Mosquitoes’ hissing pierced the silence of the parking lot.
Lisa tiptoed towards her car thinking “Night shows? Not anymore!”
She clutched the door to open.
The power went off.
A red eyed machete man approached her from behind slowly…
He grabbed the remote from his mother “I want to watch IPL” and killed the serial!
– Din
Amartya Sen’s speech – Commonwealth education conference, Edinburgh – 2003
It’s a great privilege for me to have the opportunity of speaking at this meeting of Commonwealth countries on education. I am also very happy that you have chosen Edinburgh as the venue of this important conference. I am very proud of my own association with Edinburgh, through being an alumnus of two universities here, Edinburgh University and Heriot-Watt University (admittedly my connections are only through honorary degrees but they generate a sense of closeness to the real students here), and also through belonging to the Royal Society of Edinburgh and having other associations with this great city. So I welcome you to beautiful Edinburgh and to its wonderful intellectual community, of which I am privileged to be a nomadic member, as something of an academic gypsy. But to this welcome I must add my belief that there could not be a better place for a meeting on “closing the gap” in education than the city of Adam Smith and David Hume, the earliest and greatest champions of education for all.
Why is it so important to close the educational gaps, and to remove the enormous disparities in educational access, inclusion and achievement? One reason, among others, is the importance of this for making the world more secure as well as more fair. HG Wells was not exaggerating when he said, in his Outline of History: “human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” If we continue to leave vast sections of the people of the world outside the orbit of education, we make the world not only less just, but also less secure.
The precariousness of the world is now greater than it already was in HG Wells’s time in early twentieth century. Indeed, since the terrible events of September 11, 2001 – and what followed after that – the world has been very aware of problems of physical insecurity. But human insecurity comes in many different ways – not just though terrorism and violence. Indeed, even on the very day of September 11, 2001, more people died from Aids than from physical violence including the atrocity in New York. Human insecurity can develop in many different ways, and physical violence is only one of them. While it is important to fight terrorism and genocide (and in this too, education can have a big role, as I will presently discuss), we must also recognise the plural nature of human insecurity and its diverse manifestations.
As it happens, widening the coverage and effectiveness of basic education can have a powerfully preventive role in reducing human insecurity of nearly every kind. It is useful to consider briefly the different ways in which removing discrepancies and neglects in education can contribute to reducing human insecurity across the world.
The most basic issue relates to the elementary fact that illiteracy and innumeracy are forms of insecurity in themselves. Not to be able to read or write or count or communicate is a tremendous deprivation. The extreme case of insecurity is the certainty of deprivation, and the absence of any chance of avoiding that fate. The first and most immediate contribution of successful school education is a direct reduction of this basic deprivation – this extreme insecurity – which continues to ruin the lives of a large part of the global population, not least in the Commonwealth.
The difference that basic education can make to human life is easy to see. It is also readily appreciated even by the poorest of families. Speaking personally, it has been wonderful for me to observe how easily the importance of education is perceived even by the poorest and the most deprived of families. This emerges from some studies on primary education in India that we are currently undertaking (through the “Pratichi Trust” – a trust aimed at basic education and gender equity that I have been privileged to set up in India and Bangladesh through using my Nobel Prize money from 1998). As the results of our studies come in, it is remarkable to find how the parents from even the poorest and most depressed families long to give basic education to their children, to make them grow up without the terrible handicaps from which they – the parents – had themselves suffered.
Indeed, contrary to claims often made, we have not observed any basic reluctance by parents to send their children – daughters as well as boys – to school, provided affordable, effective and safe schooling opportunities actually exist in their neighbourhood. Of course, there are many obstacles in giving shape to the dreams of parents. The economic circumstances of the families often make it very hard for them to send their children to school, particularly when there are fees to be paid.
The obstacle of unaffordability must be firmly removed across the Commonwealth – indeed the world. I am, of course, aware that some champions of the market system want to leave school fees to the market forces. But this cannot but be a mistake given the social obligation to give the essential opportunity of schooling to all children. Indeed, Adam Smith, who provided the classic analysis of the power and reach of the market mechanism two and quarter centuries ago, wrote eloquently, sitting in Kirkcaldy (not far from here), why it would be wrong to leave this to the market:
For a very small expence the publick can facilitate, can encourage, and can even impose upon almost the whole body of the people, the necessity of acquiring those most essential parts of education.
There are other obstacles too. Sometimes the schools are very thinly staffed (many primary schools in developing countries have only one teacher), and parents are often worried about the safety of children, especially girl children (particularly in case the teacher fails to turn up, which seems to happen often enough in many of the poorer countries). Quite often, the parents’ reluctance has a rational basis, and these gaps too need to be addressed.
There are other barriers as well. Very poor families often rely on labour contributions from everyone, even the children, and this can compete with the demands of schooling. This unfortunate practice, though generated out of hardship, must also be removed, through regulation as well as by making the economic benefits of schooling clearer to all. This brings us to the second issue in understanding the contribution of schooling in removing human insecurity. Basic education can be very important in helping people to get jobs and gainful employment. This economic connection, while always present, is particularly critical in a rapidly globalising world in which quality control and production according to strict specification can be crucial.
Not surprisingly, all the cases of speedy use of the opportunities of global commerce for the reduction of poverty have drawn on help from basic education on a wide basis. For example, in Japan, already in the mid-19th century the task was seen with remarkable clarity. The Fundamental Code of Education, issued in 1872 (shortly after the Meiji restoration in 1868), expressed the public commitment to make sure that there must be “no community with an illiterate family, nor a family with an illiterate person”. Thus – with the closing of educational gaps – began Japan’s remarkable history of rapid economic development. By 1910 Japan was almost fully literate, at least for the young, and by 1913, though still very much poorer than Britain or America, Japan was publishing more books than Britain and more than twice as many as the United States. The concentration on education determined, to a large extent, the nature and speed of Japan’s economic and social progress.
Later on, particularly in the second half of the 20th century, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other economies in East Asia followed similar routes and firmly focused on general expansion of education. Widespread participation in a global economy would have been hard to accomplish if people could not read or write, or produce according to specifications or instructions, or to have quality control.
Third, when people are illiterate, their ability to understand and invoke their legal rights can be very limited, and educational neglect can also lead to other kinds of deprivation. Indeed, this tends to be a persistent problem for people at the bottom of the ladder, whose rights are often effectively alienated because of their inability to read and see what they are entitled to demand and how. The educational gap clearly has a class connection.
It also has a gender connection since it can be a very important issue for women’s security. Women are often deprived of their due, thanks to illiteracy. Not being able to read or write is a significant barrier for underprivileged women, since this can lead to their failure to make use even of the rather limited rights they may legally have (say, to own land, or other property, or to appeal against unfair judgment and unjust treatment). There are often legal rights in rulebooks that are not used because the aggrieved parties cannot read those rulebooks. Gaps in schooling can, thus, directly lead to insecurity by distancing the deprived from the ways and means of fighting against that deprivation.
Fourth, illiteracy can also muffle the political opportunities of the underdog, by reducing their ability to participate in political arena and to express their demands effectively. This can contribute directly to their insecurity, since the absence of voice in politics can entail a severe reduction of influence and the likelihood of just treatment of those who are kept on the wrong side of the gap.
Fifth, basic education can play a major role in tackling health problems in general and epidemics in particular. It is easy to see the importance of specialised health education (for example, on the way infections spread and how diseases can be prevented). But even general education can broaden a person’s lines of thinking and generate social understanding in ways that may be extremely important in facing epidemiological problems. Indeed, some studies have suggested that general school education has a bigger impact on health than specialised health education itself has.
Sixth, empirical work in recent years has brought out very clearly how the relative respect and regard for women’s well-being is strongly influenced by women’s literacy and educated participation in decisions within and outside the family. Even the survival disadvantage of women compared with men in many developing countries (which leads to such terrible phenomenon as a hundred million of “missing women”) seems to go down sharply – and may even get eliminated – with progress in women’s empowerment, for which literacy is a basic ingredient.
There is also considerable evidence that fertility rates tend to go down sharply with greater empowerment of women. This is not surprising, since the lives that are most battered by the frequent bearing and rearing of children are those of young women, and anything that enhances their decisional power and increases the attention that their interests receive tends, in general, to prevent over-frequent child bearing. For example, in a comparative study of the different districts within India, it has clearly emerged that women’s education and women’s employment are the two most important influences in reducing fertility rates. In that extensive study, female education and employment are the only variables that have a statistically significant impact in explaining variations in fertility rates across more than three hundred districts that make up India. In understanding inter-regional differences, for example the fact the state of Kerala in India has a fertility rate of only 1.7 (which can be roughly interpreted as 1.7 children on average per couple) in contrast with many areas which have four children per couple (or even more), the level of female education provides the most effective explanation.
There is also much evidence that women’s education and literacy tend to reduce the mortality rates of children. These and other connections between basic education of women and the power of women’s agency (and its extensive reach) indicate why the gender gap in education produces heavy social penalties.
I have so far concentrated on gaps in access, inclusion and achievement that differentiate one group of people from another. But this is also a good occasion to reflect a little on the gaps – of a very different kind – that exist in the coverage of the school curriculum. The nature of the curriculum is, of course, of obvious relevance to the development of technical skills (such as computing) that facilitate participation in the contemporary world. But there are also other issues involved, since schooling can be deeply influential in the identity of a person and the way we see ourselves and each other.
This issue has received some attention recently in the special context of the role of fundamentalist religious schools, and there is need to pay attention to the narrowing of horizons, especially of children, that illiberal and intolerant education can produce. It is also important to recognise that lack of public facilities for the schooling of children often contributes greatly to the appeal and popularity of religious schools run by political militants.
Indeed, the nature of education is quite central to peace in the world. Recently the very deceptive perspective of the so-called “clash of civilisations” (championed particularly by Samuel Huntington) has gained much currency. It is important to see that what is most immediately divisive in this kind of theorising is not the silly idea of the inevitability of a clash (that too, but it comes later), but the equally shallow prior insistence on seeing human beings in terms of one dimension only, regarding them just as members of one civilisation or another (defined mostly in terms of religion), ignoring their other affiliations and involvements.
There are two mistakes here. First, the classification is very crude. For example, India is put in the box of Hindu civilisation, even though with its 130 million Muslims (more than the entire British and French populations put together), India has many more Muslims than most so-called “Muslim countries” in the world. Huntington’s classification gives comfort only to Hindu sectarians.
The second mistake is to assume that a person’s religion defines him or her reasonably adequately. But every human being’s identities have many different components, related to nationality, language, location, class, occupation, history, religion, political beliefs, and so on. A Bangladeshi Muslim is not only a Muslim, but also a Bengali and possibly quite proud of the richness of the Bengali literature and other cultural achievements. Similarly, the history of the Arab world with which an Arab child today can potentially related is not only the achievements of Islam (important as they are), but also the great secular accomplishments in mathematics, science and literature which are part and parcel of Arab history. Even today when a scientist in, say, the Imperial College uses an “algorithm,” he or she unconsciously celebrates the innovativeness of the ninth-century Arab mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, from whose name the term algorithm is derived (the term “algebra” comes from his book, “Al Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah”).
To define people just in terms of religion-based classification of civilisations can itself contribute to political insecurity, since in this view people are seen as simply belonging to, say, “the Muslim world,” or “the Western world,” or “the Hindu world,” or “the Buddhist world,” and so on. To ignore everything other than religion in classifying people is to set people up in potentially belligerent camps. I personally believe that even the UK government makes a mistake in expanding, rather than reducing faith-based state schools, adding for example Muslim schools, Hindu schools and Sikh schools to pre-existing Christian ones, especially when the new religious schools leave children very little opportunity to cultivate reasoned choice and decide how the various components of their identities (related respectively to language, literature, religion, ethnicity, cultural history, scientific interests, etc) should receive attention. There is need not only to discuss the importance of our common humanity, but also to stress the fact that our diversities can take many distinct forms and that we have to use our reasoning to decide how to see ourselves.
The importance of non-sectarian and non-parochial curricula that expand, rather than reduce, the reach of reason can be hard to exaggerate. Shakespeare talked about the fact that “some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” In the schooling of children, we have to make sure that we do not have smallness thrust upon the young.
The idea of the Commonwealth has something to offer on the philosophy behind such a broad approach. The Queen herself, as the head of the Commonwealth, put the basic perspective with clarity and force half a century ago, shortly after her coronation, in 1953:
The Commonwealth … is an entirely new conception built on the highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty and the desire for freedom and peace.
In promoting friendship and loyalty, and in safeguarding the commitment to freedom and peace, basic education can play a vital part. This requires, on the one hand, that the facilities of education be available to all, and on the other, that children be exposed to ideas from many different backgrounds and perspectives and be encouraged to think for themselves and to reason.
Basic education is not just an arrangement for training to develop skills (important as that is), it is also a recognition of the nature of the world, with its diversity and richness, and an appreciation of the importance of freedom and reasoning as well as friendship. The need for that understanding – that vision – has never been stronger.
Amartya Kumar Sen is an Indian economist and philosopher who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. He has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, and indexes of the measure of well-being of citizens of developing countries. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his work in welfare economics.
Courtesy & Source : The Guardian
This is for Non-native English Speakers and Learners 🙂
English is an alien language in our home. May be in your home too if you were born in a family which uses a non-English mother tongue. What happens when your family, friends and neighbours also belong to similar families? Well to know that you can visit Tamil Nadu and many parts of India. Also in China you could explore such a scenario.
Welcome to all English using debutant 🙂
All it had begun with A for Apple, when my father enrolled me in a Matric school. The Experience with English for me and my friends remained only with the books and exams. We had no such strict rules in the 90’s as the present schools have. Yes they had not fined us for speaking in Tamil, so except for writing the tests and homework we never used English elsewhere. This probably the reason we are good at our mother tongue. Now a days kids must have to talk in English within the school campus and even many parents continue the same in their homes.
But we were not! Most of the parents including mine, Tamil is the medium of communication in our homes, and while we friends played cricket or any social gatherings we never used English. Okay, what about learning English as a subject. Well, that typically ended with marks. Especially at higher grades when we had paper II on grammar, our teachers equipped us with special techniques to score marks, even I doubt Oxford Professors may not know their tricks 🙂
My sincere attempts to learn and speak in English had begun when I was in my 5th std, if my memory is correct. I had an opportunity to speak to a foreigner, probably she might be interested to talk to me because I was a little and chubby boy. I managed mostly with “Yes” and “No” and by asking her the questions. Later, I remember an incident at my second school, during my 11th grade. When my English teacher made so many red underlines on a speech that I had prepared, I gave up almost but that incident challenged me to take up the task of learning English so seriously. I pestered my parents to get me The Hindu Newspaper though I hardly understood much of the news, except the Sports page and TV programs’ Schedule. Editorials was never in my options to read.
There was another story why I had decided ‘NO’ to Engineering, though I was a top scorer and opted my graduation in Business Management. So I had no other option to get fluency in English, not for surviving the college but for my future career. I was then still in a rural backdrop, so talking in English in our college was an element to mock a fun. That was the time I decided to break the Ice, we organized regular mini-seminars at lunch breaks and practiced. As expected many made fun on me and a few of my friends who tried it. But eventually I broke my stage fear. In my school days I used to act in Drama and Skits that experience also had helped me in facing people.
One trick I identified was “the mirror experiment”, just like many I also had tried to ask questions and answered them in English. By the time when I got out of my college, I was an odd one out who could speak better English than many. Shyness was the wall which had stopped many of the students, even today many students from rural backdrops still face the same issue.
Then came the next phase, Job Interviews and Professional Arena 🙂 By this time I had moved to Bangalore, so there was no other option for me. Since my academic records are good, all I needed to focus was to take care of my attitude and present myself better in the interview, which I did better to bag my offer letter from Infosys. But I had not joined there 🙂
Then everything happened was like planned, I got into HR field, had begun as a Recruiter, then Executive generalist, then got into other functional areas… Finally, I had been transformed into a Trainer, when I had completed 4 years of my work. Thanks to all stones thrown on my professional and personal life, which helped me shape up myself as a strong personality. When I stepped out of my small town, I was emotionally fragile, for the next four years I had no opportunity to get back to Tamilnadu. So English was my only companion to express my thoughts. Eventually, I got little exposure to Hindi and Telugu as well.
Today, I have developed myself far better than that guy I was in my past. I never compare myself with anyone, I may not be better when compared to the standards of what others perceive, but I am getting better than where I stood yesterday! 🙂 I am still daring to write a blog, scribble some quotes / thoughts, managing to write some stories… Of course, my errors make me a better learner.
There are 3 things that I have learned about learning any alien language 🙂
There are 3 things that you should not do with someone who tries to learn English / other language
- Din
Thanks is one of the most Beautiful Words in any Language! Here is the big list of Thanks in many languages along with the regions / countries where it is spoken.
Help : Press ‘Ctrl’ + ‘F’ on your keyboard, and type to jump to the language / region you want. or SCROLL 🙂
Regions |
Languages |
HOW TO SAY THANKS |
| Afghanistan | Pashto | Tashakkur |
| Afghanistan, Pakistan | Sta na shukria | |
| Africa | Kidavida | Chavucha |
| Kiembu | Ni waro | |
| Kiga | Kazaare | |
| Mwebare | ||
| Osyo | ||
| Otyo | ||
| Webare | ||
| Yebare | ||
| Kikuyu | Ni wega | |
| Thengiu | ||
| Kikwe | Niwega muno | |
| Kinyamwezi | Wabeeja | |
| Kituba | Melesí | |
| Ngbaka | Dé kãã | |
| Ntomba | Ebóto | |
| Ewata | ||
| Alaska | Ahtna | Tsin’aen |
| Deg Xinag | Dogedinh | |
| Xisrigidisddhinh | ||
| Eyak | ‘Awa’ahdah | |
| Gwich’in | Mahsi’ | |
| Mahsi’ choo | ||
| Haida | Háw’aa | |
| Hän | Mahsi’ | |
| Inuktitut | Taikkuu | |
| Koyukon | Anaa basee | |
| Baasee’ | ||
| Suqpiaq | Quyanaa | |
| Tanaina | Chin’an | |
| Tanana | Basee choo | |
| Maasee’ | ||
| Tanana [Upper Tanana] | Tsen’ii | |
| Tsimshian | Way dankoo | |
| Unagan | Qagaasakung | |
| Qaqaasakuq | ||
| Yup’ik | Quyana | |
| Albania | Albanian | Faleminderit |
| Ju falem nderit | ||
| Albania & Kosovo & Serbia | Albanian [Gheg] | Falimineres |
| Alberta Canada, Montana USA | Blackfoot | Nitsíniiyi’taki |
| Algeria | Kabyle | Tamemmirt |
| Amazon | Pa’ikwene | Kibeiné |
| Ancash Peru | Quechua Ancashino | Paylla |
| Andorra, Spain, France | Catalan | Gràcies |
| Mercès | ||
| Angola | Kimbundu | Matondo |
| Ngasakidila | ||
| Sakidila | ||
| Angola, Namibia | Ambo | Ondapandula unene |
| Kwanyama | Nda pandula | |
| Aragon Spain | Aragonese | Grazias |
| Arizona USA | Apache | Ashoge |
| Apache [Jicarilla] | Ihe edn | |
| Armenia | Armenian | Merci [colloquial] |
| Armenia, Russia, Middle East | Shnorhagallem | |
| Shterakravetsun | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh India | Nisi | Pajaliptso |
| Australia | Gumatj | Ga’ |
| Gurrangung | Yaddung jee | |
| Kala Kawaw Ya | Eso | |
| Kaurareg | Eso | |
| Kutthung | Murromboo | |
| Mabuiag | Eso | |
| Meriam Mir | Eswau | |
| Warlpiri | Wiyarrparlunpaju-yungu | |
| Yolngu Matha | Yo manymak | |
| Austria | German | Dankschen [in spoken language] |
| Ayacucho Peru | Quechua Ayacuchano | Diyus pagapusonqa |
| Diyus pagapusonqacheh [plural] | ||
| Dyuspagrasunki | ||
| Yuspagrasunki | ||
| Azerbaijan | Talysh | Sağ bi |
| Azerbaijan, Iran | Azerbaijani | Sağ olun [plural] |
| Təşəkkür edirəm | ||
| Azerbaijani [Azeri] | Sağ ol | |
| Badia Valley Italy | Ladin | Dilan |
| Baffin Island Canada | Inuktitut | Qujannamiik |
| Baja Verapaz Guatemala | Achí | Mantiox chawe |
| Bali | Balinese | Matu suksama |
| Matur suksme | ||
| Baltic region | Sudovian | Denkâ |
| Denkauja | ||
| Barrow Alaska | Inuktitut | Quyanaq |
| Batanes Philippines | Isamurongen | Dios mamajes dinio |
| Itbayaten | Ah Dios mamexes | |
| Ah Dios mamexes dimo | ||
| Dios mamexes dimo | ||
| Ivasayen | Dios mamajes dimo | |
| Bavaria | German | Danksche [in spoken language] |
| Belarus | Belorussian | Dziákuj |
| Dziakuju | ||
| Belgium | Walloon | Mercè [pronounced] |
| Merci | ||
| Benin, Togo | Fon | A houanu |
| Ablo | ||
| Bhutan | Dzongkha | Kadinche |
| Kadinche la | ||
| Bolivia | Cavineño | Yusurupai |
| Bolivia, Peru | Ese Ejja | Jamayá acuá |
| Bolivia, Peru, Chile | Aymará | Dios pagarakátam |
| Juspajaraña | ||
| Juspajarkätam | ||
| Juspaxar | ||
| Yuspagara | ||
| Bosnia and Hercegovina | Bosnian | Hvala |
| Bosnia, Yugoslavia | Croatian | Hvala |
| Serbian | Hvala | |
| Botswana, South Africa | Setswana | Ke a leboga |
| Ke itumela | ||
| Ke itumetse | ||
| Brazil | Guarani [Mbyá] | Ha’evete |
| Brazil | Tupi [Tembé Tenetéhar] | Azéharamo aypo-mia [by women] |
| Ipo [by men] | ||
| Britain | Manx | Gura mie ayd |
| Gura mie eu | ||
| Brittany France | Breton | Ho trugarekaat |
| Trugarez | ||
| Bulgaria | Bulgarian | Blagodarya |
| Mersi | ||
| Burkina Faso | Mòoré [Mossi] | Barka |
| Mpuus barka | ||
| Mpuusda barka | ||
| Burkina Faso, Ghana | Dagaare | Barka |
| Puorra bebe la | ||
| Burkina Faso, Mali | Boboda | Baraka |
| Burma | Kachin | Chyeju gaba sai |
| Chyeju kaba sai | ||
| Burma, Thailand | Mon | Tang kun |
| Burundi | Kirundi | Murakoze |
| Cajamarca Peru | Quechua Cajamarca | Dyusilupagi |
| Pagi | ||
| Yusilupagi | ||
| California USA | Karuk [Karok] | Yo-twa |
| Wintu | Cala da mat doyut | |
| Depelda cala da mat doyut | ||
| Depelda mat doyut | ||
| Cambodia | Khmer [Cambodian] | Ar kun |
| Cameroon | Bakweri | Masuma |
| Na somi saisai | ||
| Bulu | Akeva | |
| Eton | Abuimgang | |
| Abumgang | ||
| Ewondo | Abui ngan | |
| Canada | Cree | E’kosi |
| Mikwec | ||
| Nunasko’mowin keya | ||
| Têniki | ||
| Inuktitut | Mutna | |
| Nakorami | ||
| Qujanaq | ||
| Kaska | Máhsi | |
| Sógá sénlá | ||
| Mikmaq | Weláliek | |
| Welálin | ||
| Canada, Alaska | Tlingit | Gunalchéesh |
| Canada, northwest coast of USA | Guneshcheesh | |
| Canada, USA | Abenaki, Western | Alamisit |
| Kanienkehaka [Mohawk] | Niawen | |
| Cape Verde | Kabuverdianu | Obrigadu |
| Caribbean | Taino [Arawak] | Oáan |
| Carribbean, Florida USA | Bo matum | |
| Caucasus | Ossetian | Arfö |
| Buznyg | ||
| Central African Republic | Sango | Mèrèsi |
| Central Asia | Khowar | Mehrbani |
| Shukria | ||
| Kohistani | Shukria | |
| Tashkorghani | Rahmat türi | |
| Uyghur | Rähmät sizgä | |
| Rakhmat | ||
| Wakhi | Shobosh | |
| Shukria | ||
| Central Asia, India | Shina | Bakhshish |
| Shukria | ||
| Central Europe | German | Danke |
| Danke schön | ||
| Vielen Dank | ||
| Romani [Romany] [Gypsy] | Nais | |
| Nais tuke | ||
| Swabian | Dankeschee | |
| Dankschee | ||
| Central Europe, E Africa | Italian | Grazie |
| Chad | Sara | Angen |
| Chiang Rai Northern Thailand | Akha | Gu lah hu ma de |
| Chiapas Mexico | Tojolabal | Tzachatal |
| Yuj | ||
| Tzeltal | Jocolawal | |
| Wokolawal | ||
| Tzotzil | Kolaval | |
| Kolawal | ||
| Ois botik | ||
| China | Cantonese [Chinese] | Doh je [for gift] |
| M goi [for service] | ||
| Hmong [Eastern] | Jid keub | |
| Nax weix | ||
| Hoi San | U de | |
| Manchu | Baniha | |
| Mandarin [Chinese] | Toa chie | |
| Xie xie | ||
| Xiamen | Kam sia | |
| China, Burma, Thailand | Lisu | Atkel bboxmu |
| Dut zoil | ||
| Xual mu wa | ||
| China, Southeast Asia | Akha | Gui lah hui dui dui ma |
| Gui lah hui mi a de | ||
| Gui lah hui te ha | ||
| Lahu | Aw bon uija | |
| Da ja | ||
| Òboi jâ | ||
| Chuuk Lagoon Micronesia | Chuukese | Kini so |
| Cochabamba Bolivia | Quechua Cochabambino | Diuspagarapusunki |
| Diuspagarasunki | ||
| Pachi | ||
| Pachis | ||
| Colorado and Utah USA | Ute | Tog’oyak |
| Tograyock | ||
| Tokhoyak | ||
| Towayak | ||
| Comoros | Comori | Marahaba |
| Marahabha | ||
| Shimasiwa | Marahaba | |
| Congo | Shi | Koko |
| Congo, Angola | Kikongo | Merci mingi |
| Ntôndili kwami | ||
| Congo, Angola, Cuba | Ndondele | |
| Ntandele | ||
| Wuanka | ||
| constructed | Interlingua | Gratias |
| Cook Islands | Maori | Meitaki |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Yacouba | Balika |
| Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso | Dyula [Jula] | I ni che |
| Cote d’Ivoire, Mali | Senoufo | Minkari |
| Minmonchar | ||
| Cuba | Kikongo | Manbote |
| Nkimandi | ||
| Cuba, United States | Lucumí | Moducué |
| Cuzco Peru | Quechua Cuzqueño | Añachaykin |
| Añay | ||
| Grasias | ||
| Yuspagarasunki | ||
| Yusulpaykinsunki | ||
| Cuzco Peru & Cochabamba Bolivia | Quechua | Yusulpayki |
| Czech Republic | Czech | Dêkuji |
| Denmark, Greenland | Danish | Tak |
| Dutch Antilles, Aruba | Papiamentu | Danki |
| East Africa | Somali | Mahad sanid |
| East Timor | Tetum | Obrigada [by a woman] |
| Obrigado [by a man] | ||
| Easter Island | Rapanui | Maururu |
| Eastern Friesland, Germany | Low Saxon | Dank |
| eastern Germany | Sorbian [Lower Sorbian] | Z’e’kujom se |
| Sorbian [Upper Sorbian] | Dz’akuju so | |
| Eastern Sudan | Gaam | Àayyá |
| Áwdém áalò | ||
| eastern Uganda | Dhopadhola | Afwoyo swa |
| Walwa swa | ||
| Ecuador | Huaorani | Ewa ra |
| Quichua | Diusulupagui | |
| Pagui | ||
| Pagui shungulla | ||
| Yupaichani | ||
| Ecuador, Peru | Achuar | Maketai |
| Yuuminsame | ||
| Egypt | Domari | Daarim |
| El Salvador | Pipil | Paampa diyúx |
| Padiux | ||
| Eritrea | Kunama | Giraske |
| Estetla Mexico | Mixtec | Niku tab’i[formal-to one p.] |
| Niku tab’o[formal-to several] | ||
| Estonia | Estonian | Aitäh |
| Tänan | ||
| Setu | Aiteh | |
| Võro | Aiteh | |
| Aitjumma | ||
| Ethiopia | Harari [Adare] | Alla magah |
| Gaza yagabzal yushen | ||
| Ethiopia, Eritrea | Tigrinya | Yaqhanyelay |
| Yekanyelay | ||
| Yeqniyeley | ||
| Yrunyli | ||
| Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti | Afar | Gadda ge |
| Ethiopia, Israel, Egypt | Amharic | Amesegënallô |
| Amesegunalhun | ||
| Europe | Romani [Romany] [Gypsy] | Gestena |
| Yiddish | a dank | |
| a dank aykh | ||
| Europe, USA, other countries | a dank dir | |
| a dank enk | ||
| Faroe Islands | Faroese | Takk |
| Takk fyri | ||
| Fiji | Fijian | Vinaka |
| Finland | Finnish | Kiitoksia |
| Kiitos | ||
| Finland and Russia | Karelian | Kiitän |
| Kiitos | ||
| Passibo | ||
| Passipoičemma | ||
| Florida USA | Apalachicola | Mvto |
| France | Corsican | À ringraziavvi |
| À ringraziè vi | ||
| Grazia | ||
| Gallo | Mèrczi | |
| Gascon | Merci | |
| Provencal [Occitan] | Gramaci | |
| Mercé | ||
| France, Belgium, Africa, Canada | French | Merci |
| Merci beaucoup | ||
| French Guyana | Taki-taki | Ganta |
| French Polynesia | Marquesan | Koutai |
| Gabon | Fang | Abora |
| Mpongwe | Kewa | |
| Gansu China | Yugur [Western Yugur] | Çowattï |
| Sagha &ccedi;owattï | ||
| Gardena Valley Italy | Ladin | De gra |
| Georgia | Georgian | Gmadlobt [to more than 1 person] |
| Germany | Low Saxon [Northern Low Saxon] | Danke |
| Low Saxon [Westphalian] | Ek dank auk schoin | |
| Sind auk viellmaols bedankt | ||
| Plattdeutsch | Dankscheen | |
| Ghana | Asante | Meda w’asé |
| Meda wo ase | ||
| Ga | Oyiwala dɔŋŋ | |
| Mampruli | Mossi | |
| Ghana, Burkina Faso | Fante | Medagse |
| Medawagse | ||
| Kasem | A ke lei naa | |
| De N lei | ||
| Ghana, Togo | Ewe | Akpe |
| Mudo | ||
| Mudu, epenau | ||
| Goa India | Konkani [Konknni] | Dev borem korum |
| Great Britain | Cornish | Dew re-dallo dheugh-why [middle/unified] |
| Meur ras [Kemmyn] | ||
| Meur ras dhis | ||
| Cornish [modern] | Durdaladawhy | |
| Gwra’massi | ||
| Greece, Balkans | Aromunian | Haristo |
| Greece, Cyprus | Greek | Sas efharisto |
| Greek [Hellenic] | Efcharisto | |
| Greenland | Inuttut [Greenlandic] | Qujanaq |
| Guam | Chamorro | Si yu’os ma’ase’ |
| Si yuus maasi | ||
| Guatemala | Chortí | Ch’ahp’ei’x ta’p’a |
| Chuj | Yuj wal dios | |
| Garifuna | Téngi nían bún | |
| Itzaj [Itzá Maya] | D’yos b’o’tik | |
| D’yos b’ot’ik ti’ij | ||
| D’yos b’o’tikil | ||
| Ixil | Ta’n tiz | |
| Jacalteca | Nich’an tiox | |
| Kanjobal [Q’anjob’al] | Yuj wal ch’an tyoxh | |
| Yuj wal tyoxh | ||
| Yujwal Dios | ||
| Kekchi | B’antiox | |
| Kekchi [K’ekchí] | Bantiox | |
| Mam | Chjónta che [to more than one person] | |
| Chjónta tey | ||
| Chjoonta | ||
| Chjóonte | ||
| Mopá-maya | B’o’tic | |
| Pocomchí | Rin dios awe | |
| Quiché [K’iche] | Maltiox | |
| Maltiox nan [to a woman] | ||
| Maltiox tat [to a man] | ||
| Sibälaj maltiox | ||
| Guatemala | Cheri cha ai [for work] | |
| Guinea | Susu | Inwali |
| Gujerat State, India | Gujarati | Dhanyawaad |
| Haiti | Kwéyòl | Mèsi |
| Harjumaa Estonia | Estonian | Aitih |
| Hawaii | Hawaiian | Mahalo |
| Hiiumaa Estonia | Estonian | Kiidan |
| Himalayas | Thangmi [Thami] | Sewa |
| Huanca Peru | Quechua Huancaño | Rasyas |
| Huehuetenango Guatemala | Aguacateco | Ntyox teru’ |
| Hungary | Hungarian [Magyar] | Köszi |
| Köszönöm | ||
| Iceland | Icelandic | Takk |
| Takk fyrir | ||
| Idaho United States | Coeur d’Alene | Limlemtsch |
| India | Kannada | Dhanyawaadagalu |
| Vandane | ||
| Vandanegalu | ||
| Konkani [Konknni] | Dhanyawaada | |
| Malayalam | Nandi | |
| Nanni | ||
| Valarey nanhi | ||
| Marathi | Abhari ahi | |
| Dhanyawaadh | ||
| Dhanyawaatha | ||
| Oriya | Danna waat | |
| Punjabi | Dannaba | |
| Dhannvaad | ||
| Miharbaanee | ||
| Shukria | ||
| Tuhaadee kirpaa hai | ||
| Telugu | Dhanyavaadaalu | |
| Tamara krutagntha | ||
| India | Tulu | Mast upakara |
| India, Bangladesh | Bengali | Dhanyabad |
| India, Bangladesh, S. Africa | Gujarati | Aabhar |
| India, East Asia, Suriname | Hindi | Dhanyawaad |
| India, Nepal | Newari | Su-bhaay |
| India, Nepal, Bhutan | Lepcha | Trok chi |
| India, Pakistan | Ladakhi | Jule |
| Od dju | ||
| Urdu | Danyavad | |
| Merbani | ||
| Shukriya | ||
| India, Pakistan, China | Kashmiri | Danawad |
| Shukria | ||
| India, Southeast Asia | Tamil | Nandri |
| Romba nanringa | ||
| Rumba nandri | ||
| Indonesia | Aceh | Teurimeung geunaseh |
| Javanese | Matur nuwun | |
| Suwun | ||
| Sasak | Matur tampiasih | |
| Tampi asiq | ||
| Sundanese [Basa Sunda] | Hatur nuhun | |
| Toraja | Kurre sumange | |
| Tukang Besi | Tarima kasi | |
| Indonesia, Sumatra, Philippines | Batak | Mauliate |
| international | Esperanto | Dankon |
| Dankon al vi | ||
| Ido | Danko | |
| Loglan | Sia | |
| Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan | Persian | Mamnoon |
| Motehshakeram | ||
| Tashakkur | ||
| Iraq, Iran | Kurdi [Kurmanji] | Shukur |
| Ireland | Irish | Go raibh maith agaibh [to more than one] |
| Ireland and Britain | Go raibh maith ‘ad | |
| Go raibh maith agat [to one] | ||
| Israel | Hebrew | Toda |
| Italy | Camuno | Gràsce |
| Napulitano | Gràzzie | |
| Sardinian | Grassias | |
| Japan | Japanese | Arigato |
| Domo arigato | ||
| Japanese [Izumo] | Dan san | |
| Japanese [Kumamoto] | Kora doshi | |
| Japan | Japanese | Arigato gozaimashita[act of thanks has ended] |
| Arigato gozaimasu [act of thanks not ended] | ||
| Jersey | Jèrriais | Mèrci bein des fais |
| Kalahari Africa | G//ana [San] | Kaen se !tau |
| G/wi [San] | !kaen se !tau | |
| Kazakhstan, Central Asia, China | Kazakh | Rahmet |
| Rahmet sizge | ||
| Kenya | Ekegusii | Imbuya mono |
| Nandi | Asai | |
| Kaigai | ||
| Kongoi | ||
| Kenya, Somalia | Oromo | Fayyaa ta’aa |
| Fayyaa ta’i | ||
| Galatomaa | ||
| Galatoomii | ||
| Maharaba | ||
| Ulfaad’d’a | ||
| Waaqni sii haa kennu | ||
| Kenya, Tanzania | Luo | Erokamano |
| Maasai | Ashi | |
| Maasai [Maa, Masai] | Ashi oleng | |
| Aske | ||
| Korea | Korean | Kamsahamnida |
| Komapsumnida | ||
| Kyoto Japan | Japanese [Kyo Kotoba] | Ohkini |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kirgiz | Chong rakhmat |
| Rakhmat | ||
| Labrador and Quebec Canada | Innu | Tshinashkumitan |
| Lao Cai Vietnam | Hmong | Uụ caox tsõus |
| Uụ tsõus | ||
| Laos | Lao | Khawp jai |
| Laos, Thailand | Hmong Daw | Ua koj tsaug |
| Ua tsaug | ||
| Hmong Njua | Ua koj tsaug | |
| Ua tsaug | ||
| Mien [Yao] | Laengz zingh | |
| Laengz zingh meih | ||
| Latvia | Latvian | Paldies |
| Latvia, Estonia | Livonian | Tienū |
| Lesotho, South Africa | Sesotho | Ke a leboha |
| Liberia, S.Leone | Vai | Bai-ka-way [for gift, to 1] |
| Ee-she [for favor, to 1] | ||
| Wo bai-kay-way [for gift,to group] | ||
| Wo-she [for favor,to group] | ||
| Lithuania | Lithuanian | Ačiū |
| Dėkoju | ||
| Dėkui | ||
| Labai dėkoju | ||
| Ludza Latvia | Võro | Aitüma |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourgish | Merci |
| Macedonia | Macedonian | Blagodaram |
| Madagascar | Malagasy | Misaotra |
| Magdalena Peñasco Oaxaca Mexico | Mixtec | Cacutahvixensa |
| Cutahvixieensa | ||
| Maine USA, Canada | Abenaki, Eastern | Wliwni |
| Malawi | Chilomwe | Zikomo |
| Chingoni | Zikomo | |
| Chitonga | Yewo | |
| Ngoni | Zikomo | |
| Malaysia | Kimaragang | Torimakasi |
| Malaysia, Brunei | Malay | Terima kasih |
| Maldives | Dhivehi | Shukuriyyaa |
| Maldivian | Sabkaa | |
| Mali | Bambara | Aw ni ce [plural] |
| I ni ce [singular] | ||
| Sangha | Birepo | |
| Mali, Senegal | Soninke | Nawari |
| Malta | Maltese | Grazzi |
| Manitoba Canada | Saulteaux | Miigwech |
| Marshall Islands | Marshallese | Kommol |
| Mauratania | Hassaniya | Shukram |
| Mauritius | Morisyen | Mersi |
| Mediterranean | Lingua Franca | Gratzia |
| Mexico | Amuzgo | Quialva’ |
| Cakchikel | Matiosh chawe | |
| Chol | Wokol a wala | |
| Wokolix awölö | ||
| Hñähñu | Jamadi | |
| Huastec | C’ac’naamal yaan | |
| Jalbinchi yaan | ||
| Huave | Dios mangüy ic | |
| Ixcatec | Skanaa-ri | |
| Mazahua | Pöjö | |
| Mazatec | Natejchiri | |
| Nkhi k’a ninashitechino | ||
| Náhuatl [Aztec] | Icnelia | |
| Tlazohcamati | ||
| Popoluca | Ni’ctíyus | |
| Tarahumara [Raramuri] | Matétera | |
| Tarahumara [Rarámuri] | Matéterabá | |
| Zoque | Yuscotoya | |
| Mexico, USA | Paipai | ‘Ara’ya:ikm |
| ‘Ara’yai:km | ||
| ‘Ara’ye:km | ||
| Micronesia | Chuukese | Kili so |
| Kosraean | Kulo | |
| Pohnpeian | Kalangan | |
| Puluwat | Kilissow | |
| Yapese | Kam magar | |
| Middle East | Kurdi | Sipas |
| Sipas dikim | ||
| Middle East, North Africa | Arabic | Shukran |
| Mokornulga Estonia | Võro | Tennä |
| Moldova | Gagauz | Saa olsun |
| Moldavian | Multumesc | |
| Monaco | Monegasque | Merçì |
| Mongolia | Mongolian | Saikhan zochluullaa [for hospitality] |
| Mongolia | Ta ikh tus bolloo [for help] | |
| Mongolia, Northern China | Bayarlalaa | |
| Gyalailaa | ||
| Morocco | Arabic | Barak llahu fik |
| Mozambique | Makhua | Kooshukhuru |
| Marahaba | ||
| Mt. Elgon Kenya | Bukusu | Nasima |
| Orio muno | ||
| Wanyala | ||
| Webaale | ||
| Mulgi dialect, Karksi Estonia | Estonian | ‘Aituma |
| Myanmar | Burmese | Chezu ba |
| Chezu tinbade | ||
| Rakhin | Chyee zu thon ree | |
| Rohingya | Shukuria | |
| Namibia | Nama | Aio |
| Nauru | Nauruan | Tsuba kor |
| Nayarit and Jalisco Mexico | Huichol | Pam parios |
| Pan parius | ||
| Nebraska and Oklahoma, USA | Omaha | Wíbthahon |
| Nepal | Gurung | Dxanyaa’baad [to an equal or superior] |
| Syaabaas [to a child] | ||
| Nepal, Bhutan | Nepali | Dhanyabaad |
| Nepal, Tibet | Sherpa [Helambu] | Thuchi chea |
| Sherpa [Solu] | Thuchi che | |
| Netherlands | Dutch | Bedankt |
| Frisian [Westerlauwer] | Tanke | |
| Tanke wol | ||
| Tankje | ||
| Tankje wol | ||
| Netherlands, Belgium | Dutch | Dank u |
| Dank u wel | ||
| New Caledonia | Houailou | Ei |
| New Guinea | Tok Pisin | Tenkyu |
| Tenkyu tru | ||
| Tok Pisin [Pidgin English] | Tenkiu | |
| New Zealand | Maori | Ka pai |
| Tika hoki | ||
| New Zealand, Midland England | English | Cheers |
| Nias Island Indonesia | Nias [North Nias] | Sauha gölö |
| Nias [South Nias] | Söwö gölö | |
| Nicaragua | Miskito | Tingki |
| Panamahka | Tingkih | |
| Nigeria | Bura | Maraba |
| Edo | Ù rú èsé | |
| Igbo [Ibo] | Dalu | |
| Imela | ||
| Imena | ||
| Yâuwá | ||
| Kanuri | Ardeneskin | |
| Ngizim | Ná goodoota-ngaa naa ci | |
| Nigerian Pidgin | Thank yu | |
| Well done | ||
| Yoruba | A dupe | |
| E se é | ||
| Oshe | ||
| Niue, South Pacific | Niuean | Fakaaue |
| Noatak Alaska | Inuktitut | Taku |
| North Africa | Arabic | SaHHa |
| North America | Chinook Jargon | Mahsie |
| Masiem | ||
| Comanche | Ura | |
| Urako | ||
| Dakota | Pidamaya ye [by female] | |
| Pidamaya yedo[by male] | ||
| Pidamayado | ||
| Hopi | Askwali [said by women] | |
| Kwakwhá [said by men] | ||
| Kiowa | Aahóow | |
| Kwakiutl | Gilakas’la | |
| Mohican | Oneowe | |
| Wneeweh | ||
| Natick | Kuttabotomish | |
| Tobotonoque | ||
| Ttaubotneanauayean | ||
| Nez Perce | Qe’ci’yew’yew’ | |
| Okanogan | Lim limt | |
| North Caucasus | Chechen | Barkal |
| Barkalla | ||
| North Malawi | Chitumbuka | Yewo |
| northeast Japan | Japanese [Tohoku Ben] | Oshoshina |
| Northern Ghana | Wali | Bareka |
| Northern Ireland | Scots [Ulster Scots] | Thenks |
| northern Italy | Friulian | Graciis |
| Piedmontese | Grasie | |
| Northern Pakistan | Burushashki | Bakhshish |
| Juu goor maniSh | ||
| Juu na | ||
| Shukria | ||
| Northern Thailand | Hmong Njua | Zoo sab muab |
| Northweast Poland | Cassubian | Dzãkujã |
| Norway | Finnish, Kven | Kiitoksii |
| Kiitos | ||
| Norwegian [Nynorsk, Bokmaal] | Takk | |
| NW Caucasus | Adyghe | Thawerapsaw |
| Wapsaw | ||
| Oaxaca Mexico | Mixtec | Kúta’ùrí [familiar] |
| Zapotec | Guishepeli | |
| Okinawa Japan | Japanese [Uchinaaguchi] | Nihwee-deebiru |
| Uchinaaguchi | Ippe nihei deebiru | |
| Nihei deebiru | ||
| Uchinaaguchi [Shuri] | Nifee deebiru | |
| Oklahoma & Florida USA | Muskogee | Akvsv’mkv |
| Henka | ||
| Ka | ||
| Mvto | ||
| Oklahoma United States | Choctaw | Yakoke |
| Yokoke | ||
| Pacific Islands | Kiribati | Ko rabwa |
| Rotuman | Fại’ȧkse’ea | |
| Filo’montou [said to child] | ||
| Noa’ia | ||
| Pakistan | Balochi | Tai merbani |
| Khowar | Tazim | |
| Sindhi | Mehrbani | |
| Palau | Palauan | Ke kmal mesaul |
| Msuulaang | ||
| Sulang | ||
| Panama | Kuna | Dot nuet |
| Papua | Dani, Grand Valley Baliem | Wah wah wah |
| Papua New Guinea | Dani, Western | Kaonak |
| Duna | Tirja | |
| Edolo | Neseke | |
| Enga | Tángeyoo | |
| Foe | Kije | |
| Hiri Motu | Tanikiu | |
| Koiari | Maigo | |
| Maiteka | ||
| Matukar | Ujanamok | |
| Motu | Tanikiu | |
| Nanubae | Emba:m | |
| Safeyoka | Ìsámàyʌkà | |
| Salt Yui | Wai onia | |
| Tabriak | Jəpən | |
| Jεpεn | ||
| Teop | Mataa | |
| Paraguay | Guarani | Aguyje |
| Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia | Aguije | |
| Peru | Aguaruna | Seé |
| Huambisa | Maake | |
| See | ||
| Quechua Cuzqueño | Yuspagarasunkichis [to several people] | |
| Resigaro | Kashoonopihku | |
| Shipibo | Iráque | |
| Philippines | Aklanon | Saeamat kimo |
| Ifugao [Tuwali] | Munhana ak | |
| Salamat | ||
| Ilokano | Agyamanak | |
| Dios ti agngina | ||
| Ilonggo | Daghang salamat | |
| Salamat | ||
| Kalagan | Sokor | |
| Kankanaey | Salamat | |
| Kapampangan | Salamat | |
| Tagalog | Salamat | |
| Salamat po | ||
| Salamat sa iyo | ||
| Tugalug | Salamot | |
| Visayan [Cebuano] | Gracia | |
| Salamat | ||
| Pohnpei | Pohnpeian | Kalangen en Komwi |
| Poland | Polish | Dzięki [familiar] |
| Dziękuję | ||
| Dziękujemy [spoken by several people] | ||
| Polynesia | Polynesian | Auw’e |
| Ponpei | Ponpeian | Kelangan |
| Qiandong China | Hmong | Bod hfud mongx |
| Bod hfut | ||
| Dub hseit | ||
| Romania | Romanian | Mulţumesc |
| Russia | Altai | Bïyan bolzïn |
| Bashkir | Rekhmet | |
| Chuvash | Tav | |
| Tavssi | ||
| Tavtapuch | ||
| Erzya | Сюкпря | |
| Ingush | Barkal | |
| Barkl [in spoken language] | ||
| Kalmyk | Khanganav | |
| Khanty | Пумасипа | |
| Komi-Permyak | Attö | |
| Ydzhyt attö | ||
| Komi-Zyryan | Attö | |
| Attöala | ||
| Attöalam [from a group] | ||
| Ludian | Spassibo | |
| Spassiboičem | ||
| Mansi | Пумасипа | |
| Mari | Tau | |
| Mari [Meadow] | Taushtem | |
| Taushtena [from a group] | ||
| Mordvin | Syukprya | |
| Nenets | Nyarya bada | |
| Nganasan | Nägê | |
| Xoasi | ||
| Russian | Спасибо | |
| Rutul | Сагъул | |
| Saami [Kildin] | Пассьпе | |
| Tatar | Rekhmet | |
| Tuvan | Chettirdim | |
| Udmurt | Tau | |
| Tau karisko | ||
| Veps | Kitäm [from a group] | |
| Kitän | ||
| Spasib | ||
| Votic | Ciitän | |
| Passibo | ||
| Suurõd passivad | ||
| Suurõt spassibad | ||
| Ryukyu Island Japan | Miyako | Nihedebil |
| Sabah Malaysia | Dusun | Pounsikou |
| Kadazan | Kotohuadan | |
| Salento Italy | Griko | Kali’ sso’rta-ssu |
| Samachique Mexico | Tarahumara [Raramuri] | Natérarabá |
| Samoa | Samoan | Fa’afetai |
| San Antonio Huitepec Mexico | Mixtec | Nakuu ta’viin |
| San Juan Colorado Mexico | Tyáhvi nyóò | |
| San Juan Mixtepec Mexico | Tatsa’vi | |
| Tatsa’vini | ||
| Scandinavia | Saami [Davvi] | Giitu |
| Giitus | ||
| Giitus dutnje | ||
| Giitus eatnat | ||
| Saami [Inari] | Kijtto | |
| Kjittoseh | ||
| Takkâ | ||
| Saami [Lule] | Gijtto | |
| Saami [Skolt] | Spä’sseb | |
| Spässep | ||
| Saami [South] | Gäjhtoe | |
| Saami [Ume] | Gijtuov | |
| Scotland | Scots | Thank ye |
| Thenk ye | ||
| Scottish Gaelic | Tapadh leat | |
| Seattle Washington USA | Lushootseed | Ck’wálidxw |
| Senegal | Diola | Emitekati |
| Mersi | ||
| Senegal, Gambia | Serrere | Dioka ndjiale |
| Senegal, Mali | Malinké | Ni ke |
| Seychelles | Seselwa [Seychelles Creole] | Gran mersi |
| Mersi | ||
| Shanghai China | Shanghai | Sha ja non |
| Sha sha | ||
| Shodoshima Japan | Japanese [Shodoshima] | Ookini |
| Siberia | Yup’ik | Igamsiqanaghhalek |
| Quyanaghhalek | ||
| Siberia Russia | Khakas | Aalghïstapcham |
| Ispasiba | ||
| Sicily Italy | Sicilian | Grazzii |
| Sierra Leone | Krio | Tenkey |
| Tenki ya | ||
| Mende | Baiika | |
| Baika | ||
| Bisse | ||
| Silesia region, southern Poland | Polish | Dziynki |
| Dziynkuja | ||
| Singapore, Indonesia | Hokkien [Chinese] | Gum xia |
| Slovakia | Slovak | Dakujem |
| Slovenia | Slovenian | Hvala |
| Solomon Islands | Pijin | Tanggio |
| Sonora Mexico | Seri | Yooz ma samsisíinxo |
| Sortland Norway | Norwegian [Sortlandsk] | Takk |
| South Africa | Sepedi | Ke a leboga |
| Tsonga | I nkomu | |
| Venda | Ndi a livhuha | |
| Ndo livhuwa | ||
| Ukhani | ||
| Xhosa | Enkosi | |
| Ndiyabulela | ||
| South Africa, Lesotho | Zulu | Ngiyabonga |
| Siyabonga [plural] | ||
| South Africa, Malawi | Chichewa | Zikomo |
| South America | Jaqaru [Jacaru] | Jilatyi |
| Mapuche [Araucano] | Chaltu | |
| Chaltu may | ||
| Krasia may | ||
| Manumeimi | ||
| Traeltu | ||
| South Malawi | Chiyao | Asante |
| Sikomo | ||
| South Pacific | Maohi | Mauruuru |
| South Sierra USA | Miwok [S Sierra] | Tengkiju |
| South Uganda | Lunyankole | Webale |
| Southeast Africa | Kisawhili | Asanteni [to several] |
| Kiswahili | Ahsante | |
| Aksante | ||
| Asante | ||
| Nashukuru | ||
| Shukrani | ||
| Southeast Asia | Cham | Uan sagun |
| Uan tabuan | ||
| southeast Estonia | Võro | Aiten |
| Southern Africa | Afrikaans | Dankie |
| Southern Australia | Kaurna | Ngaityalya |
| Southern Qiandong China | Hmong | Deb hseit |
| Southern Scotland | Scottish Gaelic | Gun robh math agaibh |
| Southwestern United States | Keres | Da-waa-ee |
| Khuu’a | ||
| Tewa | Kuunda | |
| Southwestern USA | Pueblo [Acoma] | Da-wah-eh |
| Spain | Asturian | Gracies |
| Basque [Navarrese] | Esker aunitz | |
| Esker mila | ||
| Basque [Roncalais] | Eskerrik anitx | |
| Galician | Grazas | |
| Ladino | Gracias | |
| Munchas gracias | ||
| Romani [Caló] | Najis tuke | |
| Valencian | Gracies | |
| Moltes gracies | ||
| Spain, America | Spanish | Gracias |
| Spain, France | Basque | Eskerrik asko |
| Mila esker | ||
| Sri Lanka | Sinhalese | Istuti |
| Sudan | Arabic Creole | Shukran |
| Dinka | Yin acaa muoc | |
| Suriname | Ndjuka | A bigi ba |
| Gaantangi | ||
| Gaantangi fi ye | ||
| Saramaccan | F&uacteu;únu | |
| Gaantángí fii | ||
| Sranan | Danki | |
| Grantangi | ||
| Tangi | ||
| Suriname, Holland | Sarnami | Dhanbaad |
| Dhanjabaab | ||
| Soekoeria | ||
| Sukriya | ||
| Swaziland | Siswati [Swazi] | Ngiyabonga [by one person] |
| Siyabonga [more than one] | ||
| Sweden, Finland | Swedish | Jag tackar |
| Tack | ||
| Switzerland | German | Dank schön [in spoken language] |
| Romansch | Grazia | |
| Sursilvan | Engraziel | |
| Swizterland | Romansch | Grazcha |
| Grazie | ||
| Syria | Arabic | Mamnuun |
| Syria, Turkey | Suryoyo | Tawdi |
| Tahiti | Tahitian | Mauruuru |
| Mauruuru roa | ||
| Taiwan | Atayal | Mhuway su’ |
| Mhuway su’ balay | ||
| Muhuway su | ||
| Bunun | Uninang | |
| Paiwan | Malimali | |
| Masalu | ||
| Puyuma | Tayu’an | |
| Rukai | Maulanenga | |
| Saisiat | Muhuway su | |
| Yami | Ayoi | |
| Tajikstan | Tajik | Rakhmat |
| Tashakur | ||
| Tanzania | Kichagga | Haika |
| Kikamba | Ni oseo | |
| Makhua | Asantte | |
| Tanzania, Zambia | Mambwe | Sanco |
| Tataltepec Mexico | Chatino | Ngua tsaa xlay’be hii |
| Tepoztlan Mexico | Náhuatl | Tlazocama |
| Tlazocamati | ||
| Tlazocamatl | ||
| Texas United States | English | Thank ya [Texan] |
| Texas USA | Alabamu | Alíila |
| Thailand | Akha | Ghu long khu me-ah |
| Gong | Ang kêun | |
| Karen | Da blu | |
| Lahu | Ah bo | |
| Lisu | Ahku bumu | |
| Mpi | Mèu mèu | |
| Pho Karen | Hsà khawn hsá ta má’ lâw | |
| Sgaw Karen | Dah bluet | |
| Tà byu’ dô law | ||
| Thai | Kha [by woman] | |
| Khawp khun | ||
| Khawp khun kha [by woman] | ||
| Khawp khun khrap [by man] | ||
| Khrap [by man] | ||
| Tibet | Tibetan [Amdo dialect] | Gwajinchi |
| Tibet, China | Tibetan | Tujechhe |
| Tihuanacu Bolivia | Aymará | Yusulupay |
| Timor, Semau Island Indonesia | Helong | Nodan mamomamo |
| to a group | Yeyi [Botswana] | Ta kumbiiri |
| to one person | Nda kumbiiri | |
| Togo | Mina | Akpe |
| Tonga South Pacific Island | Tongan | Malo |
| Torres Strait Australia | Yumpla Tok | Eso po yu |
| Trakai Lithuania | Karaim | Tabu |
| Turkey, Northern Cyprus | Turkish | Mersi |
| Tesekkür ederim | ||
| Tesekkurler | ||
| Turkmenistan | Turkmen | Sag bol |
| Sag bolung | ||
| Tangur | ||
| Tuvalu | Tuvaluan | Fakafetai |
| Uganda | Ateso | Eyalama |
| Icetot | Ilakasugotia | |
| Karamojong | Alakara | |
| Kipsigis | Kongoi | |
| Kupsapiny | Keyi tapon | |
| Luganda | Webale | |
| Uganda and Sudan | Acholi | Apwoyo |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian | Dyakooyu |
| Spasibi | ||
| United States | Apsaaloke | Ahó |
| Ahoo | ||
| Cahuila | ‘Ácha-ma | |
| Cherokee [eastern] | Sgi | |
| Cherokee [western] | Wado | |
| Cheyenne | Hahóo [intertribal] | |
| Néá’eshe | ||
| Néá’êshemeno [plural] | ||
| Ioway | Aha [by women] | |
| Aho [by men] | ||
| Kuskokwim | Tsenanh | |
| Lenape [Delaware] | Wanìshi | |
| Luiseno | No$un looviq | |
| Lummi | Hy’shqe siam | |
| Navajo | Ahéhee’ | |
| Osage | Thla-ho | |
| We’-a-hnon | ||
| Potawatomi | Iwgwien | |
| Kcumigwe’c | ||
| Migwe’c | ||
| Spokane | Chn lm-s-cút | |
| Wampanoag | Taubut | |
| Yuki | Mis tatk | |
| USA, Canada | Huron [Wyandotte] | Ti-jiawen |
| Yontonwe | ||
| Nakota | Pinamaya | |
| Uzbekistan | Karakalpak | Rahmet |
| Uzbek | Rakhmat | |
| Tashakkur | ||
| Vancouver Island Canada | Saanich | Hay sxw q’a |
| Hay sxw q’e | ||
| Vanuatu | Araki | Ham meje [to a group] |
| Om meje | ||
| Bislama | Tangkiu | |
| Tangkyu | ||
| Futuna Aniwa | Fafetai | |
| Jinisa | ||
| Mwotlap | Vēwē nēk | |
| Paamese | Hihuri | |
| Namasmasuk | ||
| Vastseliina Estonia | Võro | Tehnän |
| Veracruz Mexico | Totonac | Paxkatkatzinil |
| Vietnam | Bahnar | Bone ko ih |
| Bru | Sa-aun | |
| Dega | Lac jak | |
| Hmong Du | Ô chò | |
| Mien | Tö’ dun | |
| Tay | Day fon | |
| Vietnamese | Cám ơn | |
| Cám ơn anh [to male equal] | ||
| Cám ơn bà [to married woman] | ||
| Cám ơn chị [to female equal] | ||
| Cám ơn cô [to unmarried woman] | ||
| Cám ơn em [to young person] | ||
| Cám ơn ông [to man] | ||
| Cám ơn quý vị rât nhiều | ||
| Ông quá tử tế với tôi | ||
| Villa Alta Mexico | Zapotec | Dishklenle [to several] |
| Dishkleno [to one] | ||
| Wales | Welsh | Diolch |
| Wallis and Futuna | Futuna | Malo |
| Wallis and Futuna Vanuatu | Uvean | Malo |
| Malo te ofa | ||
| Washington United States | Klallam | Há’neng cen |
| West Africa | Fulani | A jaaraama [to one person] |
| Jaaraama | ||
| On jaaraama [to several people] | ||
| Hausa | Nagode | |
| Mandinka | Abaraka | |
| Al ning bara [to several people] | ||
| I ning bara [to one person] | ||
| Tamashek [Tamahoq, Tuareg] | Tanumert | |
| Wolof | Djere dief | |
| Jerejef | ||
| Zarma [Dyerma] | Fofo | |
| West Indies | Creole | Mese |
| West Sumatra Indoensia [inf] | Minangkabau | Makasi yo |
| West Sumatra Indonesia | Tarimo kasih | |
| West Uganda | Lunyoro | Webale |
| western Ireland | Brigidian | Boche’ |
| Xhina, Thailand, Myanmar | Bisu | Ang hmèn yá |
| Yatzachi Mexico | Zapotec | Choshcwlen chele [to several] |
| Choshcwleno’ [to one] | ||
| Choshcwlentio’ [to one] | ||
| Yemen | Soqotri | Yala bak allah |
| Yucatan Mexico | Yucatec | Dios bo’otik |
| Dios bootiki’ | ||
| Dyos bo’otik | ||
| Hach dyos bo’otik | ||
| Ki’ bolal | ||
| Yum bo’otik | ||
| Yunnan China | Hmong | Uat gaox zhous |
| Uat zhous | ||
| Naxi | Jjef bei seiq | |
| Zambia | Chitonga | Twalumba |
| Lunda | Kusakililaku | |
| Luvale | Gunasakulila | |
| Silozi | Litumezi | |
| Ni itumezi | ||
| Nitumezi | ||
| Zambia, Mozambique | Chinyanja | Zikomo |
| Zimbabwe | Chishona | Maita basa |
| Maita zvenyu | ||
| Mazviita | ||
| Ndatenda [to one person] | ||
| Ndinotenda [to one person] | ||
| Tatenda [to a group] | ||
| Tinotenda [to a group] | ||
| Ndebele | Ngeyabonga | |
| Ngiyabonga | ||
| Ngiyathokaza | ||
| Siyabonga [plural] | ||
| Zoogocho Mexico | Zapotec | Choshklenle [to several] |
| Choshkleno’ [to one] | ||
| Zurich Switzerland | German | Dank schön [spoken] |
| Dankë [spoken] | ||
| Merci | ||
| Alabama & Oklahoma United States | Koasati | Alí:la mó |
| Tâ | ||
| America, Australia, UK, New Zea. | English | Thank you |
| Angola, Congo Kinshasa | Yaka | Koloombo |
| Bukavu Congo Kinshasa | Mashi | Koko |
| Bunkeya Congo Kinshasa | Kisanga | Tua santa |
| Congo Kinshasa | Kiluba | Wafwa ko |
| Pende | Hambadiahana | |
| Congo Kinshasa, Congo Brazaville | Lingala | Matóndo |
| Melesí | ||
| Natondi yo | ||
| Fassa Valley Italy | Ladin | Detelpai [to one person] |
| Develpai [plural] | ||
| Guinea Bissau | Crioulo | Obrigado |
| Jakarta Indonesia | Indonesian | Trims [slang] |
| Kansai, Osaka Japan | Japanese [Kansai Ben] | Ookini |
| Ookini arigatou | ||
| Kasai Oc. Reg., Congo Kinshasa | Tschiluba | Twasakadila |
| Lodja Congo Kinshasa | Otetela | Losaka |
| N.America | Ojibwe [Chippewa, Anishinaabe] | Miigwech |
| N.Carolina USA | Tuscarora [Southern Band] | Nyeahweh |
| Portugal, Brazil | Portuguese | Obrigada [by female] |
| Obrigado [by male] | ||
| Rwanda, Congo Kinshasa | Kinyarwanda | Murakoze |
| Viru Nigula & Kodavere, Estonia | Estonian | Aiteh |
| Ylä Savo Finland | Savonian | Kiitoksija |
| Zambia, Congo Brazaville | Bemba | Tsikomo |
| Twa to te la |
This list is a compiled and sequenced from the source : Jennifer’s Language Pages and this list is partial only. To view the complete list with the formal and informal way of telling Thanks please visit the source. We sorted it country-wise for easy learning purpose only.
Disclaimer: It’s used for Educational purposes and non-profit reasons only. Any commercial usage should be done with proper approval from the original source Jennifer’s Language Pages
We take this special moment to thank everyone who has contributed their stories for Blank Space – Filled with Inspiration, an anthology of 100 short stories by 100 people around the globe. We are so thankful to you from deep within our soul. We owe our sincere gratitude, especially for your patience and revamping support that have given, to fine tune the stories.
We have reached 70% of the selection and we never thought it would be possible for a debutant publisher like us. All we can say is that our passion behind this initiative and your support are the only reason, which made this possible. Just 30 more stories to go to complete the selections. So we are extending the final date of submission to 15th of August 2014, also, many writers asked us for some time. Even we need time to spend our quality time with each writer, communicating the feedback and make Blank Space as best as we can.
Note : A few of you may be awaiting for our selection feedback. We apologize for the delay in the feedback if happened. For sure every entrant will get the feedback personally from me.
Those who has mailed your story on or before 28th July, will get the feedback on or before 23:59hrs IST (today) and those who send their entries from 29th July onwards to 8th August shall get the feedback on or before 10th August.
All entries after 10th August shall get the feedback only on August 16th.
You can get more details by mailing here Publish@propelsteps.com , where you can also send your entries.
All you need to do is write a short story which will give some inspiration to the reader. You can choose any theme as you wish like love, life, education, humanity, environment, etc. literally anything which will leave a positive vibe. Also you can choose your genre freely as you wish like fiction, real story, etc. (Previously published stories on your blog can also be send as entries)Word limits: Max 1000 words, but if needed it can be flexible with more words. There is no minimum words limit, however we suggest keeping it as a short story, unlike a few lined flash fiction.Jargon free and simple read:You try your best to keep the words less complex for the readers to understand, because many people are scared away from books because of this. Of course, we wish you show your writing skills, in terms of expression and feelings. Meanwhile, we together need to commit simplicity to the reader. No need to stress much about this if you can’t help with this, our editor will do it.Format : Send as Word Document. (.doc or .docx)Mandatory Info Needed : (within the word document itself)
- Full Name :
- Publish as (Pen name) : Mention only if you prefer any other pen name.
- A short bio about you : Max 60 words.
- Email Id (will be printed) :
- Blog or website Address (will be printed)
- Din
