🗓️ Idiom: Speaking Different Languages (v)
💬 Meaning
- When two people or groups do not understand each other because they have different ideas, backgrounds, or ways of thinking.
- A situation where communication is difficult, even if everyone speaks the same language.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The IT team and the marketing team were speaking different languages during the meeting.
- We’re trying to work together, but it feels like we’re speaking different languages.
- When legal and technical departments meet, they often speak different languages.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from real situations where people speak different national languages and cannot understand one another. Over time, it started to describe people with different experiences or ways of thinking who struggle to communicate clearly.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
It was clear that the designers and engineers were __________ when discussing the new product.
Answer
speaking different languages
2. Choose the correct meaning of “speaking different languages”:
A) Using new words
B) Talking too quickly
C) Failing to understand each other
Answer
C) Failing to understand each other
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“The two teams didn’t understand each other at all.” → Change the sentence using: speaking different languages
Answer
The two teams were speaking different languages.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
📚 Learning Resources
👉 Cross-cultural Communication Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👥 Support Spaces
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
⭐️ Extras
📫 Get a Daily Idiom
🚀 Build a Business with AI
Leave a Reply