Chapter 14
Adapting Business English to Specific Countries
In This Chapter
Connecting across cultures
Writing well to China, Russia, France, Japan, India, Mexico, Germany, and Brazil
Avoiding mistakes and paying cultural courtesies
It’s a big world out there – full of countries developing their economies and, to varying degrees, eager to establish business relationships with other countries. Today’s easy communication systems, together with growing acceptance of English as the world’s business language, can disguise the deep gulches that still exist between cultures.
A first imperative when communicating with people outside your own country is to become more aware of your own values and the filters through which you see the world. For example, Americans aim to be concise and direct and value individualism. Many other cultures have different priorities – family, relationships, a society of consensus, perhaps.
In Chapter 13 I provide general principles of cross-cultural writing and the thinking behind it. In this chapter I give you some specifics for eight sample countries chosen ...
