The first mini-case took place in Tunisia. Two men who were working in this country, were lost not far away from the capital, Tunis, while they were driving in countryside. They stood at a crossroad and did not know which road they need to go. The reason was that mileposts were in Arabic, which they did not know. Luckily, they encountered a farmer who spoke French. However, when they asked which road led to Tunis, they were answered that they were already in Tunis. Everytime they tried to explain, they heard the same answer. The conversation finished unsuccessfully, leaving the both sides with misunderstanding. Then, travelers eventually found the right road. A few weeks later, the narrator would learn from his Arabic teacher, that the word “Tunis” represented both the country and the capital.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Mini-case 1.1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You're exactly right. If they would have specified that the were looking for the city of Tunis as opposed to the country of Tunisia, the farmer might have been able to help them better. If they would have known that the city and country went by the same name, they probably would have been able to ask in the proper way
ReplyDeleteI just recalled the similar situation happened to me this summer. I was going to movies with friends. But I just knew approximate location of the theater. I was looking for it at that neighborhood and entered one building to ask someone, he said theater was upstairs. When I went up, I realized it wasn’t that theater what I meant. There was an electronics store and …home theaters. As Nick said, I should have asked in the proper way.)
ReplyDelete