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Euphemistically speaking: This may interest you* | The Economist
Language
Johnson
Euphemistically speaking
This may interest you*
May 27th 2011, 11:11 by E.L.
A FRIEND of mine was recently told by his boss that his position at work was "unassailable": in British office-speak that is a severe warning which has sent him hastily looking for a new job. It reminded me of a guide I came across a few years ago, which aimed to help plain-speaking Dutch executives make sense of their English colleagues. Here's an updated and amplified version. Readers are welcome to add their own entries in the comments field, and to ponder the question of what (if anything) an ingrained cult of euphemistic understatement may say about the British (or should that be English?) national character.
What the British say: "I hear what you say"
What the British mean: "I disagree and do not want to discuss it any further"
What is understood:"He accepts my point of view"What the British say: "This is in no sense a rebuke"
What the British mean: "I am furious with you and letting you know it"
What is understood: "I am not cross with you"What the British say: "With the greatest respect"
What the British mean: "I think you are wrong (or a fool)"
What is understood: "He is listening to me"What the British say: "Correct me if I'm wrong"
What the British mean: "I know I'm right--please don't contradict me"
What is understood: "Tell me what you think"What the British say: "That's not bad"
What the British mean: "That's good or very good"
What is understood: "That's poor or mediocre"What the British say: "QUITE good" (with the stress on the "quite")
What the British mean: "A bit disappointing"
What is understood: "Quite good"What the British say: "quite GOOD" (with the stress on the "good ")
What the British mean: "excellent"
What is understood: "Quite good"What the British say: "Perhaps you would like to think about...."/"I would suggest..." /"It would be nice if..."
What the British mean: "This is an order. Do it or be prepared to justify yourself..."
What is understood: "Think about the idea, but do what you like"What the British say: "Do as much as you think is justifed"
What the British mean: "Do it all"
What is understood: "Do what you can"What the British say: "Oh, by the way/Incidentally ..."
What the British mean: "The primary purpose of our discussion is..."
What is understood: "This is not very important ..."What the British say: "I was a bit disappointed that/It is a pity you..."
What the British mean: "I am most upset and cross"
What is understood: "It doesn't really matter"What the British say: "Very interesting"
What the British mean: "I don't agree/I don't believe you"
What is understood: "They are impressed"What the British say: "Could we consider some other options"
What the British mean: "I don't like your idea"
What is understood: "They have not yet decided"What the British say: "I'll bear it in mind "
What the British mean: "I will do nothing about it"
What is understood: "They will probably do it"What the British say: "Please think about that some more"
What the British mean: "It's a bad idea: don't do it"
What is understood: "It's a good idea, keep developing it"What the British say: "I'm sure it's my fault"
What the British mean: "I know it is your fault, please apologise"
What is understood: "It was somebody else's fault"What the British say: "That is an original point of view"
What the British mean: "You must be mad, or very silly"
What is understood: "They like my ideas!"What the British say: “I’m sure you'll get there eventually”
What the British mean: “You don't stand a chance in hell”
What is understood: “Keep on trying; they agree I'm on the right track”*Read this now and don't forget it
Readers' comments
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Flying Oko wrote:May 27th 2011 11:43 GMTWhat the British say: "If I were you, I would do it this way"
What the British mean: "This is the only way you are to do it"
What is understood" "Well, you're not me, I'll do it my way"qos wrote:May 27th 2011 12:12 GMTWhat the Scottish say : aye, right
What the Scottish Mean: no, wrong
What is understood : he agees with meIt also goes to proove to positives can make a neagative.
Manneken wrote:May 27th 2011 12:18 GMTWhat the Belgians say: "non, peut-être" ("no, maybe")
What the Belgians mean: "yes, absolutely"
What is understood: "I have no clue"Reluctantwarrior wrote:May 27th 2011 12:32 GMTWhat people at a previous (American) employer say: "I'm confused."
What people at previous employer mean: "You're being idiotic."
What is understood: "I should restate and clarify my [idiotic] point."Willibrord wrote:May 27th 2011 12:48 GMTWhat the Canadians say: "Sorry"
What the Canadians mean: "Get out of my way"
What is understood: "I apologize for stepping on you"Reido wrote:May 27th 2011 1:09 GMTWhat the Americans say: "When you get a chance"
What the Americans mean: "Get this done by the next time I ask about it"
What is understood: "I'll do it if I'm ever less busy"What the (sneaky) Americans mean: "And if you finish it too soon, I'll assume that you need more work"
¸½¬ÁÇ·Â wrote:May 27th 2011 1:34 GMTWhat the American says: "Awesome"
What the American means: anything between barely acceptable up to remarkably good
What the foreigner asks himself: why are these people so binary?Sherbrooke wrote:May 27th 2011 1:36 GMTVery useful. Will keep in mind.
intman wrote:May 27th 2011 1:56 GMTAnd there I was thinking all English-speaking people used these euphemisms.
I find it rude being so direct as to say, 'I disagree with you' or 'This is a bad idea'.
John Cowan wrote:May 27th 2011 1:59 GMTWhat the Americans say: "I really like your shoes"
What the Americans mean: "I really like your shoes (whatever I may think of you otherwise)"
What is believed: "This person is either an idiot, or trying to sell me something or hitting on me"jomiku wrote:May 27th 2011 2:15 GMTThe British list is somewhat old-fashioned but it conveys the essential difference between American and US language and attitudes toward speech. It's funny to think back, but this was a main subject of the early to mid-20thC novel: the forthright American, the diffident Brit, the culture of plain-talking, the culture of implied meaning. You generally don't need a roadmap to understand what Americans mean.
BTW, I'd say Greene's Quiet American took the language / culture difference to the zenith, with the forthright but treacherous American operative Pyle. This book took the earlier representations of the Europeans as devious and flipped it over, keeping a European attitude about American naivety but coupling it with well meaning brutality Europeans tended to associate with bluntness.
ExDub wrote:May 27th 2011 2:39 GMTThere's also: "That is a very courageous statement"
What they mean: "you are mad, or incredibly naive. Either way, you're doomed".
What is understood: "I'm courageous!"ExDub wrote:May 27th 2011 2:43 GMTAlso "I have every confidence in your abilities"
Means: "You are about to be fired"
Understood: "He has every confidence in my abilities"perguntador wrote:May 27th 2011 3:04 GMT"Unwell" gets top prize in understatement for me. Is it particularly British (or English)? Or is it commonly used in other English-speaking countries?
JShell wrote:May 27th 2011 6:38 GMT"Readers are welcome to . . . ponder the question of what (if anything) an ingrained cult of euphemistic understatement may say about the British (or should that be English?) national character."
If you ask me, its all about shame-- avoiding it, implying it, assigning it to others, and preventing it from being too overwhelming in a social context.
Especially if one is high class, perhaps understatement is part of the implementation, since to be high class means that one is listened to carefully, so that all suggestions are heeded and implemented with a light implication of shame.
Of course, I am an American bumpkin-- my original point of view here could be a very interesting one that gets there eventually, or that, with greatest respect, will be borne in mind.
Its a pity that I have not used statistics more effectively to support my perspective. The problem, however, is that for me concealing the truth is constitutive of evil, and distortion can happen with statistics, as well as with direct propaganda or biased marketing. So perhaps statistics cannot be the source of all authoritative knowledge? A difficult point to make in the Economist, I know.
I should also say that the Economist is one of my favorite publications precisely because of its attentiveness to statistics.
Marc L wrote:May 27th 2011 7:08 GMTI don't think that the old stereotype of the straight-talking Yank and the diffident Brit was ever really true. In other words, I think these exchanges are situational. In addition, they are very gender-driven across all cultures and languages. Think of a female superior asking a man, or woman to perform a job.A male superior might say: "Charlie, clean out the storage room." A female superior might say: "Hi, Charlie. Are you Busy? I love your tie! By the way, I know you have a lot to do, but if you have time, do think you might be able to clean out the storage closet? Thanks so much!"
Genghis Keynes wrote:May 27th 2011 7:22 GMTI'm reminded of a summer job I had in a factory when I was a teenager. The foreman came up one to me one day and asked, "You wanna work faster?" and I naively replied, "Well, no, not really. I might get tired."
Unhappy Realist wrote:May 27th 2011 8:04 GMTPerhaps you should ask what, if anything, a culture of direct overstatement says about the American character. I can't be the only Brit who finds it wearing to hear that everything even mildly OK is "great", "fantastic" or "awesome". And then you have the problem of what to say when something genuinely fantastic comes along and you have no superlatives left.
ashbird wrote:May 27th 2011 8:38 GMTUnhappy Realist,
I want to say - no hidden meaning implied or to be inferred - your penname makes total sense for your comment on the occasion. Worse in the American manner of speech is everything is "awesome": "...like...you know...like...it's awesome." I don't know that that is an example of euphemism. I think it is a matter of it is one word that is guaranteed not to make waves because it has no meaning, and yet the speaker has said something that seems to have some meaning.
Reluctantwarrior wrote:May 27th 2011 8:46 GMTIt's also worth mentioning the regional/cultural differences in the US. People who think Americans are all straightforward probably haven't spent much time in the heartland, where I grew up.
Half of us were Calvin Coolidges who would never say more than five words in a row (although the five chosen would be very straightforward).
The other half were passive-aggressives who were big on circumlocution and excessive politeness, although not as eloquent about it as the Britishisms here.
Plus there are just the local idioms:
What the Minnesotans say: "Well, that's different."
What the Minnesotans mean: "That's bad. Take it back to New York where it belongs."
What is understood: "Gee, isn't it great that we can celebrate our differences."via economist.comI thought I would post this as we prepare for a trip to the UK!
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