Quote:
Originally Posted by RichL
Hadn't thought of the translation problem but can see where that might indeed be a problem at times. Also, till now, hadn't considered how much culture can get into the act. Even even such more or less mundane words as 'friend' or 'police officer' can have wildly different meanings to people depending on where they are from.
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And it's not just the spoken word that can differ either. Recently I met a couple going to Brazil (missionaries) and they have to learn sign language since some people there are deaf. The funny thing is that they have a different sign language down there than we do in the U.S. And there is also the famous error that Nixon made when in China. He make the OK sign with the fingers of both hands. The problem was that in China our OK gesture is the same as the 1 finger salute if you get my drift. So he accidentally gave insult without meaning to. And I imagine that there can be a misunderstanding between two people in how what one person does is perceived by the other and vice versa. So someone might appear to be over confident and seem to be putting on the air of "I know x amount about (topic)" and really not be.