The Languages of Business: An International Perspective

What do real people around the world actually say when they meet for business purposes? This book explores how people around the world, speaking different languages, accomplish business. It explores the cultural assumptions underlying a variety of task-oriented verbal interactions - from a simple book purchase to a complex bargaining session. The languages covered include varieties of English (British, American and Australian) used in inter-cultural settings - such as American and Japanese, or Australian and Korean/Vietnamese Japanese - and other languages such as German, Spanish, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese as used in intra-cultural situations.