If I’m talking to an English speaker from outside of the US, is there any confusion if I say “soccer”?
For example, when I was in college a friend asked for a “torch”. I was confused for quite some time, because I didn’t know it was another word for “flashlight”. Does the same thing happen with the word “soccer”? Should I clarify by saying, “…or football”?
Thank you!
Most won’t be confused at all. They might be surprised but pretty simple logic would result in a fast realisation of what you actually mean. I am surprised though, that you, as an English speaking person couldn’t figure out that a torch might refer to a flash light.
Torch has another common meaning though. Does soccer?
I’m not comparing them as it is not relevant.
I’m simply stating that it should be pretty straight forward to figure out that they don’t mean the other kind of torch and if not, it should at least be deducible
Before he hit the end of that sentence, I thought torch was going to turn out to mean a lighter. :(
That’s exactly right! I wrote about it in another response. :)
I disagree, because in American english, the object you’re talking about has a word (flashlight), and it is expected that people use the accepted words if they want to be understood.
How would you like if someone was asking you for a pair of scissors but they called them a knife, and got incredulous when you handed them a knife? You’d expect them to call them scissors, not a knife.
I take it you don’t talk with many people who are not Americans
Because we have actual torches too. You guys don’t have actual soccers to get confused by. Given the right context we can figure out when you mean flashlight, but said torch.
I understand this, but still one should be able to figure out that a person wouldn’t ask you for a flaming torch, in a dark place, especially when there isn’t one around, but there instead is a flashlight near by that they originally meant.
Right, with modern context we can figure it out pretty quickly, after we learn that the term torch is used for flashlight. The first time I saw it i thought they were talking about a cigarette lighter
I’d have just chalked it up to good ol’ British humour.
Torch is a ligher
Haha it’s true! When my Malaysian friend asked me for a torch, I was running around for five minutes looking for a lighter, like this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aKrxd1q3Mw&t=8
It’s all I could picture, no one ever asked me for a TORCH before. Like in Indiana Jones?? 😅
Until I stopped and asked, “Wait, what do you need it for?”
“To look at my car, something is wrong with the engine.”
…and that’s when I realized. We had a good laugh.