The English are so polite that it sometimes takes them 2 minutes to ask for something – ‘would you be kind enough to pass the salt’ vs. ‘pass the salt’. One can easily code that as the ‘politest’ way of asking for salt. I just feel they were exposed to elaborate vocabulary since they were in kindergarten and they can make the most derogatory things sound charming.

Either that or they are just good at masking the reality well and confusing the hell out of others. The translation guide below serves as a reference point for anyone visiting England.

So, I was wondering if there could have been parallels to this in India and I decided to attempt this for the Indian corporate world. In general, an Indian boss would never mince words and exactly say what he wants to say. But, there are days when he tries to play nice, because there is some foreigner in the office and he cannot be seen as a typical Indian boss. In any case, an Indian subordinate always knows when he is being tricked.

What do you think?