- Tags:: #[[Strength Finder Theme: Communication]] [[Zettel]] [[Diversity]] [[Writing]] [[Remote Work]] <!--ID: 1631100130941--> - Related Zettel:: <!--ID: 1631100130944--> - [[Overcommunicate to your future self.]] - Date Created: [[2020-08-31]] - A lot of miscommunications can be avoided by taking a few seconds to restate what you've just said in a different way. Restating reinforces your meaning and helps others check their understanding. - Miscommunications are especially likely among people of differing linguistic backgrounds. - Different languages - Example: In [[Tricentis Global Town Hall 20200831]], [[Birgit Streicher]] said that the [[Global Learning Days]] would be held "every second Friday". She actually meant "the second Friday of every month", but the distinction between the two phrases may not be immediately obvious to someone like her who is not a native English speaker. (Birgit speaks German natively). Luckily, she followed that up with exact dates that she meant, which made her meaning obvious. - Personal anecdote: before I moved to [[Australia]], I didn't know what "fortnightly" meant. - Same language, regional distinctions - Even when all speakers are fluent in the same language, regional distinctions can arise. - A "thong" in [[Australia]] is a casual slipper often used when going to the beach, so when my husband [[Rob]], a native Australian [[English]] speaker, complimented my brother [[Kuya]] on his thong and asked where he could get one too, he thought he was just being nice. My brother, who speaks English as a second language and comes from [[the Philippines]], only knew the word "thong" in reference to the G-string underwear. In his mind, "flip-flop" is what the slipper is called. You can imagine this led to some confusion on their part and amusement on mine! Did I mention this was their first meeting? - [[Spanish]] is a language that is infamous for its regional differences. Before you use the word __coger__, it's a good idea to check whether you're speaking to someone from [[Spain]] or from [[Mexico]], because it could mean "to grab" or it could mean "to have sex (vulgar)". - Same language, different accents. - Every first-generation immigrant has stories of linguistic difficulties. My most embarrassing story of this type happened not long after I first started working in [[Nederland]], about a month after moving here. A coworker passing by complimented me on my yellow dress. I thanked him, smiled, and said proudly: __"Vandaag ben ik echt geil."__ What I meant to say was __I'm very yellow today__, referring to my dress and my purse. - After he burst into laughter (along with everyone else within earshot), he explained that due to my mispronunciation of the word __geel__ ("yellow"), I had inadvertently said __horny__. To say I was mortified is an understatement. - Same language, same region: - Linguistic ambiguities can arise even among speakers of the same language and same region. - It doesn't have to do with whether or not you're a native speaker of language, either: "bimonthly" or "biweekly" is ambiguous. Is that twice a month, or once every two months?