Do's and Taboos of Using English Around the World

Rating:
Summary: Not as useful as the title suggests.
Review: Axtell's capsule treatments of various cultures are too superficial for all but the most oblivious travelers. In his attempt to include a multitude of countries and customs, nothing gets decent coverage. Though it's doubtful anyone would expect a book about using English to serve as a foreign-language phrasebook, the brief appendix tries to do just that, contributing to the book's scattershot feel.

The Church Lady seems to have ghostwritten five pages of Chapter 5, where we are informed of the Canadians' "special heritage," Quebecers' "special pride in their ethnic heritage," and Australians' "special brand of coined and abbreviated words," not to mention their "special brand of lingo."

This book is for you if you're an after-dinner speaker who needs cute anecdotes about language and cultural snafus, or if lists of misstatements like "Our Father who art in heaven, Howard be thy name," send you into convulsions of laughter. But it's not essential travel reading.

Rating:
Summary: A handy reference for language teachers
Review: Do's and Taboos of Using English Around the World is primarily written with the international business traveler in mind, but it is also useful for teachers and students of English as a foreign language. Indeed, the book is written in such a simple and entertaining style as to make it appealing to just about anyone remotely interested in language or travel. It is divided into three sections. The first part deals with the idiosyncrasies of American English, the second part with English varieties around the world, and the last part, which makes up over half of the book, with helpful advice on becoming a global communicator. If you are a native English speaker, then the first two sections of this book may not be that interesting, as much of what is said may already be known to you. As an English teacher, I found the latter part of the book to be the most useful because of its coverage of the subtle differences in English communication throughout the world. Of course, this book is not serious reading if you are a linguist or a scholar, but Axtell does a fine job of offering good advice to any newcomer to Japan, my home for the past ten years. If I were to complain about this book, I would say that some of his anecdotes are a little bit contrived and others rather dull. Also, the grocer's apostrophe in the book's title; are we going to get rid of it or quote it in a later edition in the series?

Rating:
Summary: Very good Reference tool.
Review: Having read and enjoyed several of Axtells other titles, e.g., Do's and Taboos of hosting internation visitors, then this book, i.e., Do's and Taboos of Using English Around the World by Roger E. Axtell, Mike Fornwald (Illustrator) was a natural choice. In this intelligent, informative and funny book axtell gives advice about differences in American English and the Queens English. For example "pecker" does not have the American conetation at all and can be easily misunderstood by an American if one does not know the British English meaning of the word. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A 19th Century Approach to a 21st Century Problem
Review: This book has little value except as a very elementary introduction to intercultural encounter. As the cover illustration suggests, Axtell points out some of the large number idioms that flavor the speech (and writing) of Americans. For someone who has never tried to bridge a cultural gap, such awareness is an important first step. For everyone else, the book is only a light read, good for stretches of an international flight when the movie isn't interesting and you can't fall asleep. The entire third chapter is devoted to amusing errors made by Americans when speaking English.

The only serious analysis comes near the end of the last chapter when Axtell outlines four levels of language proficiency: 100-word level, courtesy level, survival level, and near fluency (which he sagely suggests requires six months of living in a foreign culture in addition to classroom study).

As several reviewers have stated, this book is far too superficial in its description of other cultures. But there is a bigger problem: the very notion of "taboos" is a holdover from the 19th century attitude that foreign cultures are inherently dangerous -- a misstep might get you eaten by a cannibal, for example. However, TV has made people around the globe aware of other cultures, even if the viewers live in areas so remote that Americans and other foreigners (from their viewpoint) rarely if ever set foot there. This means most of humanity already knows that differences exist and therefore everyone has some degree of tolerance for unfamiliar behaviors.

Even books that focus on a single culture (in contrast to Axtell's scattered attempt to introduce many cultures) usually fail to go deeper that listing a bunch of warnings. Perhaps intercultural communication guides sell better by scaring readers into thinking that a single misstep could blow a billion dollar deal that was about to be clinched. Nevertheless, diplomats, entrepreneurs, and long-time expatriates generally recognize that finding common ground between cultures is at least as essential as respecting differences. Common sense is important, too: don't get angry, listen attentively, etc.