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I speak multiple languages fluently and people are always surprised when I share that my vocabulary is seriously limited. I learned it is an advantage. I am forced to use simple words to explain.

On the opposite end: I had a coworker, I only ever got about 30% of what he said. I thought it's my Japanese skills. He used complicated sentences and words all over the place. But when I asked other Japanese coworkers, they told me they could not understand him either.

by electrosphere3 hours ago|

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> I am forced to use simple words to explain

I work with mostly Polish engineers and I am struck by how clear and concise their English verbal comms are. I admire it actually.

I'm a native UK English speaker and I wish I had the simple directness that the Poles, Dutch etc have.

by orthoxerox3 hours ago|

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It's always interesting to watch how a bunch of non-native speakers of English from different countries sitting in a room can talk to each easily, but when a Brit or an American joins, the conversation immediately collapses.

by satvikpendem2 hours ago|

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In what way? What I've seen is the native English speaker bends over backwards to explain each and every idiom or try to not use them in the first place.

by sdevonoes2 hours ago|

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As a non native English speaker: British accent is harder to understand (I know there are many accents in the UK). American accent is easier to understand. Idioms are equally harder to understand in both.

For example “bend over backwards”. I get the meaning, but my brain would never produce that phrase. I would say something like “adapts”, “compromises”, etc.

by 14 hours ago|

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by chii13 hours ago|

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Wouldn't that international english be the same simple english (e.g., https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)?

by accidentallfact13 hours ago|

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I believe that this goes beyond vocabulary. It's more about who bears the burden in communication - in most cultures, it's the speaker, who is supposed to communicate clearly, and concisely. In western culture, it's the listener, who is expected to decipher whatever the speaker is talking about.

by tdeck11 hours ago|

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> In most cultures, it's the speaker, who is supposed to communicate clearly, and concisely. In western culture, it's the listener, who is expected to decipher whatever the speaker is talking about.

If you said this in Japanese, I'd say something like "Hmm, that seems a bit...". And you'd be expected to figure out what the rest of the sentence was.

To be more clear, I don't think the generalization you're making is valid. My experience of non-"Western" cultural communication styles has not at all been uniformly more direct and clear. I think some subcultures in the US have an annoying habit of doing what you describe (e.g. "if you can't follow this you must be dumb" kind of mentality) but many others do not.