Text is Tricksy and I am Not Kidding

Know this universal warning:  Beware of words and their meaning!  Words are tricksy.  Text is culturally malleable!

A UK associate and I exchanged email the other day.  I live in the USA.  He lives in the UK.

My associate told me he would be out-of-town for 10 days.  I told him I would miss him and “I was not kidding.”

My UK associate kindly replied and wondered if/why I was being sarcastic.

I re-read my reply and wondered what I’d done to make him think I
was being sarcastic and non-genuine in my expression of missing him. 

Here is the reply:

Words and nuances, oh Dear!

Here [in the UK], when we say “I am not kidding,” it means the fun
stop here lets get serious and is a call to arms. Hackles up, and
squaring up for a fight!  So in verbal tones it’s seen as sarcasm.

Don’t worry David, I am quite a calm person and am not going to
offend just for the sake of it and I would need good cause.  Even then
I would want to hear the other person’s perspective and point of view.

I recall the incident where I made a comment first on your post
without a great deal of clarity: I was wondering in these type of
situations if it might be a good idea if I emailed you the comment
first or at least alerted you to it….

It’s funny
because my associate mentioned in his reply my reaction to a comment he
made on one of my articles where I felt he was picking on me — when he
was doing just the opposite!

I am further reminded of the shadowy meaning of words when I became ensnared in a cultural misunderstanding of the phrase — “Man to Man” — between my Nebraska-bred invocation of it and New Jersey common usage.

Beware!  Text is tricksy and meaning and definition are not always clear!

About David W. Boles

Publishes 14 blogs through BolesBlogs.com. Teaches via BolesUniversity.com. Publishes through BolesBooks.com. Lives at Boles.com.
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