Another obstacle to international communication is a tendency of some cultures to use understatement.

For example "things are a bit tricky",meaning they are desperately bad, or "I'm a bit unhappy about that" meaning I am furious.

There have been times when this kind of misunderstanding has had serious consequences, as in a case where a request for assistance by a beleagered British unit in the Korean War went unanswered because the Americans at the other end misinterpreted the message that "things are getting a bit hairy round here".