【Echo Tech】 Problems which easily occurs between non-English speakers.
Hello.
What is your “second language”?
1. Chinese(1,370,000,000)
2. English(530,000,000)
3. Hindi(490,000,000)
(Reference: Wikipedia ネイティブスピーカーの数が多い言語の一覧 – Wikipedia)
The languages listed above is the top 3 which has most spoken in world. The mentioned number is the number of mother or second language speakers.
It says that Chinese will keep first rank for long term in future, due to large population.
Which means, English is substantially, the language which has most used at world widely. Same as in Japan, all students will be educated English from junior high school.
English is now being required skill for businessman. I’m now working at international sales team and using English everyday, but sometimes I face to language problem with second language English speakers.
Pronunciation influenced by mother language.
Last year, I scheduled video chat with our business partner in India. I was planning to share each countries condition of corona pandemic.
However,
I could not understand almost all what he said, because of his strong Indian accent…
I asked what he just said periodically, again and again and again… seems he was little bit disgust.
Eventually I get used to hear, but just in case, each time I checked the key points, summarizing our conversation.
I learned that because English has used world widely, I need to get used to hear English speakers who is not mother language, and also I need to care how clearly they hears my English.
Preconception of words definition.
Last month, I had a email, mentioned below from oversea business partner.
“Hello. Could you please let us know about shipment?”
First, I thought they want to know “shipment agency” which we are using.
We replied our shipment agency, but it was not the information they looking for, and we had same email again.
Next, we reminds that we made shipment parcel to them recently, and thought they want to know “shipping cost”. We sent information of shipping cost, but again, it was not what they were looking for. I got very confused, and asked them that I need specific information which they needed.
Finally, I understood that they wanted to know “Waybill number(tracking number)”.
Because I was already told them it in past, it has removed from my thought…by the way, I realized myself that when I see or hear “shipment”, I had bias of “agency’s image”.
I decided to ask and check to opponent, if they mentioned something ambiguity.
Might lead serious trouble for oversea business!
Oversea business takes time and costs more than domestic business. Once it leaded to trouble, the responsible you have to take is bigger, and it hardly retrieves.
Each little check between your oversea partner is very important. Before you begin a oversea business, you better to make habit of checking and preserve data, instruments, and any documents to not forget.
If you have any questions or comments, please send us message here.
worldinfo@us-dolphin.co.jp
We are Japanese company which is selling,
・Ultrasonic cutter
・Ultrasonic atomizer
If you are looking for a special processing tool or sterilization machine as countermeasure of corona virus, please let us know!
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