Question

An intern from United Kingdom was working in an American software company during summers. One day her boss gave her a memo asking her to post it, with the intention of having it put on the bulletin board. To her boss's surprise the letter was mailed by the intern since the word 'post' means 'mail' in British English. In communication terms this error can be attributed due to:

a. syntax
b. phonology
c. morphology
d. semantics
e. semiotics

Answer 1

The intern's misunderstanding of the word 'post' due to different meanings in British and American English is an error of semantics (d).

Step-by-step explanation:

The error made by the intern from the United Kingdom can be attributed to semantics (d), which refers to the meanings of words and phrases in a particular language. The word 'post' in British English commonly means 'mail', whereas in American English it is often used to mean 'putting something on a bulletin board'. This confusion occurred because the same word has different meanings in different dialects of English, leading to a misunderstanding in cross-cultural workplace communication.