Perspective

Self,
(This may be a two part series depending on the type and amount of comments that are generated here.)

Scenario:
Let's say you have two people, England and Spain. Let's say England primary language is English but she speaks a little Spanish , but Spain, she only speaks Spanish. Now in the midst of a conversation England says something in her poor Spanish and in response Spain gets angry and walks away. England is left standing there confused, not sure why her friend is upset, since she doesn't feel she said anything disrespectful/insulting. (For the moment, the actual words England spoke aren't important.)

Is England the blame for the altercation, for what she said to Spain? Or is Spain, the blame because of how she interpreted England's words?


This scenario I'll be a bit more specific but it will also make it harder for me to describe. Same thing you have two people engaged in conversation....Lets call these two Iowa and Illinois. They speak the same language. Iowa says to Illinois, "Hey I think you are [\'fat\]" (I used the phonetic spelling from an online dictionary.) Illinois is upset with Iowa, won't speak to her anymore, but Iowa is confused as to why Illinois is angry because in her head she was suggesting that Illinois is wonderful because she was saying "phat ".

Who's to blame for this altercation? Illinois for her interpretation of Iowa's words. Or is Iowa to blame due to her poor choice of words in expressing her true thoughts and sentiments?

I definitely want as much feedback as possible.