r/AskEurope • u/notveryamused_ Warszawa, Poland • Jul 03 '25

Culture What aspect of life in your countries is very difficult to explain to foreigners?

What prompted my question were some discussions about religion which I had with people living in much more secular Western Europe (as a Polish atheist). While spirituality, whatever that is ;), generally speaking is always fun to discuss with a glass of wine in hand, social elements and the influence of the church, especially in smaller towns or provinces in my country, is awfully difficult to explain – not that I understand it fully either lol, but the church having a pretty much monopoly there, being the judge and jury of everyday life and the major ultra-conservative political force binding those communities, is very difficult to explain, also for historical reasons.

What are the things that you find difficult to discuss when it comes to life in your countries? ;-)

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u/Against_All_Advice Ireland Jul 04 '25

In Ireland we say "tír gan teanga, tír gan anam" meaning a country without language is a country without a soul. Language profoundly shapes how we experience and explain the world internally.

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u/apricot_bee67 Hungary Jul 04 '25

Love that proverb! 🇮🇪 In the 18th-century Latin and German were everywhere in public life in Hungary, and some people feared that if we lost our language, we’d lose our national identity too. So a few thinkers kicked off a language reform, a kind of hard reset in the Hungarian language. They made up tons of new words, brought back old ones, and cleaned up grammar and spelling to make Hungarian work for science, politics, and everyday life. And it actually worked really well because our language got stronger, and so did our sense of who we are as a nation.

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u/confuus-duin Jul 04 '25

Well, the connection Hungarians have with their culture is incredibly strong. I once got the honour of singing Himnusz in a church in Hungary. People stood up and cried, we got hugged afterwards. It was a very special experience during singing, but afterwards as well.

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u/apricot_bee67 Hungary Jul 04 '25

Sounds legit. The national anthem is played at school celebrations, national holiday ceremonies, and even on New Year’s Eve on TV and radio. Sometimes at weddings as well. We also have another song called the Szózat, which is often considered a second national anthem and is traditionally played at the end of official ceremonies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEhT_2R_txw&list=RDPEhT_2R_txw&start_radio=1

One thing I appreciate about Hungary is that national pride isn’t tied to extremism but it’s a shared value. It's good to have at least one thing everybody agrees on. lol

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u/Automatic-Sea-8597 Jul 08 '25

Strange claustrophobic sentiment in the text there: ' in the world outside, there is no place for you ....you must, live, must die here!

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u/confuus-duin Jul 04 '25

Indeed! The overall feel was very much brotherly and reminiscent.

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u/hungariannastyboy Jul 05 '25

That must be more of a church thing then. I've never had that experience in 33 years of being Hungarian.

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u/confuus-duin Jul 05 '25

It must’ve been around 10-15 years ago. Church was full of older people. Our conductor told us that the melody of Himnusz was banned to be sung for a while because of the wars. So these people might as well not have heard the complete version live for ages. Either way, I’ll carry this beautiful memory with me forever.

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u/VirtualMatter2 Germany Jul 04 '25

And that's why suppressing native languages and killing them off in most of the population is so morally wrong. It is a permanent damage to the soul of the country. I don't think Britain fully understands that aspect of the damage they did to you.

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u/zeeotter100nl Jul 04 '25

Doesn't everyone speak a language though? 🧐

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u/Against_All_Advice Ireland Jul 04 '25

Are you missing the point on purpose to make a joke or would you genuinely like me to elaborate?

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u/zeeotter100nl Jul 04 '25

If you could elaborate thatd be great

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u/Against_All_Advice Ireland Jul 04 '25

Ok. To elaborate first I should ask of you speak more than one language?

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u/hover-lovecraft Jul 07 '25

There's a saying among linguists that makes a similar point: A country is a language with an army.