False Perceptions in Remote Negotiations Influenced by False Friends. A Negotiating Experiment Using Common European-English False Friends

Abstract

Communication in English can generate disproportionate reactions in relation to the real context of the situations, if the messages are not correctly understood, for reasons related to the good knowledge of this language. A sociological experiment of written remote negotiation researched the modification of the perceptions of hostility, of the satisfaction and of the reactions in the negotiation through messages written in English, in which are used some false friends common to many European languages, including Romanian language. The experiment demonstrated that the perceptions and reactions in the negotiation in English of a native Romanian speaker are influenced by the correct understanding of the meaning of words like false friends. Misunderstandings can lead to misperceptions about the hostility of messages received in English, and reactions may become unjustified by increased aggression, in disharmony with the correct negotiation context. The interest of the study may be larger, because the chosen keywords are known as false friends in many European languages.

Keywords

• foreign language negotiation
• negotiation in english
• remote negotiation
• behavior in negotiation
• false friend words
• foreign language effect