Cultural Nuances Quotes

I thought I had more of a European sense of humour than the average American comic.

There's no such thing as an expert on Russia—only various degrees of ignorance.

Americans just don't understand dry wit.

Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body.

If a stranger taps you on the ass and says, "How's the little lady today!" you will probably cringe. But if he's an American, he's only being friendly.

Coming from the U.S., you tend to look at one homogeneous market with 350 million people. But in Europe, every country has its own customs and laws.

Vietnamese food has probably been saved from the mass market because most people never master the sauces and condiments that must be added to the food, at the table, for its glories to become apparent. It's too much trouble, and a lot of people don't like asking for help, especially if the interaction involves some linguistic awkwardness.

There's inherent cultural imbalance whenever you're translating from Chinese to English. Educated Chinese readers are expected not only to know about all the Chinese references - history, language, culture, all this stuff - but to be well-versed in Western references as well.

When I started, I didn't know how to sing in Arabic - it's a very complex and sophisticated music full of codes and modes and quarter-tones.

Color categories are on steroids in Latin America. I find that fascinating. It's very difficult for Americans, particularly African-Americans to understand or sympathize with.

The Premier League is really nice, it's wonderful. It is also quite difficult to explain certain things. You need to experience them personally to take it all in.

I think that is what all ethnic actors aspire to - to just play a woman who falls in love, or works as a clerk, or whatever - and then, if you want to, to have that luxury to bring in the cultural heritage.

American audiences and European and Asian audiences are so different.

Accents are always difficult in their way, but as long as you're not throwing an audience off with it, then that's all it should be.

Oriental DreamWorks did a lot of the surfacing of the village [in Kung Fu Panda 3] and you know all the little paintings on all the gables and everything? They have meaning, and they could do that because they know what that means, we don't necessarily know about that over here.

It is neither the best nor the worst things in a book that defy translation.

Without knowing the language of a people, we never really know their thoughts, their feelings, and their type of character.

On the Continent there is one topic which should be avoided-the weather; in England, if you do not repeat the phrase "Lovely day, isn't it?" at least two hundred times a day, you are considered a bit dull.

In Asia, personal relationships are important, but you cannot personalise diplomacy.

Religion is a very delicate subject in Lebanon. You have to know how to say things in a very delicate way in order to be accepted.

In Nashville, if people don't like someone, they say, 'I don't really like him,' then add, 'bless his heart.' In Hollywood, they kind of leave that last part off.

Computers will understand sarcasm before Americans do.

I always see bridal as a cultural thing: you have to get under the skin to find out what is needed in that market. For instance, the Italians love plain dresses, and the Americans loved beaded ones.

Japanese is a baby talk - very, very hard to read, very, very, easy to talk. ... A very faint kind of language.

I translated an Emile Zola book, 'The Belly of Paris,' because I didn't find an existing translation that captured his sense of humor. Humor is the first victim of translation.