This must be saved for posterity.
Cheerful Monk in her comments on my blog post Happiness gave me a link to another blog where this gem appears.
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10 thoughts on “Spoken English And What It Means.”
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LOL! and we wonder why communication is so difficult.
I remember when the shoe was thrown at President Bush. much more than just a ‘shoe’ being thrown!
Nuances are difficult to understand in any language unless you are part of the local communities.
Indeed, you can’t survive in GB without knowing the true meaning of all those innocent-sounding phrases. And knowing that the British seldom say what they really mean, for fear of being thought rude or over-the-top.
I took some time to understand and luckily I had family and colleagues to guide me.
It’s not just in Great Britain — around here a lot of people say, “We must get together soon. I’ll call you.” When it’s that vague it’s unlikely to happen. Also, if someone said to me, I only have a few minor comments,” I would know I was in for a long discussion. Yes, the people I know are polite too. 😀
Yes, here too in almost all languages what is said and what is meant could be opposites.
throwing things at politicians is always loaded with meaning…it happens here from time to time. And it’s always first past the post with news – not of why it happened but the whole idea that “the item” was the real reason…nowadays with modern technology it is caught on scene quickly…
plus their “tone of voice” we all use it…and it can impart much more than the string of words…
then there’s one of my friends who starts every first text to me on any given day with “Hi Cathy how r u?” – It rankled me for years…but now I accept he’s made a template on his phone & that’s his way of saying “hello” …and as I had a text from him a few days ago, this reminded me to reply. I rarely say anything about “how I am though” 🙂
Almost all my telephone calls start that way and I find it hard to not answer with some quip. I often ask “how much time do you have?”
You are quite right about the body language and tone of communication sending the right or wrong signals.