America owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Trump for exposing who we are. But that’s not the only reason.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Communication
Continuing from last month’s column, here are the last six of the ten essential points of using “International English.” 5) Avoid negative questions/ tag questions. English is somewhat unusual in that the framing of this kind of question doesn’t really impact the answer; it merely reflects the speaker’s guess at … Continue reading
Even among native speakers of a language, assurance that the intended meaning of a word or phrase has been understood can sometimes be elusive. Winston Churchill, a noted historian and linguist in his own right, wryly commented that Britain and the United States were “two great countries separated by a … Continue reading
Besides the very high cost of maintaining an expat and family overseas, there are two other developments that have contributed to the reduction of expat roles in recent times: communication technology and the quality of local talent. As little as twenty years ago, the telex and fax were the most … Continue reading
Remember those old adventure movies that have a Western family living in luxury in some exotic location? Gorgeous house in beautiful surroundings. Private nannies for the kids. Car and driver at Madame’s disposal. Leisurely power lunches with the movers and shakers of the local business and political communities. White jacket and … Continue reading
Transparency International is a Berlin-based organization whose mission is “to stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society.” They publish the annual “Corruption Perception Index.” This index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to … Continue reading
