9 ms·

American Phrase Book

236 points by troydavis 7y ago

mogadsheu 7y ago
At first I thought this was pretty garbage content for HN. Then I realized how many people on here aren’t native English speakers, and might need years of socialization to understand these nuances. Bravo
riffraff 7y ago
IMO some of those aren't american only. When I lived in Ireland, everybody kept looking at me oddly when I talked about my well being after being asked "how are you doing". Took me a while to realize they only meant "hello".
- circlefavshape 7y ago
  We (Irish) are very indirect too, but here we mostly avoid direct positivity as well as direct negativity
Stratoscope 7y ago
This is a fun list! Let me add two of my personal favorites: "Literally", which means "figuratively". "I could care less", which literally means "I couldn't care less". https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite... https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less.html https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less... Edit: I feel like a party pooper saying this, but I see a few comments where people may be taking this phrasebook seriously, perhaps because it's been Published on the Internet by MIT? It's not a serious phrasebook! It's just an MIT alumnus having some fun with us all. In fact the author is clearly not a native American English speaker. Here are a few "tells"... "Upon arrival it is therefore often to their surprise how many seemingly simple phrases actually turn out to mean something completely different in the US American variant of the English language." "You might want to consider to do X." "You might want to consider to postpone your trip until after the deadline." "It is highly recommended that you turn in your application in time to increase your odds at being considered." These are close, but not quite what anyone would write who grew up speaking American English. And that's fine! My goodness, the author's English is 1000 times better than my... whatever their native language is. And I'm glad they shared this fun list with us. :-) BTW if you enjoy this phrasebook, I heartily recommend English as She is Spoke: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=english+as+she+is+spoke https://www.amazon.com/s?k=english+as+she+is+spoke
- mey 7y ago
  https://youtu.be/8Gv0H-vPoDc https://youtu.be/8Gv0H-vPoDc
- TACIXAT 7y ago
  I use literally as incorrectly as I can as a joke, but I probably just sound like a moron. I think that is true of most my jokes though.
  - Stratoscope 7y ago
    My friend, you are literally the stupidest person on earth! Well, second stupidest, next to me.
  - hiccuphippo 7y ago
    I always say figuratively and try to see people's expression when they realize that's the correct word.
  - iamnotacrook 7y ago
    No, the dictionaries have been updated recently - you can pretty much use 'literally' however you want! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED-includes-erroneous-use-of-literally.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED...
- random_upvoter 7y ago
  > "Literally", which means "figuratively". Also, "officially" which means "non-officially".
- eequah9L 7y ago
  If you check out the rest of his page (main page, CV), it seems he's an Israeli.
- mnky9800n 7y ago
  But actually I think it's half joking half true. I'm American but I find when I talk this way it can be confusing to me colleagues in Norway.
nstom 7y ago
So, what would an American say when they actually do want to have lunch sometime?
- DuskStar 7y ago
  A lot of these seem to be ambiguous. "Let's have lunch sometime" followed by some form of actual commitment (phone number, "does next friday work for you", etc) might mean what they literally said. But if it's used to end the conversation... Yeah, you're not getting lunch.
- elliotec 7y ago
  "Let's get lunch tomorrow/this week/some actual date!" Took me a while to realize this actually works, as a born and raised American.
  - sofayam 7y ago
    “works” as in “gets the other person to leave me alone”?
    - dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago
      “works” as in “the meaning of the phrase depends on whether timing is indicated.”
sn41 7y ago
This is great. I think we need phrasebooks for all cultures. I'm Indian, and a Chinese friend was pissed that Indians say "yes" and never do it. I think it's a cultural no-no in India to say "no" to someone's face. I finally realised that a short "yes" most probably means "yes", and a long-drawn out "yes" probably means "no".
- Stratoscope 7y ago
  A good friend of mine from Japan said something similar: if someone says "we will do our best", it means "ain't gonna happen." I can sympathize with this! I have such a hard time saying "no", even (or especially) when that is what must be said. In any case, keep in mind that this is a fake phrasebook made for the sake of humor. It doesn't depict how Americans actually speak with each other, it's just all in fun.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    Hahaha, it's like how "inshallah" is used colloquially.
- barry-cotter 7y ago
  > I'm Indian, and a Chinese friend was pissed that Indians say "yes" and never do it. I laughed. For a Chinese person to give any other culture shit about this is hilarious. The only thing foreign businesspeople in Shanghai complain more about than people saying they’ll do something and then forgetting or ghosting them is poor quality control/fraud.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- shifto 7y ago
  This is not helpful for a Dutch person like me (who are usually very direct) when the IT has been outsourced to India. You ask them to do something, they say yes and when time comes it hasn't been done. This got me so annoyed.
elliotec 7y ago
Overall I think this is bad and completely attributed to politeness, and is even weak at that compared to other languages. Many people in the Philippines would lie in response to seemingly important questions just to seem polite. "Do you know where the {important building} is?" "Oh yes, it's just across the way over there!" (it wasn't)
- Stratoscope 7y ago
  It's not a serious list. It's just a bunch of made-up stuff. Some of it hits close to home, as good humor should, but much of it is just there for humorous effect.
ElijahLynn 7y ago
They lost me on the first two. "Let's have lunch sometime" - Yeah, when I say that I genuinely mean it. It does NOT mean "I don't want to see you again." to me. "Thanks for reminding me" - Again, I genuinely mean that when I say it. NOT "Stop bugging me!".
- Stratoscope 7y ago
  Most people are like you or me: we mean what we say and say what we mean. This list is not supposed to reflect how people actually talk with each other. It's just a made-up sarcastic list, put together for the sake of humor. That can be a fun thing, as long as we don't mistake for an useful phrase book that tries to describe what people actually say and mean.
  - hervature 7y ago
    This is either completely wrong or the perfect satire.
    - smonff 7y ago
      Good satire that explain the cultural meaning that would stay hidden otherwise.
  - rjeli 7y ago
    As an American... this list is 100% accurate
newsbinator 7y ago
I often wonder if part of America's productivity can be attributed to the shortness of this list. It's just a handful of expressions that are mildly misleading. In other cultures, you have to get together with friends over dinner to discuss the hidden meaning of a single suspect word your boss had used that day. High context cultures take a lot of mental effort.
- Jolter 7y ago
  Examples?
  - newsbinator 7y ago
    One story comes to mind, though it's not so much about productivity. A friend in South Korea was running late to the office (I think it was Samsung?). He made it in by his start time and went into the office bathroom for a quick shave. His direct superior happened to walk in. As the boss was washing his hands next to my friend, he said something like, "make sure you do a thorough job of shaving" (though obviously not as awkwardly). Other Koreans who heard the story confirmed this probably meant: "I see what you're doing: get yourself in order this one time, and if I ever catch you shaving at work again you're toast". (Note this was about 15 years ago, and I hear Samsung and most of the other Chaebol have mellowed out a great deal since then)
- bjornsteffanson 7y ago
  Which cultures would be considered high-context? (Genuinely curious)
  - newsbinator 7y ago
    Not sure if everybody would agree, but here's one chart I found: https://online.seu.edu/wp-content/uploads/795x400-InternationalBusiness-Chart-SEU.png https://online.seu.edu/wp-content/uploads/795x400-Internatio... > In high-context communication, a message cannot be understood without a great deal of background information. Asian, African, Arab, central European and Latin American cultures are generally considered to be high-context cultures. https://online.seu.edu/articles/high-and-low-context-cultures/ https://online.seu.edu/articles/high-and-low-context-culture...
9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
Yup. One of the great mysteries of the world is how Americans think they are so straightforward and direct and honest... and then they ask a German if their butt looks big in these pants, and burst into tears on hearing the answer. On a mildly more serious note, I remember well my first ever serious business meeting in the US, where we pitched a potential joint venture to another company. 30 minutes of mutual praise about the awesome potential of the idea and positive affirmations of how we're totally going to do this ensued... and immediately after we left, my (American) business partner dropped the smile, said "welp, that went badly" and stated that there was no way in hell they'd proceed. Which proved to be the case.
- sl1ck731 7y ago
  I've never heard of Americans thinking/saying they were direct. In my case I see our culture as the opposite, as this page seems to demonstrate. Corporate double-speak is a well-known thing here (I presume its similar in many places, but I don't know), and I'm sure most people like me were taught "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all". A common trope in child programs when I grew up was that being honest but hurtful was "incorrect". Perhaps subtle cues or assumptions create such imagery of directness for those on the outside? Not that I take issue with your characterization, I just wonder how it came to be.
  - Gene_Parmesan 7y ago
    Throughout my (American) childhood, I was always told that harmful lies were bad, but various purported sources of moral lessons (books, shows, etc.) had different ideas about "white lies." Some were all for them ("It's a lie, but we say it because we love them!"); others took the line "It's better to be honest even if it's hard." Of course, there was a very common character trope with some kid who was told "Honesty is always the best policy," and who then proceeded to go around telling people (e.g.) that yes, their butts did in fact look too big. inevitably annoying all the adults they were honest with. To any foreigners wondering, no, none of us enjoy the fake corporate double-speak either. Things like asking, "How are you?" and never wanting an actual answer are of course too engrained in our culture for most of us to even notice. But the extreme levels this gets taken to in the corporate setting is almost offensive. In the worst offenders, any exchange even close to approaching confrontational is liable to get you labeled as "difficult to work with." But this has almost less to do with our general culture, and more to do with corporations' need for bland, compliant, agreeable clone-employees.
wenderen 7y ago
I got bit by "How's it going / How are you?" when I first came to the USA. Turns out you're not actually supposed to answer with how you really are, and if you do so, they look at you like you've said something weird.
- jaimebuelta 7y ago
  It was liberating when someone told me so, because I was always unsure on what to answer. There's still acceptable canned answers like "great, thanks, how about you?" or "not too bad". I'm from Spain, and there canned answers as well, but you risk someone can answer genuinely: "Today it's being a shitty day, I slipped this morning and my leg is still aching", even in situations where you don't have a close relationship...
- LandR 7y ago
  This is such a weird thing isn't it. It's like this in the UK too, every conversation starts with "How are you?" "Fine, how are you?" "Fine." It's always the same, pretty much. It's daft, it's just like a ritual that everyone is happy to partake in. No one is actually asking you how you are, it's just a noise that both parties have agreed to start each conversation with. No actual information gets exchanged. You could easily replace those phrases with nonsense and as long as both parties are aware of the nonsense and what the nonsensical response is expected the it would work just as well. Person 1: "Hippopatumus soup triage?" Person 2: "Triangle, Hippopatumus soup triage?" Person 1: "Triangle." It's so strange.
  - MagnumPIG 7y ago
    It's not just noise though, it gives you time to mentally prepare to interact with someone. It's like a practice run!
  - 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
    As geeks we've already developed the optimal handshake: SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK.
  - chrisin2d 7y ago
deleted 7y ago
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nullc 7y ago
In the same vein, https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6919 https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6919
onion2k 7y ago
This feels like someone has taken the classic "Anglo EU translation guide (2011)"[1] and tried to do the same thing for American sayings. It works a little better for British sayings because, frankly, we Brits are incredibly repressed and never say what we mean if we can put our true meaning in the subtext. [1] https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/05/17/anglo-eu-translation-guide/ https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/05/17/anglo-eu-translation-gu...
- greatpatton 7y ago
  I worked on multiple cross European project. And my favorite time (as a Swiss guys used to try to find a middle ground solution) was when we had meeting with British, French and Polish guys that don't agree on a subject. You can really see the huge cultural divide in action. The English guys will says "hmmm interesting", the French will raise his voice (creating a huge discomfort for the British guys) and start a long speech how all of this is stupid" and the Polish guys will just tell everyone that they can go f... themselves and that they won't do it. I really miss that time.
js2 7y ago
Odd omission of "Bless your heart."
emmelaich 7y ago
Some are too cynical but pretty funny. As a recent inductee to silicon-valley-ese I found it odd and funny how often people were "excited" about something.
- smonff 7y ago
  This « excitement » about anything became quite trendy everywhere in the world: you can't read a newsletter or an announcement that don't start by « We are very excited of/to... »
- Stratoscope 7y ago
  We're not excited about everything, only awesome things!
- virgilp 7y ago
  As a Romanian that worked a lot with US companies, I find this to be pretty spot-on: https://medium.com/octavians-thoughts/what-does-its-a-good-start-really-mean-ff8c1a2495c4 https://medium.com/octavians-thoughts/what-does-its-a-good-s...
- synack 7y ago
  Hella excited
  - ollie87 7y ago
    Maybe I'm old now or too into old school rallying, but when someone says "hella" I just think of massive foglights on old rally cars.
toomanybeersies 7y ago
I'd love to see one of these for Australian English, although I don't think it would be possible. Aussies have a love of metaphor a simile that's unmatched in any other dialect of English, especially if you hang out with bogans (basically Australian Rednecks, for lack of a better description). It's basically the opposite of America, where instead of trying to be excessively polite, we try to be excessively offensive. The other habits of Australians are to shorten words down and add an "O" to the end, and to swear excessively. Here's a couple of my favourites: "Not here to fuck spiders" => Not here to waste time "Mad as a cut snake" => Very angry "Busier than a one armed brickie in Baghdad" => Very busy (a brickie is a bricklayer) "Built like a brick shithouse" => A large, muscular man "Crack the shits" => get annoyed "Dog act" => something done to a friend that's uncalled for, e.g. skipping your round at the pub "Stitch up" => A scam or a trick "Sick cunt" => An outstanding person "Old mate" => Someone who's not your friend "Smoko" => Morning break at work "Misso" => Girlfriend (short for missus) "Ambo" => Paramedic (short for ambulance) "Servo" => Service Station (gas station for Americans) "Seppo" => American "Pokies" => Poker machines "Yeah nah" => either yes, or no, depending on context. Can also be used as filler in a sentence. This leads to beautiful sentences, such as: "Yeah nah, the misso cracked the shits at me 'cause I spent the whole arvo at the pokies" Here's a decent sized list of Aussie slang: https://nomadsworld.com/aussie-slang/ https://nomadsworld.com/aussie-slang/
- ulfw 7y ago
  My goodness. That’s why one really has to love you Aussies!
- acherion 7y ago
  It should be pointed out that the word 'Seppo' meaning American comes from the rhyming slang of a septic tank rhyming with 'yank', and then seppo being the shortened form of septic tank.
- Thorentis 7y ago
  To clarify the "yeah, nah". It often depends on the order, e.g: "Want to go out tonight?" "Yeah nah let's stay home." ('nah' last = no) "Should we leave now?" "Nah yeah let's go." ('yeah' last = yes). Sometimes "yeah nah" by itself said strongly can be synonymous with "no way". Sometimes "nah yeah" said strongly can be synonymous with "hell yeah". Australian is the best dialect of English.
dusted 7y ago
Yup, I quite enjoy answering, as detailed as possible when someone asks me how I am, interrupting and insisting I tell my full story since they were so good as to ask. :)
benj111 7y ago
As a Brit some of these seem fairly universal, "no offense" for example. Although my Grandparents don't say it before announcing something outrageously offensive, I just put that down to mental filters breaking down due to old age. There also needs to be a section on Americans aversion to discussing bodily functions. "restroom", "powder my nose"?
- masonic 7y ago
  "restroom" Is "loo" any less ambiguous? Speaking of Brits, they did point out the perils of faulty phrase books many years ago: https://youtu.be/bNP7uQQT-oo https://youtu.be/bNP7uQQT-oo
  - benj111 7y ago
    Strictly speaking it is less ambiguous. I understood it to be a shortened corruption of lavatory and it's worth noting that the English definition of that gives toilet, and the American definition gives the sink in the toilet, which kind of reinforces my point.
    - bloak 7y ago
      I think we should all just say "toilet". Of course that was a euphemism originally (indirectly from French "toile"), but I think it's the closest we have to a neutral term at the moment. Unless we go for "excrementarium"
    - denton-scratch 7y ago
      I took "loo" to be from "gardy loo", which in turn is a corruption from the French "gardez l'eau", meaning "watch out down there, I'm tipping this bucket out of the window". So "loo" would be from "l'eau", meaning "water"; so possibly "water closet", or WC, a.k.a. crapper.
      - benj111 7y ago
        My opinion wasn't particularly informed so ill happily defer. The only other explanation I heard was that it was a contraction of Waterloo.
edpichler 7y ago
Definitely, this list is not something you should be proud of.
snowmaker 7y ago
As an American I found this list funny at first, and then it made me realize how difficult it must be for people who learned English in other countries to come here. While this may have been intended as a joke, it may actually be useful to people who want to do business in America.
thatoneguy 7y ago
I picked up an English copy of the Culture Shock series of books at a bookstore in Japan that was focused on the US (where I was born). Hugely enlightening. The biggest "ah ha" moment was how Americans always worried about owing people something, so they don't like to ask to borrow things or ask for help.
rbrbr 7y ago
Where is all this suppressed behavior coming from and what does it tell you about the country? Language is the key to the psyche of a person.
- tempodox 7y ago
  Bless your heart. You may also want to consider that there is a thing called culture that influences the typical patterns of communication.
lazzlazzlazz 7y ago
I'm American, and I've got to say - we haven't been talking with the same Americans.
alexmlamb 7y ago
Many of these fall under the pattern of comedic overexpression or tactical underexpression. For example, "You're really dirty, you literally smell like trash" obviously means "you figuratively smell like trash" but the latter doesn't pack the same punch. At the same time something like "not the best programmer" is a minimizing statement which is less mean than something like "bad programmer".
xg15 7y ago
Might be worth noting that this is a private page from MIT alumni. I saw the "mit.edu" next to the link and thought it was a study or official publication first.
- timkam 7y ago
  As a European, I assume the page is presenting a stereotype and not the (more nuanced) truth. Personally, I've experienced problems communicating with US folks that reflect this stereotype, but at least in Tech/Science, I assume (and hope) people are somewhat more straight-forward in their communications.
  - nullc 7y ago
    I think most fluent American speakers here would agree that a few of these are true, but most of them are just humorous exaggerations. ... unfortunately, I'm not quite so sure that there would be much agreement on which ones were the true ones. :)
PeterStuer 7y ago
Would be nice if they added a column with 'But if you really mean to express (what is in the first column), say ...
tigroferoce 7y ago
I remember when a native American told me that saying "it's OK" doesn't actually mean that something is good, but just average. I must have told "it's OK" a million of times to partner about their work; they must have assumed that I had huge standards.
SandroG 7y ago
My favorite is “literally” which really means “figuratively” these days.
- iamnotacrook 7y ago
  It's true: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED-includes-erroneous-use-of-literally.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED...
z3phyr 7y ago
In my school in India, "That's a good question" means that the teacher knows the answer pretty well!
dvirsky 7y ago
As a non American, I sometimes just enjoy deliberately messing a bit with Americans when they utter these expressions, by doing it over the top. Someone meeting me for some boring work related thingie: "Hi! How are you doing?" Me: "Super awesome, thanks so much for asking! Super excited to meet you and discuss this!". They probably think I'm crazy and/or are not sure what to make of it, so it's fun to see the puzzled looks, but I'm also just being nice.
- frankzander 7y ago
  :D MMD
- rjeli 7y ago
  As an American, I wouldn’t blink twice at your response...
  - dvirsky 7y ago
    I've seen raised eyebrows and responses like "Awesome... wow, o...kay... that's great to hear" Which I took for "What the hell is wrong with you, crazy foreigner who doesn't know how to read social cues"
- plorkyeran 7y ago
  I've met plenty of people who respond like that without it being a joke, so if you're going for over-the-top you're undershooting the mark quite a bit.
  - dvirsky 7y ago
    I'll try to raise the crazy a bit. Relocating to SV soon so I'll have plenty of opportunities. Umm, I mean, I'm super excited and stoked to finally be where all the magic happens!
PaulRobinson 7y ago
Seems inspired by https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/what-british-people-say-versus-what-they-mean https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/what-british-people-say-v... - a guide I have known to help marriages between people from opposite sides of the Atlantic.
_def 7y ago
I think this isn't exclusive to Americans. Also I think this shows perfectly how there is a positive and negative perspective on everything, with which you could relabel the columns most of the time.
mattgibson 7y ago
There is a British English version of this, which has been around on the internet for a few years. A friend of my partner's, who works at a high level in the European commission told us that it is passed around in diplomatic circles as a (non-ironic) instruction manual. The American/British preference for avoiding direct communication is apparently not normal in Europe at all, and causes a lot of confusion amongst people who are unfamiliar with the layered meanings.
- peteretep 7y ago
  https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlAcKM5IMAAuezm.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlAcKM5IMAAuezm.jpg
scarejunba 7y ago
How about "with all due respect". It means "no respect is due to you for this absolutely idiotic opinion you have tendered you insufferable clown"
inglor 7y ago
As an Israeli this was a shock for me when I first moved to the US. Here "let's have lunch sometime" is literally "let's have lunch sometime". The American culture is so indirect and giving direct feedback is so hard. One of the biggest prides in our culture here is that employees can always burst into the CEO's office and tell them they are wrong if that's the case :]
- nir 7y ago
  Same here, even after five years in the US I still had to remind myself how some phrases actually communicate the exact opposite of their literal meaning. Wasn't surprised at all to see this phrase book was authored by another Israeli :)
peteretep 7y ago
> US natives will usually phrase everything in a manner that creates the least social friction in any given interaction This person has clearly never been to Asia, where a whole different level of this exists.
- nir 7y ago
  My experience (as non-American, non-Asian) has been the interaction was actually somewhat easier in Japan or China, because you don't expect a smooth communication to begin with and both sides are not speaking in their native tongue. When you're in the US you have the false sense that you actually understand what's being said, while in truth learning the actual meaning can take a while.
philwelch 7y ago
There's a bit of a directness/politeness spectrum, and even in the US there are different places on the spectrum, with the Northeast being more direct, the West and South being more polite. I would say we're not nearly as polite as the English--who can often get away with completely insulting an American without the American ever realizing it--but we're also not Dutch :)
majster79 7y ago
Nice
deleted 7y ago
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sideshowb 7y ago
As a Brit the really stand out difference here is "not bad", which for us means "good". (And our stronger "not too shabby" - excellent).
- dghf 7y ago
  Also "quite good", which can mean either "good" or "not good", depending on whether the stress falls on "quite" or "good". And "with the greatest respect", which means "you, sir/madam, are a blithering fool."
deleted 7y ago
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236 points by troydavis 7y ago

At first I thought this was pretty garbage content for HN. Then I realized how many people on here aren’t native English speakers, and might need years of socialization to understand these nuances. Bravo

riffraff 7y ago

IMO some of those aren't american only. When I lived in Ireland, everybody kept looking at me oddly when I talked about my well being after being asked "how are you doing". Took me a while to realize they only meant "hello".

circlefavshape 7y ago
We (Irish) are very indirect too, but here we mostly avoid direct positivity as well as direct negativity

Stratoscope 7y ago

This is a fun list! Let me add two of my personal favorites: "Literally", which means "figuratively". "I could care less", which literally means "I couldn't care less". https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite... https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less.html https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less... Edit: I feel like a party pooper saying this, but I see a few comments where people may be taking this phrasebook seriously, perhaps because it's been Published on the Internet by MIT? It's not a serious phrasebook! It's just an MIT alumnus having some fun with us all. In fact the author is clearly not a native American English speaker. Here are a few "tells"... "Upon arrival it is therefore often to their surprise how many seemingly simple phrases actually turn out to mean something completely different in the US American variant of the English language." "You might want to consider to do X." "You might want to consider to postpone your trip until after the deadline." "It is highly recommended that you turn in your application in time to increase your odds at being considered." These are close, but not quite what anyone would write who grew up speaking American English. And that's fine! My goodness, the author's English is 1000 times better than my... whatever their native language is. And I'm glad they shared this fun list with us. :-) BTW if you enjoy this phrasebook, I heartily recommend English as She is Spoke: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=english+as+she+is+spoke https://www.amazon.com/s?k=english+as+she+is+spoke

mey 7y ago
https://youtu.be/8Gv0H-vPoDc https://youtu.be/8Gv0H-vPoDc
TACIXAT 7y ago
I use literally as incorrectly as I can as a joke, but I probably just sound like a moron. I think that is true of most my jokes though.
- Stratoscope 7y ago
  My friend, you are literally the stupidest person on earth! Well, second stupidest, next to me.
- hiccuphippo 7y ago
  I always say figuratively and try to see people's expression when they realize that's the correct word.
- iamnotacrook 7y ago
  No, the dictionaries have been updated recently - you can pretty much use 'literally' however you want! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED-includes-erroneous-use-of-literally.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED...
random_upvoter 7y ago
> "Literally", which means "figuratively". Also, "officially" which means "non-officially".
eequah9L 7y ago
If you check out the rest of his page (main page, CV), it seems he's an Israeli.
mnky9800n 7y ago
But actually I think it's half joking half true. I'm American but I find when I talk this way it can be confusing to me colleagues in Norway.

nstom 7y ago

So, what would an American say when they actually do want to have lunch sometime?

DuskStar 7y ago
A lot of these seem to be ambiguous. "Let's have lunch sometime" followed by some form of actual commitment (phone number, "does next friday work for you", etc) might mean what they literally said. But if it's used to end the conversation... Yeah, you're not getting lunch.
elliotec 7y ago
"Let's get lunch tomorrow/this week/some actual date!" Took me a while to realize this actually works, as a born and raised American.
- sofayam 7y ago
  “works” as in “gets the other person to leave me alone”?
  - dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago
    “works” as in “the meaning of the phrase depends on whether timing is indicated.”

sn41 7y ago

This is great. I think we need phrasebooks for all cultures. I'm Indian, and a Chinese friend was pissed that Indians say "yes" and never do it. I think it's a cultural no-no in India to say "no" to someone's face. I finally realised that a short "yes" most probably means "yes", and a long-drawn out "yes" probably means "no".

Stratoscope 7y ago
A good friend of mine from Japan said something similar: if someone says "we will do our best", it means "ain't gonna happen." I can sympathize with this! I have such a hard time saying "no", even (or especially) when that is what must be said. In any case, keep in mind that this is a fake phrasebook made for the sake of humor. It doesn't depict how Americans actually speak with each other, it's just all in fun.
- deleted 7y ago
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- scarejunba 7y ago
  Hahaha, it's like how "inshallah" is used colloquially.
barry-cotter 7y ago
> I'm Indian, and a Chinese friend was pissed that Indians say "yes" and never do it. I laughed. For a Chinese person to give any other culture shit about this is hilarious. The only thing foreign businesspeople in Shanghai complain more about than people saying they’ll do something and then forgetting or ghosting them is poor quality control/fraud.
- deleted 7y ago
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shifto 7y ago
This is not helpful for a Dutch person like me (who are usually very direct) when the IT has been outsourced to India. You ask them to do something, they say yes and when time comes it hasn't been done. This got me so annoyed.

elliotec 7y ago

Overall I think this is bad and completely attributed to politeness, and is even weak at that compared to other languages. Many people in the Philippines would lie in response to seemingly important questions just to seem polite. "Do you know where the {important building} is?" "Oh yes, it's just across the way over there!" (it wasn't)

Stratoscope 7y ago
It's not a serious list. It's just a bunch of made-up stuff. Some of it hits close to home, as good humor should, but much of it is just there for humorous effect.

ElijahLynn 7y ago

They lost me on the first two. "Let's have lunch sometime" - Yeah, when I say that I genuinely mean it. It does NOT mean "I don't want to see you again." to me. "Thanks for reminding me" - Again, I genuinely mean that when I say it. NOT "Stop bugging me!".

Stratoscope 7y ago
Most people are like you or me: we mean what we say and say what we mean. This list is not supposed to reflect how people actually talk with each other. It's just a made-up sarcastic list, put together for the sake of humor. That can be a fun thing, as long as we don't mistake for an useful phrase book that tries to describe what people actually say and mean.
- hervature 7y ago
  This is either completely wrong or the perfect satire.
  - smonff 7y ago
    Good satire that explain the cultural meaning that would stay hidden otherwise.
- rjeli 7y ago
  As an American... this list is 100% accurate

newsbinator 7y ago

I often wonder if part of America's productivity can be attributed to the shortness of this list. It's just a handful of expressions that are mildly misleading. In other cultures, you have to get together with friends over dinner to discuss the hidden meaning of a single suspect word your boss had used that day. High context cultures take a lot of mental effort.

Jolter 7y ago
Examples?
- newsbinator 7y ago
  One story comes to mind, though it's not so much about productivity. A friend in South Korea was running late to the office (I think it was Samsung?). He made it in by his start time and went into the office bathroom for a quick shave. His direct superior happened to walk in. As the boss was washing his hands next to my friend, he said something like, "make sure you do a thorough job of shaving" (though obviously not as awkwardly). Other Koreans who heard the story confirmed this probably meant: "I see what you're doing: get yourself in order this one time, and if I ever catch you shaving at work again you're toast". (Note this was about 15 years ago, and I hear Samsung and most of the other Chaebol have mellowed out a great deal since then)
bjornsteffanson 7y ago
Which cultures would be considered high-context? (Genuinely curious)
- newsbinator 7y ago
  Not sure if everybody would agree, but here's one chart I found: https://online.seu.edu/wp-content/uploads/795x400-InternationalBusiness-Chart-SEU.png https://online.seu.edu/wp-content/uploads/795x400-Internatio... > In high-context communication, a message cannot be understood without a great deal of background information. Asian, African, Arab, central European and Latin American cultures are generally considered to be high-context cultures. https://online.seu.edu/articles/high-and-low-context-cultures/ https://online.seu.edu/articles/high-and-low-context-culture...

9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago

Yup. One of the great mysteries of the world is how Americans think they are so straightforward and direct and honest... and then they ask a German if their butt looks big in these pants, and burst into tears on hearing the answer. On a mildly more serious note, I remember well my first ever serious business meeting in the US, where we pitched a potential joint venture to another company. 30 minutes of mutual praise about the awesome potential of the idea and positive affirmations of how we're totally going to do this ensued... and immediately after we left, my (American) business partner dropped the smile, said "welp, that went badly" and stated that there was no way in hell they'd proceed. Which proved to be the case.

sl1ck731 7y ago
I've never heard of Americans thinking/saying they were direct. In my case I see our culture as the opposite, as this page seems to demonstrate. Corporate double-speak is a well-known thing here (I presume its similar in many places, but I don't know), and I'm sure most people like me were taught "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all". A common trope in child programs when I grew up was that being honest but hurtful was "incorrect". Perhaps subtle cues or assumptions create such imagery of directness for those on the outside? Not that I take issue with your characterization, I just wonder how it came to be.
- Gene_Parmesan 7y ago
  Throughout my (American) childhood, I was always told that harmful lies were bad, but various purported sources of moral lessons (books, shows, etc.) had different ideas about "white lies." Some were all for them ("It's a lie, but we say it because we love them!"); others took the line "It's better to be honest even if it's hard." Of course, there was a very common character trope with some kid who was told "Honesty is always the best policy," and who then proceeded to go around telling people (e.g.) that yes, their butts did in fact look too big. inevitably annoying all the adults they were honest with. To any foreigners wondering, no, none of us enjoy the fake corporate double-speak either. Things like asking, "How are you?" and never wanting an actual answer are of course too engrained in our culture for most of us to even notice. But the extreme levels this gets taken to in the corporate setting is almost offensive. In the worst offenders, any exchange even close to approaching confrontational is liable to get you labeled as "difficult to work with." But this has almost less to do with our general culture, and more to do with corporations' need for bland, compliant, agreeable clone-employees.

wenderen 7y ago

I got bit by "How's it going / How are you?" when I first came to the USA. Turns out you're not actually supposed to answer with how you really are, and if you do so, they look at you like you've said something weird.

jaimebuelta 7y ago
It was liberating when someone told me so, because I was always unsure on what to answer. There's still acceptable canned answers like "great, thanks, how about you?" or "not too bad". I'm from Spain, and there canned answers as well, but you risk someone can answer genuinely: "Today it's being a shitty day, I slipped this morning and my leg is still aching", even in situations where you don't have a close relationship...
LandR 7y ago
This is such a weird thing isn't it. It's like this in the UK too, every conversation starts with "How are you?" "Fine, how are you?" "Fine." It's always the same, pretty much. It's daft, it's just like a ritual that everyone is happy to partake in. No one is actually asking you how you are, it's just a noise that both parties have agreed to start each conversation with. No actual information gets exchanged. You could easily replace those phrases with nonsense and as long as both parties are aware of the nonsense and what the nonsensical response is expected the it would work just as well. Person 1: "Hippopatumus soup triage?" Person 2: "Triangle, Hippopatumus soup triage?" Person 1: "Triangle." It's so strange.
- MagnumPIG 7y ago
  It's not just noise though, it gives you time to mentally prepare to interact with someone. It's like a practice run!
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
  As geeks we've already developed the optimal handshake: SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK.
- chrisin2d 7y ago

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nullc 7y ago

In the same vein, https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6919 https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6919

onion2k 7y ago

This feels like someone has taken the classic "Anglo EU translation guide (2011)"[1] and tried to do the same thing for American sayings. It works a little better for British sayings because, frankly, we Brits are incredibly repressed and never say what we mean if we can put our true meaning in the subtext. [1] https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/05/17/anglo-eu-translation-guide/ https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/05/17/anglo-eu-translation-gu...

greatpatton 7y ago
I worked on multiple cross European project. And my favorite time (as a Swiss guys used to try to find a middle ground solution) was when we had meeting with British, French and Polish guys that don't agree on a subject. You can really see the huge cultural divide in action. The English guys will says "hmmm interesting", the French will raise his voice (creating a huge discomfort for the British guys) and start a long speech how all of this is stupid" and the Polish guys will just tell everyone that they can go f... themselves and that they won't do it. I really miss that time.

js2 7y ago

Odd omission of "Bless your heart."

emmelaich 7y ago

Some are too cynical but pretty funny. As a recent inductee to silicon-valley-ese I found it odd and funny how often people were "excited" about something.

smonff 7y ago
This « excitement » about anything became quite trendy everywhere in the world: you can't read a newsletter or an announcement that don't start by « We are very excited of/to... »
Stratoscope 7y ago
We're not excited about everything, only awesome things!
virgilp 7y ago
As a Romanian that worked a lot with US companies, I find this to be pretty spot-on: https://medium.com/octavians-thoughts/what-does-its-a-good-start-really-mean-ff8c1a2495c4 https://medium.com/octavians-thoughts/what-does-its-a-good-s...
synack 7y ago
Hella excited
- ollie87 7y ago
  Maybe I'm old now or too into old school rallying, but when someone says "hella" I just think of massive foglights on old rally cars.

toomanybeersies 7y ago

I'd love to see one of these for Australian English, although I don't think it would be possible. Aussies have a love of metaphor a simile that's unmatched in any other dialect of English, especially if you hang out with bogans (basically Australian Rednecks, for lack of a better description). It's basically the opposite of America, where instead of trying to be excessively polite, we try to be excessively offensive. The other habits of Australians are to shorten words down and add an "O" to the end, and to swear excessively. Here's a couple of my favourites: "Not here to fuck spiders" => Not here to waste time "Mad as a cut snake" => Very angry "Busier than a one armed brickie in Baghdad" => Very busy (a brickie is a bricklayer) "Built like a brick shithouse" => A large, muscular man "Crack the shits" => get annoyed "Dog act" => something done to a friend that's uncalled for, e.g. skipping your round at the pub "Stitch up" => A scam or a trick "Sick cunt" => An outstanding person "Old mate" => Someone who's not your friend "Smoko" => Morning break at work "Misso" => Girlfriend (short for missus) "Ambo" => Paramedic (short for ambulance) "Servo" => Service Station (gas station for Americans) "Seppo" => American "Pokies" => Poker machines "Yeah nah" => either yes, or no, depending on context. Can also be used as filler in a sentence. This leads to beautiful sentences, such as: "Yeah nah, the misso cracked the shits at me 'cause I spent the whole arvo at the pokies" Here's a decent sized list of Aussie slang: https://nomadsworld.com/aussie-slang/ https://nomadsworld.com/aussie-slang/

ulfw 7y ago
My goodness. That’s why one really has to love you Aussies!
acherion 7y ago
It should be pointed out that the word 'Seppo' meaning American comes from the rhyming slang of a septic tank rhyming with 'yank', and then seppo being the shortened form of septic tank.
Thorentis 7y ago
To clarify the "yeah, nah". It often depends on the order, e.g: "Want to go out tonight?" "Yeah nah let's stay home." ('nah' last = no) "Should we leave now?" "Nah yeah let's go." ('yeah' last = yes). Sometimes "yeah nah" by itself said strongly can be synonymous with "no way". Sometimes "nah yeah" said strongly can be synonymous with "hell yeah". Australian is the best dialect of English.

dusted 7y ago

Yup, I quite enjoy answering, as detailed as possible when someone asks me how I am, interrupting and insisting I tell my full story since they were so good as to ask. :)

benj111 7y ago

As a Brit some of these seem fairly universal, "no offense" for example. Although my Grandparents don't say it before announcing something outrageously offensive, I just put that down to mental filters breaking down due to old age. There also needs to be a section on Americans aversion to discussing bodily functions. "restroom", "powder my nose"?

masonic 7y ago
"restroom" Is "loo" any less ambiguous? Speaking of Brits, they did point out the perils of faulty phrase books many years ago: https://youtu.be/bNP7uQQT-oo https://youtu.be/bNP7uQQT-oo
- benj111 7y ago
  Strictly speaking it is less ambiguous. I understood it to be a shortened corruption of lavatory and it's worth noting that the English definition of that gives toilet, and the American definition gives the sink in the toilet, which kind of reinforces my point.
  - bloak 7y ago
    I think we should all just say "toilet". Of course that was a euphemism originally (indirectly from French "toile"), but I think it's the closest we have to a neutral term at the moment. Unless we go for "excrementarium"
  - denton-scratch 7y ago
    I took "loo" to be from "gardy loo", which in turn is a corruption from the French "gardez l'eau", meaning "watch out down there, I'm tipping this bucket out of the window". So "loo" would be from "l'eau", meaning "water"; so possibly "water closet", or WC, a.k.a. crapper.
    - benj111 7y ago
      My opinion wasn't particularly informed so ill happily defer. The only other explanation I heard was that it was a contraction of Waterloo.

edpichler 7y ago

Definitely, this list is not something you should be proud of.

snowmaker 7y ago

As an American I found this list funny at first, and then it made me realize how difficult it must be for people who learned English in other countries to come here. While this may have been intended as a joke, it may actually be useful to people who want to do business in America.

thatoneguy 7y ago

I picked up an English copy of the Culture Shock series of books at a bookstore in Japan that was focused on the US (where I was born). Hugely enlightening. The biggest "ah ha" moment was how Americans always worried about owing people something, so they don't like to ask to borrow things or ask for help.

rbrbr 7y ago

Where is all this suppressed behavior coming from and what does it tell you about the country? Language is the key to the psyche of a person.

tempodox 7y ago
Bless your heart. You may also want to consider that there is a thing called culture that influences the typical patterns of communication.

lazzlazzlazz 7y ago

I'm American, and I've got to say - we haven't been talking with the same Americans.

alexmlamb 7y ago

Many of these fall under the pattern of comedic overexpression or tactical underexpression. For example, "You're really dirty, you literally smell like trash" obviously means "you figuratively smell like trash" but the latter doesn't pack the same punch. At the same time something like "not the best programmer" is a minimizing statement which is less mean than something like "bad programmer".

xg15 7y ago

Might be worth noting that this is a private page from MIT alumni. I saw the "mit.edu" next to the link and thought it was a study or official publication first.

timkam 7y ago
As a European, I assume the page is presenting a stereotype and not the (more nuanced) truth. Personally, I've experienced problems communicating with US folks that reflect this stereotype, but at least in Tech/Science, I assume (and hope) people are somewhat more straight-forward in their communications.
- nullc 7y ago
  I think most fluent American speakers here would agree that a few of these are true, but most of them are just humorous exaggerations. ... unfortunately, I'm not quite so sure that there would be much agreement on which ones were the true ones. :)

PeterStuer 7y ago

Would be nice if they added a column with 'But if you really mean to express (what is in the first column), say ...

tigroferoce 7y ago

I remember when a native American told me that saying "it's OK" doesn't actually mean that something is good, but just average. I must have told "it's OK" a million of times to partner about their work; they must have assumed that I had huge standards.

SandroG 7y ago

My favorite is “literally” which really means “figuratively” these days.

iamnotacrook 7y ago
It's true: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED-includes-erroneous-use-of-literally.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10240917/Uproar-as-OED...

z3phyr 7y ago

In my school in India, "That's a good question" means that the teacher knows the answer pretty well!

dvirsky 7y ago

As a non American, I sometimes just enjoy deliberately messing a bit with Americans when they utter these expressions, by doing it over the top. Someone meeting me for some boring work related thingie: "Hi! How are you doing?" Me: "Super awesome, thanks so much for asking! Super excited to meet you and discuss this!". They probably think I'm crazy and/or are not sure what to make of it, so it's fun to see the puzzled looks, but I'm also just being nice.

frankzander 7y ago
:D MMD
rjeli 7y ago
As an American, I wouldn’t blink twice at your response...
- dvirsky 7y ago
  I've seen raised eyebrows and responses like "Awesome... wow, o...kay... that's great to hear" Which I took for "What the hell is wrong with you, crazy foreigner who doesn't know how to read social cues"
plorkyeran 7y ago
I've met plenty of people who respond like that without it being a joke, so if you're going for over-the-top you're undershooting the mark quite a bit.
- dvirsky 7y ago
  I'll try to raise the crazy a bit. Relocating to SV soon so I'll have plenty of opportunities. Umm, I mean, I'm super excited and stoked to finally be where all the magic happens!

PaulRobinson 7y ago

Seems inspired by https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/what-british-people-say-versus-what-they-mean https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/what-british-people-say-v... - a guide I have known to help marriages between people from opposite sides of the Atlantic.

_def 7y ago

I think this isn't exclusive to Americans. Also I think this shows perfectly how there is a positive and negative perspective on everything, with which you could relabel the columns most of the time.

mattgibson 7y ago

There is a British English version of this, which has been around on the internet for a few years. A friend of my partner's, who works at a high level in the European commission told us that it is passed around in diplomatic circles as a (non-ironic) instruction manual. The American/British preference for avoiding direct communication is apparently not normal in Europe at all, and causes a lot of confusion amongst people who are unfamiliar with the layered meanings.

peteretep 7y ago
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlAcKM5IMAAuezm.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlAcKM5IMAAuezm.jpg

scarejunba 7y ago

How about "with all due respect". It means "no respect is due to you for this absolutely idiotic opinion you have tendered you insufferable clown"

inglor 7y ago

As an Israeli this was a shock for me when I first moved to the US. Here "let's have lunch sometime" is literally "let's have lunch sometime". The American culture is so indirect and giving direct feedback is so hard. One of the biggest prides in our culture here is that employees can always burst into the CEO's office and tell them they are wrong if that's the case :]

nir 7y ago
Same here, even after five years in the US I still had to remind myself how some phrases actually communicate the exact opposite of their literal meaning. Wasn't surprised at all to see this phrase book was authored by another Israeli :)

peteretep 7y ago

> US natives will usually phrase everything in a manner that creates the least social friction in any given interaction This person has clearly never been to Asia, where a whole different level of this exists.

nir 7y ago
My experience (as non-American, non-Asian) has been the interaction was actually somewhat easier in Japan or China, because you don't expect a smooth communication to begin with and both sides are not speaking in their native tongue. When you're in the US you have the false sense that you actually understand what's being said, while in truth learning the actual meaning can take a while.

philwelch 7y ago

There's a bit of a directness/politeness spectrum, and even in the US there are different places on the spectrum, with the Northeast being more direct, the West and South being more polite. I would say we're not nearly as polite as the English--who can often get away with completely insulting an American without the American ever realizing it--but we're also not Dutch :)

majster79 7y ago

Nice

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sideshowb 7y ago

As a Brit the really stand out difference here is "not bad", which for us means "good". (And our stronger "not too shabby" - excellent).

dghf 7y ago
Also "quite good", which can mean either "good" or "not good", depending on whether the stress falls on "quite" or "good". And "with the greatest respect", which means "you, sir/madam, are a blithering fool."

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