„Do good things and spread the news!“
This may sound self-evident – at least in European business culture. What is regarded as common sense in one culture could easily be interpreted as an arrogant gesture in another. In Japan, people value modesty in their actions. An old Japanese proverb says: “Do good things but keep your silence.”
This is only one of innumerable examples which illustrate the inadequacy of literal translations. You can avoid misunderstanding in intercultural communications only by respecting and understanding different ways of thinking. After all, language is a medium for the expression of a culture.
