In this article I will first discuss the notions of "politeness" and "impoliteness" including a multilevel model of politeness and impoliteness that relates universal levels to culture- and language-specific ones. Given this framework and my earlier postulation of a set of parameters along which members of two linguacultures differ in terms of…

Cross-cultural blunders caused by inappropriate use of language are a common problem in international professional communication. They cause misunderstanding, lead to business failures, and tend to be offensive at times. Such blunders may occur in business ads, slogans, products names, and instructions. Understanding their causes and finding…