The Phrase Thank God - Essay Example

Thank God Thank God, a commonly used phrase in the Saudi Arabia context has contrasting meaning among its various users. With its meaning indicating appreciation, gratitude and acknowledgment to a supreme being, differences in the context of its use in most cases is a major reason for the contrasting uses of the phrase. In most cases however, Saudi Arabians, especially the highly conservative and spiritual cultures with a high desire for divine intervention, people excessively use the phrase. Since Saudi Arabia is a highly religious region, with a strong Muslim presence, many people use the phrase as an expression of gratitude to Allah. It is important to understand that the respect that people accord to the Supreme Being, coupled with the need to show respect that prompts them to use the phrase. Subsequently, virtually everybody in Saudi Arabia uses the phrase in his or her daily lives. In most cases, people use the “Thank God” as a way of showing mercifulness and as a gratification sign to a higher power (Bedu web). In Islam, Allah is the only God, whom every person regards as the source of power and the source of all the blessings. Others use the word to express reprieve to Allah. In most instances, people use this phrase when they have gotten out of trouble or when they sneeze and in some cases at the ends of their meals. Because the Muslim tradition and customs demand that all Muslims show courtesy and humility in everything they do as well as any adversity that may befall them, more often than not, they find themselves using this phrase. Normally, one uses this word after God has salvaged them from adversity. Additionally, they also use the word when they manage extremely challenging things under unavoidable circumstances (“Helen Ziagler & associates”, web). All people in the region use the phrase, regardless of their age or gender. Culture affects the behavior of an individual. Culture describes the acceptable way of life of a particular group of people. The ideal practices allowed by a group of people define their culture. Communication, especially clichés, phrases, and statements common in a particular group of people affect their speech. Within every social and cultural context, there are common phrases used in different situations (Lefrançois 32). Subsequently, as one grows old, accustoming to the accepted way of life of the society, common phrases in the culture become part of their daily language. As such, all people in the Saudi Arabia religion are used to the phrase, “Thank God”, whether young or old. Psychologists argue that through classical conditioning and cognitive theories of development determine the behavior of the people. As people grow up, they pick the common traits among the people in the society (Aldamer web). This explains why there is a general acceptability of the phrase among the Saudi Arabian religion. However, not everybody in the region is a Muslim. With the current rate of globalization, there is an increase in the number of Christians living in the Saudi Arabian region. While some are business people, others come in the region to work in the multinationals setting camp in the fast growing region. A spot check on these people reveals that they too use the phrase just as every Saudi Arabian native. Influence of the environment explains this development. People adopt different culture traits from the society they live in (Lefrançois 42). As they mingle with the people living in the region, they start embracing some of the cultural traits, especially their language and mannerisms. Others adopt the culture to have a sense of belonging. As few people want to appear aliens in the Saudi Arabian region, they adopt the same language as the natives, thereby embracing the phrase in their communication. Vice Vice, whose meaning denotes immortal or wicked behavior, is a common word in the Saudi Arabian context. The highly religious people in Saudi Arabia regard morality and integrity in their social cultural context. More often than not, they use the word to denote a behavior contravening the normal and accepted way of life. As Islam is a highly conservative religion, people keep an eye on each other, correcting themselves whenever they tend to go wrong. It is with this regard that vice becomes increasingly important. Islam does not specially treat people with their age. Rather, it regards all people equal in the eyes of God. As such, all age groups ranging from the children to the elderly use this word in certain occasions especially when a person exhibits an unbecoming behavior. Whether young people or adults, the Saudi people tell them the word ‘vice’ in order to dissuade them from doing such vices again. Causing embarrassment is one of the main reasons why most of the Saudi Arabian people use the word. Good behavior is part of the Saudi Arabian culture. Further, proper mannerisms are an important integral in achieving a God-fearing and moral society. rarely does negative behavior go unnoticed, while people are keen to notice and try to rectify any mistakes from the society. Therefore, whenever a person commits a mistake or behaves in an unacceptable manner, the use of the word vice on the person seeks to embarrass the person, urging them not to repeat the behavior. When it comes to the main reason as to why people use this word, it is important to mention that the objective is to cause embarrassment to the victim so that they do not behave badly again. People who repeat the same mistakes that they did receive considerable criticisms, thus making them resent their negative behavior. Saudi Arabia believes in the concept of high personal integrity, especially because of the common belief in the ‘service to humanity’. Hence, any unbecoming behavior is highly rebuked in this nation. Further, the fact that people should be each other’s keeper is one of the main reasons why any mistake in the society will rarely go unnoticed. The most common way of passing this rebuke to the wrongdoers is through the use the word ‘vice’. The old people however use the word more on the young children and the youth. In fact, there has been an increase in the use of the word among the mature generation cautioning the young of their recent behavioral mannerisms. The adult people hold the biggest responsibility of ensuring positive behavior among the young people as they grow up. Saudi Arabia, being an extremely conservative culture, especially with the practices among the people, the old and mature people has to keep an eye on the young (“Culture & Art” web). They teach them the accepted ways of life, the best cultural practices and whet to avoid according to their culture. However, recent changes in the society have increased the use of the word. The old people agree that the recent increase in the western culture among the local youth, especially women require more guidance from the older generations (Aldamer web). The kind attire portrayed by the western cultures, coupled with the youthful ways of having fun have caught up with the Saudi Arabian youth. They perceive this as the ideal way of life, which in most cases is not true. Commonly contexts in which the old use ‘vice’ among the young include the dressing codes, especially among the young women, the kind of movies they watch and the music they listen. Further, with the rise in the need for the young people to have intimate relationships has contributed to an increase in teenage sexuality among the youth. This has considerably eroded the culture of the Saudi Arabian (“Culture & Art” web). Hence, there is an increase in the use of the word among these individuals, cautioning them of the best way of life. However, users of the word in most cases cite the Quran as the holy book that gives people the way and guides our practices. Further, because the old people have had adequate experience in various situations, they hold the responsibility of guiding the young generations. Despite the generational change, there are various cultural practices, which every person should embrace, young or old. These form the major concern for the old generation, whenever the young appear too carried by westernization. Hence, vice has become an important word among the people, seeking to instill good morals and proper mannerisms among the people. Works Cited Aldamer, Abdullah. How Culture Molds Us, n.d. web http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/geog1000/Sidebar/SaudiCulture.html Bedu, American. Lets learn some Arabic, 2008. web. http://americanbedu.com/2008/12/19/lets-learn-some-saudi-arabic-some-essential-and-useful-words/ Culture & Art. Saudi Arabia. 2014, Web. http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/culture_art/ Helen Ziagler & associates, Basic Arabic Phrases, web. http://www.fodors.com/language/arabic/basic-phrases/ Lefrançois, Guy. R. (2012). Theories of human learning: What the professor said. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Read More