Tuesday, December 04, 2012

The University of Tsukuba Cross Cultural Awareness and English Trimester 3 Week 1



Hello everyone!
I hope you are rested and relaxed after the break. Today we start a new trimester and a new topic - Love and Marriage. To begin, let's make a list of words we know related to love and marriage.

 As the song says, "Love and Marriage" go together like a horse and carriage. "Love" and "marriage", and "horse" and "carriage" are collocations. (コロケーション、語と語のつながり、語の配列、連語(法)、連語構成語) Can you think of any more collocations related to the topic of love and marriage? With your partner, please make a list.

Now, let's learn some vocabulary. Please click the link: Cross Cultural Awareness and English Vocabulary. Please add any words on page 122 in your textbook that you don't know to our vocabulary flashcards. After that, please study the flashcards for 5 minutes. 

Our first reading is about a marriage tradition in Botswana. Please look at the map below. Where is Botswana? The titles of our first reading is Brides for Sale. What do you think you will learn from the reading? Finally, please leave a comment. Do you think that marriage must include love? See you next week!

6 comments:

  1. Lobola is a kind of marriage institution of Africa. It may be complicated and confusing for the young couple. But I think there is a similar custom here in Japan. It is a ceremony of exchanging betrothal gifts. It’s called Yuino that groom’s family give betrothal money and gift to the bride’s and bride’s family give back 10% to the groom’s in Kansai area. It seems like, that families who perform the ceremony in Japan is decreasing though. I think Lobola is not just to buy a bride from bride’s family. It is a sanctity and dignity ceremony to promote a stable and harmonious union. But I would like to say the rights to choose must exist.

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  2. I think marriage include love. But it’s not only love. Marriage will also make up a relationship between both of them and their family. Love is not so long but affection is forever. Marriage will generate affection. I think it is okay if there is marriage not included love at first.

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  3. Hi, Michael

    Here`s my opinion.

    I think it doesn`t matter if marriage includes love or not.We just need to think how we make family happy.
    Of course I`d like to fall in love someone and then I`d like to get married him,but I`m not sure love lasts forever.I hope it lasts as long as possible,but nobody know it.
    I think if love exists in a family, it often makes family relationship strong.
    In Japan, it has been considered when women get married, they often become a part of husband`s family. Sometimes men become a part of wife`s family.Because we think we have to keep things which are inherited from our ancestors. In my case, I`m the oldest of three sisters. So my parents wanted me to take over assets and look after them.It means my husband in the future need to become a part of my family,but it has been put pressure on me for a long time. I think we have to respect each culture, but sometimes it becomes
    a burden of stress or money for someone.I felt that my situation was like a spellbinding for me. I just wanted to choose my life by myself. I`m still complicated(>_<)
    About lobola, if both groom and bride`s family are happy with their marriage, I don`t care anything.

    OMG!!!I can`t find clear answer...

    See you next class!

    Kyoko

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  4. Akiho.T3:03 pm

    I think marriage includes love. But seen in Lobola, other elements, such as money, firmily relationships and so on, are also important. So I think love is not all.


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  5. Miyu . K10:41 am

    I think marriage don't have to include love.
    Because we can maybe make a family without love.
    But the family without love doesn't last long.
    I think marriage with love and family with love is very happy and lasts long time.
    So marriage don't have to include love, but it had better have love to make happy family.

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  6. Arisa.I10:57 pm

    I think marriage must include love. Of course,we can get marriage without love, actually some people get marriage for money. But,it is so insipid. I think marriage without love doesn't continue. Love is power to overcome hardship. After that, we can grow up to be true family without love.

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