Interviewer

Good evening and welcome to Who's In Town. Tonight, my guest is Professor William Matthews
from the University of London, who's in town to talk about language and culture. Good evening
and
welcome to New York, Professor Matthews.
Professor
Thank you.
Interviewer
Can I call you Bill?
Professor
Sorry?
Interviewer
Is it all right if I call you Bill?
Professor
Er ... all right ...
Interviewer
So, Bill, I read somewhere that you think that the Americans and the British don't understand each
other even though they speak the same language.
Professor
That's not exactly what I think, but yes, language reflects the culture of the society which uses it.
So, in spite of the fact that they speak the same language, there is a great difference in what
Americans and other Englishspeakers mean when they use it.
Interviewer
For example?
Professor

Well, let's compare these two questions: Do you want some cofee? and Would you like some
cofee?
What's the difference?
Interviewer
I don't know. Don't they mean the same thing?
Professor
Well, yes they do, but Do you want some cofee? is more informal and direct, and Would you like
some cofee? is more formal and polite.
Interviewer
Yeah ... Would you like some cofee? sounds kind of British to me.
Professor
Yes, maybe ... a waiter in a restaurant here in New York might say: Do you want some cofee?
Even if he didn't know the customer. An English waiter would probably say: Would you like some
cofee?
Interviewer
And you think that's important?
Professor
Yes, I do. I think it's important for people to know if something they say offends people from other
cultures, even if they speak the same language.
Interviewer
I see.
Professor
However, far more misunderstandings take place between speakers of different languages when
they try to communicate with each other. Problems of communication are often the result of the
way
speakers of different languages say the same thing.
Interviewer
Can you give us an example?
Professor
Yes, indeed. For Englishspeaking people, the words excuse me, please and thank you are very
important.
Interviewer
And this is not true for people who speak other languages?
Professor
Not always, no.
Interviewer
You mean speakers of other languages are not very polite?
Professor
No! I don't mean that at all! You see, other languages express politeness in a different way.
Interviewer
For example?
Professor
Well, most languages have a formal and an informal way of saying 'you'. We don't have that in
English. We say 'you' to people we know well, and 'you' to people in authority, or people we have
just met.
Interviewer
Is that important?
Professor
Absolutely. It's quite different in some other languages. Take Spanish, for example, a language
which is spoken by a lot of people here in New York.
Interviewer
Yeah, all the taxi drivers ...
Professor
Well, in Spanish, the informal 'you' is tu, and the formal 'you' is usted. Usted is a short way of
saying Vuestra merced, which means 'your grace'. So, if you translate informal and formal Spanish

questions, you get, for example, Do you want some cofee? and Does your grace want some
cofee?
Interviewer
That sounds like something you would say to a king, or someone like that.
Professor
Exactly! So, the formal version is very, very polite indeed. But a Spanish speaker will probably
translate both the formal and informal question as Do you want some cofee?
Interviewer
That's really ... interesting.
Professor
Well, actually it is very interesting, and very important, too. Now, imagine that you want to ask a
waiter to give you a glass of water, what would you say?
Interviewer
What would I say?
Professor
Yes.
Interviewer
If I wanted a glass of water?
Professor
Yes.
Interviewer
Depends how well I know the waiter, and how thirsty I am ...
Professor
Well, in many languages there are formal and informal commands ... in Spanish, you have d-me
un vaso de agua... formal and de-me un vaso de agua ... informal. Both of them are translated as
Give me a glass of water, which is very informal in English. But d-me, again, is the usted form
and is very formal. So if you say d-me, you don't need a polite expression like excuse me, would
you mind, etc.
So although Spanish is one of the most polite languages in the world, Spanish speakers use fewer
expressions like excuse me, please and thank you.
Interviewer
I get the picture. What you're telling us is that even though foreigners may not say please and
thank you, we shouldn't get hot under the collar about it.
Professor
Well, there's more to it than that.
Interviewer
Well, thanks a lot for coming to the studio, Bill. Ladies and gentlemen, Professor Bill Matthews.
Professor
William Matthews, actually.
Misunderstandings
mal-entendidos
indeed
de fato
thirsty
sedento
Well, there's more to it than that.
Bem, h mais do que isso.