---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a useful rule in Anglo-American…"
description: "\"It's a useful rule in Anglo-American communications that the English should double, and the Americans halve, the number of words they would normally em..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg"
---

#  It's a useful rule in Anglo-American communications that…

![“It's a useful rule in Anglo-American communications that the English should double, and the Americans halve, the number of words they would normally employ.” quote by Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg)

> “It's a useful rule in Anglo-American communications that the English should double, and the Americans halve, the number of words they would normally employ.”

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

English tend to be verbose, Americans concise, reflecting cultural communication styles.

**In simple terms:** English are wordy; Americans are brief.

Key Takeaway

Adapt speech length to audience culture.

Themes

communication culture language

Mood

analytical practical

Type

observational advice

When to use this quote

- business meetings
- email writing
- public speaking
- negotiations

Key Concepts

linguistic economy cross‑cultural interaction

Questions to Reflect On

- When should you adjust verbosity?
- How does brevity affect clarity?

A Different Perspective

Risk of stereotyping or oversimplifying.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/)

## Related quotes

> [Do I dare set forth here the most important, the most useful rule of all education? It is not to save time, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/do-i-dare-set-forth-here-the-most-important-the-most-useful-rule-of/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [“A useful rule of thumb: If you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less and get a reaction that signifies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvard-business-school-press/a-useful-rule-of-thumb-if-you-can-t-communicate-the-vision-to-someone/)

Harvard Business School Press

> [I'm fully English, but Portugal is my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-dier/i-m-fully-english-but-portugal-is-my-home/)

[Eric Dier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-dier/)

> [Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/oh-i-think-country-has-changed-tremendously-i-think-country-has/)

[John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/)

> [“New Englanders could be so brusque.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/new-englanders-could-be-so-brusque/)

[Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/)

> [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [No, I didn't forget Samoan - I understand it when you talk to me but, you know, to put phrases together I sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-seau/no-i-didn-t-forget-samoan-i-understand-it-when-you-talk-to-me-but-you/)

[Junior Seau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-seau/)

> [I was brought up by the English side of my family, who are very repressed and working class. Absolutely lovely, but very English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/i-was-brought-up-by-the-english-side-of-my-family-who-are-very/)

[Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/)

> [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. The old Soviet Union turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/while-we-like-to-think-queueing-is-unique-to-british-culture-the/)

[Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/)

> [I'm not very good at standard English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-m-not-very-good-at-standard-english/)

[James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/)

> [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/)

[Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/)

> [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/)

[Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/)

> [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Phyllis Bentley

> [There are two roads to every place, and the wise man chooses the pleasant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/there-are-two-roads-to-every-place-and-the-wise-man-chooses-the/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

> [When one married a man, it was clear to me, one married also the sink and the stove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/when-one-married-a-man-it-was-clear-to-me-one-married-also-the-sink/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

> [your actions live after you till this globe is dissolved; they pass inevitably down as an inheritance from one generation to another. ... decency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/your-actions-live-after-you-till-this-globe-is-dissolved-they-pass/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

> [In every art the desire to practice it precedes both the full ability to do so and the possession of something worthwhile to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/in-every-art-the-desire-to-practice-it-precedes-both-the-full-ability/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

> [Retracing the various episodes of one's life, one is disconcerted to discover that one was not as noble as one thought oneself at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/retracing-the-various-episodes-of-one-s-life-one-is-disconcerted-to/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

> [My idea of marriage, as of every other partnership, ... is that each member shall contribute to it his or her personality, unrepressed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/my-idea-of-marriage-as-of-every-other-partnership-is-that-each-member/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

> [These last years are as important as any that have gone before, nor will any other of our years vitiate or excuse them. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/these-last-years-are-as-important-as-any-that-have-gone-before-nor/)

[Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

[Explore all 8 Phyllis Bentley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's a useful rule in Anglo-American communications that the English should double, and the Americans halve, the number of words they would normally employ.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Phyllis Bentley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-communications-that-the-english/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-communications-that-the-english/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/phyllis-bentley-48232_communication_it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-com_1461358.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's a useful rule in Anglo-American communications that the English should double, and the Americans halve…” — Phyllis Bentley",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Phyllis Bentley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's a useful rule in Anglo-American...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-communications-that-the-english/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/it-s-a-useful-rule-in-anglo-american-communications-that-the-english/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
