On Fri, 8 Jul 2011 01:50:55 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
wrote:

I don't know how many more ways that I can say it to you. It *was* humour -
allbeit a variety that you seem unable to pick the bones out of. The comment
was *not* intended to be offensive no matter what you think, and would not
have been considered so by any British person.

Welcome to one of the many joys of internationalization. Kinda like
the Chevy Nova automobile of the 1960's, which means "doesn't go" in
Spanish. More horror stories of misinterpretation:
http://www.learnenglish.de/mistakes/HorrorMistakes.htm
http://marketinghackz.com/10-product-and-campaign-blunders-to-learn-from/

There are also differences in methodology which will cause problems.
For example:
[Q] What's the difference between a bribe and a commission?
[A] When it's paid. A bribe in advance. A commission after.
Otherwise they're the same.
In many parts of the world, anyone taking a commission is considered a
fool and bribery is considered the norm. In other parts, bribery is a
crime, while taking a commission is considered acceptable.
Compromises, such as bank loan "points", where the bank takes its
profits in advance, marginally avoids the problem.

Wars have also been fought and nearly lost because of these
differences in terminology. During WWII, the allied general staff was
thoroughly confused when someone suggested "tabling" some action item.
In the US, that means delaying a decision. In England, it means
killing the idea.

It also extends to personal habits. My family is from Poland. Half
are from the German side, the other half from the Russian. This
became a problem during the annual Passover dinner, where the two
sides would line up on opposite sides of the long table, and glare at
each other in disgust. The Germans were very much into table manners,
never touching the food and using the forks and knives to surgically
dissect the food. The Russians were into reach and grab, stopping
short of throwing the food across the table. To the Germans, the
Russians ate like pigs. To the Russians, the Germans were pretentious
and pretending to act like the upper classes of old Russia. Many
family wars were fought over the proper operation of the knife and
fork. Us kids would mimick the mannerisms of whichever side we wanted
to impress at the time. This and other differences were not resolved
until most of both sides had died.

Treaties, legal contracts and laws were originally written in Latin,
because a dead language was not subject to dynamic changes in usage,
and therefore was far less subject to misinterpretation.

For those in this discussion that are less than tolerant about using
easily understandable terms, I recommend working with a virtual
company, where the various members are scattered all over the world.
Misunderstands are epidemic to the uninitiated and inexperienced. One
develops far more tolerance of alleged insults than has been
demonstrated in this discussion. In international discussions, I use
a totally different style of writing and speaking. Lots of rules and
hints, but one rule that is mandatory is "no slang".

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558