Breaking the language barrier

The official language at IASO meetings is English. This certainly is an advantage for numerous participants of these meetings, for whom English is a mother tongue. However, often it is forgotten that a vast majority of the participants at a scientific session actually try to communicate in a language which is not their own. Many of us experience the desperate struggle when we want to translate the brilliant critical thoughts, which we easily express in our own language into clumsy English. A lot of attention for non-English speakers during an intellectual and scientific debate is actually devoted to the language problem where we try to express ourselves eloquently and elegantly - with greater or lesser success.

As president of IASO it has become clear to me that there are other differences in attitudes between the world which uses English as the first language and those of us who have learned to master it the hard way. For many Anglo-Saxons, a business meeting should be run according to the Jofke’s rules. This for instance indicates that there is a "motion" to follow after a proposal and that this motion should be "seconded". The proper saying then is "All those in favour say "aye", .... to the contrary, "no" ....- I think the "ayes have it." Very confusing for many of us outside the Anglo-Saxon world.

However, there is actually little reason to assume that Jofke’s rules should be applied at international meetings of the kind that IASO executive committee, subcommittees and general councils represent. In a Scandinavian situation, with which I am familiar after having chaired meetings since my time in high school, these procedures are not at all applied. Although the ways to run a business meeting are similar, the process is different. In using the English language for communication, it seems to be assumed by the English speaking world that this also implies that the Jofke’s rules for business meeting are applied. Clearly this is not a logical or even necessary step.

When I been trying chair sessions in a more Scandinavian way I suddenly realize that a lot of my old friends and colleagues from other parts of the world brought up with the Jofke’s rules feel frustration, doubt the formal process and the relevance of the decision reached.

There are other differences within the English speaking world. Oscar Wilde once coined the witty remark that the English and the Americans represent two nations divided by a common language. When those of us coming from other parts of the world try to speak English, we all of a sudden realize that we are frustrated because we do not know what type of English to speak. There are differences in attitudes. When the English use a simple and straightforward expression, the Americans are often more inclined to complicate matters. In England the piccolo who runs the elevator is called a "lift boy", whereas in the United States he is called an "elevator operator". Using such complex terminology makes it easy to convince an inexperienced foreigner that even a trivial activity is an immense undertaking.

In these days we are happy to realize that the electrons behave similarly in most parts of the world and the e-mail has really meant an enormous help in simplifying international communication. But as soon as we have to revert to paper handling, problems arise. For unknown reasons, the Americans still have another paper format than Europeans and people in most parts of the world. Anyone who has received a letter from the United States, containing a response sheet realizes that it does no fit into the fax machine until you widen the page format. And when you fill out the American response form you are always surprised by the fact that for many Americans it comes as a big surprise that in other parts of the world there are no states and that the ZIP codes work differently.

It is surprising that in this world of communication, we see the use of SI units in most parts of the world, but have to compare mmol/l with mg/dl in American papers. On the other hand it is fair to remember that we still have not accepted the SI units for blood pressure and keep reporting one component of the metabolic syndrome in mmHg instead of in kilopascal. Many of us still do not understand the reason why the voltage in most parts of the world is 220 volt versus 110 in the United States, although most computers can handle the difference. Sometimes these differences make international collaboration frustrating and difficult. But on the other hand they may help us to remember that these differences still give us the charm of feeling that the society we are living in is multinational and multifaceted. Vive la difference!

IASO - in spite of these differences in culture and tradition - is making great progress.