Treatise of Manner

As I woke up late today, I did not get to prepare salad udon for Jun, therefore he suggested that we eat out today at Sukiya, a family restaurant serving food in large bowls to fill up one’s hungry stomach in an affordable price. Upon finishing our lunch, I had used the rice spoon to scope my miso soup and to Jun’s amusement he said, “You are a foreigner! Japanese uses ‘chopstick’ to drink miso”. In return to his statement, said, “You are Japanese”. We both laughed out loud.

Chopstick – A pair of thin wooden or ivory sticks used as eating utensils, especially in Asian countries is not a tool to be looked down as, in my humble opinion. This tool, age of 5000 years old was first used in China. Early Asians would retrieve the food from the fire using sticks or branches.

Subsequently, as the population grew and resources became scare, people would cut food into smaller pieces to save fuel because smaller portions cooked faster. Chopsticks became the utensils of choice partly because of the influences of Confucianism. Confucius had taught that, no knives are allowed on the dining table as the sharp tools remind people of slaughter of animals.

By 500 A.D, the use of chopsticks had spread to countries such as Korean, Vietnam and Japan. Japanese chopsticks are slightly different from the Chinese and the Koreans. Japanese chopsticks (7 to 8 inches long) are slightly shorter than their Chinese counterparts (9 to 10 inches long) and are typically rounder and sharper at the end of the end.

Even though I grew up eating dinners with my Chinese parents, my parents had never really emphasized on using chopsticks as our main tool to pick our food. On the other hand, Jun’s parents had strictly taught him and his younger brother the art of holding chopsticks since they were young. Picking up green beans with their chopsticks from bowl A to bowl B was part of the process of mastering the art of holding the chopstick as I was informed.

Nevertheless, no matter how hard I tried to control my chopstick with my third finger, it does not seem to work for me. Eventually, I ended holding my two rectangular sticks like how I would hold my pencil. Jun had expressed to me that holding the chopstick correctly is part of Japanese culture. Unfortunately, there are some Japanese who had failed to teach their children how to hold the chopstick correctly and the children ended up holding the chopsticks in the weirdest way and it’s a shame a its bad etiquette.

After he had said the above statements to me, I realized I should actually practice the right way to hold my chopstick in order to avoid bad etiquette on the table. The process of learning how to hold the sticks correctly will cause much frustration on me as I anticipated. In spite of my frustration, I supposed, at the end when I mastered the art of holding my chopstick, I will be praised for holding the chopstick correctly in the family and it will be a good example for my kids in the future.

Lastly but not least, it has been said that using chopsticks improves one’s memory, increases finger dexterity and can be useful in Chinese character printing and brush painting. There are superstitious revolve around the chopsticks as well. For example, if you drop your chopsticks, it’s a sign of bad luck. Whether you believe it or not, I agree that improving the dexterity of one’s fingers are definitely beneficial for one’s health.

Most Spoken Languages

1. Mandarin language - China

The highest number of speakers use Mandarin language the number of speakers are crossed 1 billion plus, it is the most widely spoken language on the planet which is based in the most populated country on the planet, China. Speaking Mandarin can be really tough, because each word can be pronounced in four ways (or "tones"), and a beginner will invariably have trouble distinguishing one tone from another.

To say "hello" in Mandarin, say "Ni hao" (Nee HaOW). The "Hao" is pronounced as one syllable, but the tone requires that you let your voice drop midway, and then raise it again at the end.

2. English

While English doesn't have the most speakers, it is the official language of more countries than any other language. Its speakers hail from all around the world, including the U.S., Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, Canada.

3. Hindustani - Number of speakers: 497 million

Hindustani is the primary language of India's crowded population, and it encompasses a huge number of dialects of which the most commonly spoken is Hindi. Many predict that the population of India will soon surpass that of China, the prominence of English in India prevents Hindustani from surpassing the most popular language in the world.

To say "hello" in Hindustani, say "Namaste".

4. Spanish

Spanish is spoken in just about every South American and Central American country, Spain, Cuba, and the U.S. There is a particular interest in Spanish in the U.S., as many English words are borrowed from the language, including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla, enchilada, and taco grande supreme.

To say "hello" in Spanish, say "Hola".

5. Russian

One of the six languages in the UN, Russian is spoken not only in the Mother Country, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the U.S.

To say "hello" in Russian, say "Zdravstvuite" (ZDRAST-vet- yah).

6. Arabic

Arabic, one of the world's oldest languages, is spoken in the Middle East, with speakers found in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Because Arabic is the language of the Koran, millions of Moslems in other countries speak Arabic as well. So many people have a working knowledge of Arabic, in 1974 it was made the sixth official language of the United Nations.

To say "hello" in Arabic, say "Al salaam a'alaykum" .

7. Bengali - Number of speakers: 211 million

In Bangladesh, a country of 120+ million people, just about everybody speaks Bengali. And because Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India, the number of Bengali speakers in the world is much higher than people would expect.

To say "hello" in Bengali, say "Ei Je" (eye-jay).

8. Portuguese

In the 12th Century, Portugal won its independence from Spain and expanded all over the world with the help of its famous explorers like Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator. Because Portugal got in so early on the exploring game, the language established itself all over the world, especially in Brazil where it's the national language, Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.

To say "hello" in Portuguese, say "Bom dia" (bohn dee-ah).

9. Malay - Indonesia

Malay Language is spoken in Malaysia and Indonesia. There are many dialects of Malay, the most popular of which is Indonesian. But they're all pretty much based on the same root language, which is the ninth most-spoken in the world.

To say "hello" in Indonesian, say "Selamat pagi" (se-la-maht pa-gee).

10. French

French often called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken in countries like Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon, Haiti and France.

To say "hello" in French, say "Bonjour" (bone-joor).