Re: [Lingo] Usage of "should"

[Josh Glover <jmglov@example.com>]

2012/5/31 Nguyễn Vũ Hưng <vuhung16plus@example.com>:

> On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 2:40 PM, Josh Glover <jmglov@example.com> wrote:
>> Hrm, this gives me a clue as to why I use/hear it often: I'm a software
>> engineer, and at work, use much more precise language than I would at home.
>> This means that nuance is more important.
>
> There usually more than one way to express what I want to say,
> in any language, but I would pick the most straight way, so that everyone
> who read my message would interpret in the same way.

Yes, that is a good rule. The problem is that the other way to
communicate precisely what I mean is to say "we'll deal with it then,
just in case it happens", which sounds convoluted to me. There's a
nice idiomatic expression for that in English: "we'll cross that
bridge when we come to it", but using idiomatic language with
non-native speakers is risky.

On the plus side, my non-native English speaking colleagues are
exposed to natural, unstilted English, which should help them improve
their own English.

When I myself am communicating in a non-native language, I follow your rule.

> At work, I use and encourage using plain English/Japanese to make
> communication more effective and avoid misunderstanding.

But what about when you're in a Vietnamese-speaking workplace with one
or two foreigners who speak Vietnamese fluently but not natively?

Cheers,
Josh