InterviewerGood 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 andwelcome to New York, Professor Matthews.ProfessorThank you.InterviewerCan I call you Bill?ProfessorSorry?InterviewerIs it all right if I call you Bill?ProfessorEr ... all right ...InterviewerSo, 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.ProfessorThat'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.InterviewerFor example?Professor

Well, let's compare these two questions: Do you want some cofee? and Would you like some cofee?What's the difference?InterviewerI don't know. Don't they mean the same thing?ProfessorWell, 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.InterviewerYeah ... Would you like some cofee? sounds kind of British to me.ProfessorYes, 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?InterviewerAnd you think that's important?ProfessorYes, 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.InterviewerI see.ProfessorHowever, 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 wayspeakers of different languages say the same thing.InterviewerCan you give us an example?ProfessorYes, indeed. For Englishspeaking people, the words excuse me, please and thank you are very important.InterviewerAnd this is not true for people who speak other languages?ProfessorNot always, no.InterviewerYou mean speakers of other languages are not very polite?ProfessorNo! I don't mean that at all! You see, other languages express politeness in a different way.InterviewerFor example?ProfessorWell, 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.InterviewerIs that important?ProfessorAbsolutely. 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.InterviewerYeah, all the taxi drivers ...ProfessorWell, 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?InterviewerThat sounds like something you would say to a king, or someone like that.

ProfessorExactly! 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?InterviewerThat's really ... interesting.ProfessorWell, 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?InterviewerWhat would I say?ProfessorYes.InterviewerIf I wanted a glass of water?ProfessorYes.InterviewerDepends how well I know the waiter, and how thirsty I am ...ProfessorWell, in many languages there are formal and informal commands ... in Spanish, you have dá-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 dá-me, again, is the usted form and is very formal. So if you say dá-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 fewerexpressions like excuse me, please and thank you.InterviewerI 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.ProfessorWell, there's more to it than that.InterviewerWell, thanks a lot for coming to the studio, Bill. Ladies and gentlemen, Professor Bill Matthews.ProfessorWilliam Matthews, actually.MisunderstandingsindeedthirstyWell, there's more to it than that.

mal-entendidosde fatosedentoBem, há mais do que isso.