Notes · Manufacturing in Asia
What to say twice across three languages
- 1Turn the question into an instruction, with a date
- 2Ask for it to be repeated in their own words
- 3Demonstrate with a real part, a real example
- 4Write it down when it matters
I have worked with teams in China, in Vietnam and in France. The first lesson is the one I keep having to relearn: the language barrier does not disappear after years in the country. It gets easier to forget.
A simple test
Take a sentence in language A. Translate it into B with an online translator, then translate it back to A. The result is often different from what you wrote, and sometimes the essence has changed. If a machine does that to a careful sentence, imagine what a rushed instruction on the floor goes through, in two or three heads and two or three languages.
Where the meaning slips
English is full of vague or multi-meaning words. We use them to be polite or to leave room, and they are exactly the words that break:
- Soon, shortly, as soon as possible. Two people can mean “today” and “this month”.
- Should, might, could. One person hears an instruction, another hears an option.
- Quite good, not bad. Praise or reservation, depending on the reader.
- Eventually. In French, éventuellement means “possibly”. In English it means “in the end”.
These are illustrations. The pattern is the point: the vaguer the word, the more the reader fills in alone.
A yes that meant something else
One case I remember well. You ask a colleague, “Can you do it?” The answer is “yes”. A week later, nothing has been done.
The colleague had not lied and had not forgotten. The question was whether it could be done, and the honest answer was yes, it could. What they were waiting for was the manager to say clearly that it should be done, and by when. I had asked a question and meant an instruction. They had answered the question.
What I do about it
- Ask for it to be repeated and explained. Not “do you understand?”, which invites a polite yes, but “tell me what you will do tomorrow morning”. The point is to hear their words, not mine.
- Demonstrate. Hands, a real part, a real example on the line. A gesture and a sample travel better than an adjective.
- Turn the question into an instruction, with a date. “Can you do it?” is a question. “Please do it before Thursday noon and tell me when it is done” is an instruction, and “before Thursday noon” cannot be read two ways.
- Write it down when it matters, and let people look at it in their own language.
- Say it twice, differently. Once in words, once as an example.
It is not about the other person’s level
When a message goes wrong, it is tempting to blame the listener’s language. Usually the sender used a word that was never precise. Fixing the habit on my side was faster than waiting for the language level of everyone else to rise.
A question to keep
Which sentence did you say this week that you are sure was understood the way you meant it?
Questions this note answers
- How do you make sure an instruction was understood across languages?
- Ask the person to repeat it and explain what is expected in their own words, and demonstrate with a real example. A yes or no question usually gets a polite yes.
- Why do English words cause misunderstandings in international teams?
- Many English words are vague or carry several meanings, such as soon, should, quite or maybe. Each reader fills the gap with their own language and habits.
- Why does a yes not always mean the work will be done?
- Because the yes may answer a different question. Asked 'Can you do it?', a colleague can truthfully say yes, it is possible, and still wait for a clear instruction and a date before starting.
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