Behind the words: hidden cultural meanings in language

Have you ever heard a Dutch person say "This is wet finger work" and wondered what on earth they were talking about? Or, Dutch people, have you ever heard an English person appraising something as being "quite good", only to later realise that it was their polite way of saying that they found it disappointing? The truth is that accurately communicating meaning involves more than stringing together a few words. For most things we say, there is both a basic meaning and a culturally-influenced connoted meaning.

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