structuring or "wording" of the world is concerned changes occur relatively fast due to progress in knowledge, sociopolitical changes etc. Lexical items that seem more conservative are proverbs and metaphorical idioms. Many European proverbs and idioms go back to antiquity and the Bible; some originate in national stories and were spread over other languages via Latin. A typical European proverb to express that there is no profit without working can be paraphrased as "Roasted pigeons/larks/sparrows/geese/chickens/birds don't fly into one's mouth", e.g.: Bavarian: Gibroutna Taubn fliagn oan et ins Maul (pigeon) Czech: Pečení holubi nelétají do huby (pigeons) Danish: Stegte duer flyve ingen i munden (pigeon) Dutch: De gebraden duiven vliegen je niet in de mond (pigeons) English: He thinks that larks will fall into his mouth roasted Finnish: Ei paistetut varpuset suuhun lennä (sparrows) French: Les alouettes ne vous tombent pas toutes rôties dans le bec (larks) Standardgerman: Gebratene Tauben fliegen einem nicht ins Maul (pigeon) Hungarian: Senkinek nem repül a szájába a sült galamb (pigeon) Latvian: Cepts zvirbulis no jumta mutē nekrīt (sparrow) Lithuanian: Keptas karvelis neatlėks pats i burną (pigeon) Norwegian (Nynorsk): Det kjem ikkje steikte fuglar fljugande i munnen (birds) Polish: Pieczone gołąbki nie przyjdą same do gąbki (pigeons) Serbo-Croatian: Pečeni golubovi ne lete u usta (pigeons) Slovak: Nech nik nečaká, že mu pečené holuby budú padať do úst (pigeons) Slovene: Pečeni golobje ne lete nobenemu v usta (pigeons) Swedish: Stekta sparvar flyger inte in i munnen (sparrows) Communicative strategies (Sources and further information for this section: Axtell 1993, Collett 1993, Morrison et al. 1994, Hickey/Stewart 2005, Grzega 2006) In Geert Hofstede's terms Europe can, to a large extent, be considered an individualistic civilization (i.e. a rather direct and analytic style is preferred, important points are mentioned before an explanation or illustration in an argument, decisions are based on compromise or majority vote); in contrast, the Sinic (Chinese), Japanese, Arabic and Hindu (Indian) civilizations are collectivistic (i.e. a rather indirect and synthetic style is used, explanations and illustrations are mentioned before the essential point of an argument, decisions are reached through consent). We can further make Edward Hall's distinction between "low context" communication (i.e. direct style, person-oriented, self-projection, loquacity) and "high context" communication (i.e. indirect style, status-oriented, reservation, silence). Most European nations use "low context" communication. Some specific features of European communication strategies The mostly reciprocal use of address terms (this is different in Slavic and Asian