Tuesday 11 October 2011

Attitude to Work- Japanese vs Middle Eastern


I've posted this while running the risk of stereotyping, but anyone who has worked in the Middle East will tell you how often it is true.

'Wallahi' can roughly be translated into I swear by God, it is overused as an oath and thus loses its intended value to emphasise truthfulness or sincerity. In this context, it can be taken to mean for God's sake.

'Ya' translates to O, it is used before a person's name, for e.g 'O Misha, open the door' , or 'O sister, open the door'. 

'Habibi' translates to dear in the masculine form, it would habibti, if you were referring to a female; in this context it is used in a patronising manner. In which case, you usually want to reply don't habibi me, I'm not your habibi- much like how you would say don't call me baby- I'm not your baby ala Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada.



This just reminded me of Madison Avenue's song of the same name, which I've linked to above. I know this isn't the most well-thought out post, but hey I'm just practicing putting stuff out there. Hopefully, it will get better with time. As always reactions and comments are welcome.

A special shout out to a very sweet reader and blogger who made my day today Izdiher, thank you so much, and I love you too!xxx

*Update*-This is one my most read post, people ususally arrive at this post searching for differences between Middle Eastern and Japanese attitudes to work. Why would you want to search for that? Is it part of some Human Resource Management/ Organisation Behaviour  assignment given to students all over the world? I'm intrigued, please lift the veil from this mystery by commenting on why you were searching for the above/or how you arrived at this post- it'll be immensely satisfying to my insatiable curiosity. Thanks in advance!


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2 comments:

  1. i have got to say i laughed my heart out on this post. :))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Misha,
    First of
    all, totally love your wit and humour! I ended up on this post by just clicking through the archives, and no, I was not researching for any Human Resource project!This is
    Shalaka from
    Lemuda.com- a new online luxury fashion store in the Middle
    East, coming soon
    from mid-December 2011. Lemuda will feature high-end fashion
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    I would
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    Thanks
    & Regards,

    Shalaka
    Walambe
    --







    Shalaka Walambe
    Marketing & Communication

    LEMUDA.COM

    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

    World Wide Fashion JLT | Unit No. 506, HDS Tower, Plot No. PH1-F2 |
    Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai -UAE

    License Number: JLT-66422

    Registration No.: JLT2661

    T. +971 (0)4
    4357244

    F. +971 (0)4
    4357244

    e-mail shalaka@lemuda.com

    Please consider the environment before printing
    this email

    ReplyDelete