayings, among others.
Most conflicts and misunderstandings between societies derive from the lack of knowledge of the other’s culture. There needs to be a common ground for intercultural dialogue where people coming from different cultures can learn about their existing similarities and differences. This is one of the goals of this section, offering valuable information about Spanish culture to help create a better society which brings us all together in our diversity.
Foreign cultures enrich our lives and make us freer. Do you want to join us?
