And it’s March already, so let’s enjoy another Word Connect today. We do this once each month to remind ourselves that words do totally connect us cross-culturally and in so many other ways. Our word this month fits right into the Applications dimension of our Global SKILLs PROACTive Framework, since it can be taken from its primary contexts and applied to all sorts of other contexts, giving us insights into other cultures as they stand alone and in relation to ours. [*]
Today’s word, “quotidian” in English and “quotidien” in French basically points to things routinely done, belonging to a fixed schedule or pattern, commonplace, everyday. Unremarkable.
Except I want to remark on a few things I like about this word.
I like how it sounds. Foreign and kind of exotic, even though most definitions say it points to bland - when I think back over many quotidian customs and activities I have experienced in other cultures, I have so many pleasant memories of things which were at the same time completely commonplace and yet, yes, exotic!
I personally like routines, so to have a word be all about them…that ‘fits’! Learning new routines in new spaces with new people, while keeping to ones which make our lives comfortable and do-able…I think quotidian is all about that.
I like the simple fact of ‘daily’ - which actually evokes a kaleidoscope of mornings, noons and nights, a day at a time and as the days go by…a lot of potential dynamic and energy and synergy and exciting stuff all wrapped up into quotidian.
And, what does this have to do with cross-cultural communications and global community building? Well…I think it can give us a jump on both understanding our own quotidian and then that of others, if we take the time to apply what quotidian means in each context…and then where it can lead us!
How about for you ~ what one feeling or experience does ‘quotidian’ evoke for you?
Share about that with a friend or note it here.
And check out the Global SKILLs LINKs below for a quotidian challenge!
PS we can argue some other time if the English ‘quotidian’ and the French ‘quotidien’ really share the same meaning…and also if it’s a noun or adjective or both. Sorry for the grammatical mish-mash here, for those who care!
Thanks for being part of this Connect community.
Until next week,
Betsy
Global SKILLs LINKs
Instead of offering several LINKs this week, I offer just this one and challenge you to not ‘leave your regular schedule at home”...but rather to reflectively explore through these cultures how your ‘quotidian’ and theirs might be exchangeably applicable!
Notes
* Related Connects - previous words we’ve had fun with : 11/1/23 spelling across cultures; 1/4/23 - tapestry; 12/6/23 - Haudenosaunee; (use this link above to find these by date: https://www.globalskillspartners.com/blog-1)
** Through my business Global SKILLs and several partner subsidiaries I offer unique cross-cultural consulting and training including: 3 Dimensional Dynamics Model: 1st dimension = HOME ; 2nd dimension = HOST ; 3rd dimension = HARBOR)
PROACTive Learning Strategies:
PRO = PROfile, PROcess, PROgrams
ACT = Applications (which we explored this week); Collaboration and Transformation
~ contact me for more information on this model and these strategies and how you might use them in your current programming: betsy.barbour@gmail.com
2024 ~ Celebrating 40+ years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
“It takes a community to build a community”
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