Myth or reality?

Nicht alles, was über Business-Englisch behauptet wird, ist wahr, wie die neueste Business-Spotlight-Umfrage zeigt. Ian McMaster kann von sehr interessanten Ergebnissen berichten.

Some years ago, I was teaching business English to secretaries in Munich. On the second evening, as one of my students arrived, I looked up and said, “Hi, Maria, how are you?” There was a pause before Maria replied in perfect English, though with a distinct German accent: “Not very well. I spent the whole night on the toilet.”

I had expected a banal: “Fine, thanks. And you?” I would even have been happy if Maria had used the typical German word order: “Thanks. Fine. And you?” Or, since she wanted to be more honest, she could have said, “Actually, I’m not feeling too good. I didn’t sleep very well.” More than that, I really didn’t need or want to know. I’m not suggesting that Maria did anything terribly wrong.

Typical German directness when talking about medical problems is no worse than typical British discretion. They are simply different communication styles. But this short dialogue illustrates some key points about the use of English as an international language:

Grammatically correct English is not a guarantee of effective or appropriate communication.

A distinct accent does not necessarily impede communication. Maria pronounced “th” like “z”, and “w” like “v”, but I understood her perfectly.

Cultural differences — in this case, in how one talks about illness  — can have more impact on communication than the words used.