5 Minute English Understanding Cultural Taboos Through English Conversation
5 Minute English Understanding Cultural Taboos Through English Conversation sets out what cultural taboos are and how they shape conversation in English when it is used as a shared working language. It moves through communication styles, religious and moral subjects, social subjects such as pay and age, and verbal and non-verbal taboos, with a table comparing direct and indirect norms, a section on business settings and five questions answered at the end.
100% Free (unlimited): Open to anyone, with no account and no payment: the whole article, the comparison table and the five questions answered at the end are on the page.
How It Helps Your Business English
The article defines a cultural taboo, then takes one area at a time: how direct or indirect a speaking style is, religious and moral subjects such as food and belief, social subjects such as pay and age, and verbal and non-verbal taboos including gesture and casual greetings. A short table sets direct against indirect norms, a business section follows, and five questions are answered at the end.
You can use it to see which subjects to leave alone and which to raise carefully when you are speaking English with someone whose norms you do not know. The business section is the part to read before an international meeting, and the five answers at the end give you a way to recover: ask a polite question, watch the other person's signals, and say plainly that you want to learn.
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