What we mean when we ask for the milk
New research into the different ways that English and Polish people use language in everyday family situations can help members of each community to understand each other better and avoid cultural misunderstandings. The study from the University of Portsmouth and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) shows how ordinary ways of expressing needs in Polish could sound rude or ill mannered when Polish speakers use them to construct sentences in English. Dr Jörg Zinken, a senior lecturer in the University’s psychology department, recorded everyday domestic situations