News, actualités, Nachrichten, noticias, notícias

Reading the news in the language we are learning is a wonderful way to train that language and get to know the culture and the way speakers of that language see the world. News media around the world usually organize themselves in an identical structure. Furthermore, some of the world news is the same, so one can read the same news in newspapers from different countries. This will give you the chance to compare the way each country sees the world, what they value, and the words they use to describe the same things.

Nowadays, some reference media have versions in different languages. For example, Euronews is available in 17 languages, including Arabic and Persian. However, be aware that it doesn’t necessarily mean that all versions have the same news or, if they have, the article will be exactly the same. Editions are independent from each other. National media may also have news available in different languages. For example, Deutsche Welle (DW) is a German TV channel and its website is available in 29 languages.

Below, we compare the basic structure of news media in English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Let’s start with the basics. How do you say “journalism” and “journalists” in French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese?

And what types of news media there are?

Journalists are always looking for the latest news, preferably before all the others. So, all news media have a main sector, on the front page, for this kind of news.

Journalists can write different types of pieces. Each one has its rules, for example, a specific number of words.

The news are divided into different sections, each one with their own journalists and somewhat independent. Each news media have their own sections and even the same sections may have different names. The “traditional” sections (let’s call them like that) are:

Then, news media have more specialised themes, like the following:

Homeland, patrie, Heimat, patria, pátria

It is a well-known fact that Europe was devastated many times due to numerous wars throughout the centuries and, consequently, frontiers changed frequently. At that time, kingdoms and empires were really a collection of principalities and counties. The rulers of those territories would pledge their allegiance to the King or the Emperor and they were under their authority from then onwards. Common people didn’t feel they belonged to a country or that they had a nationality. They would feel they would belong to a religion or a region.

Nationalism is a political ideology that aims to make people believe they have a national identity superior to all others. This means that only a group of people (those who are part of a certain identity and possess certain characteristics) are part of a “nation”. On the other hand, patriotism is the love for one’s country and includes everyone who was born there (or acquired its citizenship) regardless of the characteristics they may have. The difference may be thin, but it does exist.

Below, we will discuss patriotism in a linguistic (and cultural) perspective.

In English (Homeland) and in German (Heimat), the country where people are born is considered their “home”. In fact, when they are abroad and they say they are going back to their own country they usually say they are “going home”. Latin languages like Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese use variations of the Latin word patria, which means “country of birth”. That is a fact. In some countries, like in Germany and in the Netherlands, homeland can be called as fatherland whereas in other countries, like in Latvia and in Russia, it can be called as motherland. In these countries, the homeland is seen as a parent who nurtures and takes care of them since they were born and it will always be there for them.

Each country has two main dimensions of action: inside the country and outside. Their designation depends on how they see the world.

1) These are the departments, offices or ministries related to matters inside the country

. USA | Homeland Security
. UK | Home Office
. Australia | Home Affairs
. Germany | Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat [Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community]
. France | Ministère de l’Intérieur et des Outre-mer [Ministry of the Interior]
. Italy | Ministero Interno [ Ministry of the Interior]
. Spain | Ministerio del Interior [ Minister for Home Affairs]
. Portugal | Ministério da Administração Interna [Ministry of Home Affairs]

As we can see, in English speaking countries, the department/ office/ ministry related to these matters are called “Home”. Once again, we can confirm that the country of birth is like home for them and they manage country matters as they manage their own home. In fact, one of the most important economic indicators, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), also refers to “domestic”, that is, home. In Latin countries the GDP is Gross National Product (word-by-word translation). They don’t use home-related words in any case.

Latin countries designate this ministry (all of them refer to them as ministry and not as a department or an office) as the Ministry of the Interior (with some differences), which also happens in Germany. Interestingly, in the latter, the Ministry is called “Federal Ministry of the Interior and for the Homeland” (word-by-word translation), but they are officially translated by “Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community”. For some reason, they decided to replace “Homeland” by “Community” in the English version. Here we again see that these countries tell exactly what the matters are about: the interior of the country.

2) These are the departments, offices or ministries related to matters outside the country

. USA | Department of State
. UK | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
. Australia | Foreign Affairs and Trade
. Germany | Auswärtiges Amt [Federal Foreign Office]
. France | Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères [Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs]
. Italy | Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale [Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]
. Spain | Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación [Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation]
. Portugal | Ministério de Estado e dos Negócios Estrangeiros [Ministry of State and Foreign Affairs]

The names for the departments/ offices/ ministries related to matters outside the country have much more differences between them. The USA calls it “Department of State”, which is weird as they seem to not consider international relations as an international matter. In a way, UK also has a vision that it is their responsibility to develop the world, especially the countries belonging to the Commonwealth (the former British colonies).

Italy and Spain are also interested in international cooperation, not as their responsibility, but as a partnership. Spain and France consider the European Union and Europe (this difference is not by chance) important enough to be part of the name of the ministry.

In Portugal, the current government also linked the State with the Foreign Affairs. Interestingly, in Portuguese, the Ministry is called “Ministry of State and Foreign Business” (word-by-word translation), which means that this ministry is about international business. International trade is also a great concern for Australia.

Lawns, cherries, cows, and chickens

Proverbs or sayings are one of the best ways to get to know the culture of a country, or a language. A language is developed according to the place where it is born. That is why snowy countries have many words for snow and words and expressions related to the sea are common in coastal countries. Of course, with colonialism and the imposition of European languages in other parts of the world, this got a little distorted. However, European languages are evolving differently in each part of the world where they were introduced. This means that European languages are adapting themselves to other realities. That is why we have British English, American English, and Australian English, for example. It is the same language (English), but with specificities in each region. Even British English is not as harmonious as people might think.

As people are similar everywhere, some proverbs or sayings have the same meaning although they are presented differently, according to the reality of each language. On the other hand, there are those which are unique and don’t have a direct equivalence. When translating these, chances are they need to be explained rather than translated.

Let’s analyse a practical example, comparing an English proverb with its equivalent in French, Germany, Spanish, and Portuguese:

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Gardens are very important in England, especially the private little gardens attached to individual houses. Together with the weather, gardening is the top topic of conversation. These gardens are usually limited by fences, which are also the boundary between gardens. It is part of human nature to compare what we have with what others have. Usually, we believe that other people’s lives are better than ours (partly because each person tries to show that their own life is better). So, by comparing the grass of their own garden with the neighbour’s grass, people are led to believe that the neighbour’s grass is greener, thus, more beautiful.

In French, the expression with the same meaning is:

L’herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs.
TRANSLATION word by word: The grass is always greener somewhere else.

Basically, the metaphor is the same, but a little more wide-ranging. Instead of referring to the little garden next door, they talk about any grass anywhere else but there. It could be the grass from the nearest village or the grass on the other side of the country. Everywhere is better than where one is.

In Germany, the equivalent expression is:

Kirschen in Nachbars Garten schmecken immer besser.
TRANSLATION word by word: Cherries in the neighbour’s garden always taste better.

In Germany, the comparison is not about grass, but cherries. This means that German people have fruit trees in their backyards and value them more than gardens. Probably, the kids often go to other people’s property and steal fruit. Why cherries and not other fruit? As cherries like cold, the fact that it snows abundantly in Germany makes it perfect weather for them.

In Spain, it isn’t about grass or fruit trees, but animals:

Vacas ajenas dan mejor carne.
TRANSLATION word by word: Other cows give tastier meat.

Cows are very important in Spain. Besides fighting bulls, Spanish people like to eat beef. So, raising cattle is a popular activity and the quality of beef is very important.

Finally, in Portugal, the expression is also about farm animals, but a different kind of animal:

A galinha da vizinha é mais gorda que a minha.
TRANSLATION word by word: The neighbour’s chicken is fatter than mine.

In the Portuguese countryside, everyone has chickens. Everyone, no exceptions. So, chickens are very important as they provide eggs and meat. The aim is to get them fat because the fatter they are, the more meat will be there to cook.