Pretty much all native English speakers come from low context culture.
If someone say ‘I can’t’ to mean something other than ‘impossible’ ‘inability to’ then the onus is on the speaker to be clearer about their meaning.
“I can’t go” may mean I don’t feel like going
“I can’t do that” to me means someone doesn’t feel like doing that and needs more convincing
Store clerk: “I can give 25% off”
Me: “I want a 30% discount”
Store clerk: “I can’t do that”
Source: Not an English major, i’m just someone who grew up as a native English speaker in the UK, Canada and US
I would think this person is a liar. No judgement if you don’t feel like going, just say that.
sounds pretty clear to me 
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I hear “Sorry I can’t go to the [movies] on [Friday]” quite often
“I can’t do [Tuesday]” etc
It usually means they were unsuccessful at bartering and should watch more YouTube videos on how to barter properly
Source: Not an English major
Perhaps it’s an Australian thing? I’m most familiar with US English. I know there are differences in US English, Canadian English, UK English, Australian English etc. They are even separate languages on iPhone when you choose a language.
I think a cultural difference perhaps not a language difference.
An American might think they’re polite by saying the ‘can’t’ go when they just don’t want to.
An Australian would probably think that person is a fake ass b!tch.
But the meaning of can’t doesn’t change anywhere.
Also ‘poor me syndrome’ is a huge problem in Australia and those of us that don’t suffer from it really detest ‘can’t’ being synonymous with ‘I don’t want to’ ‘I’m too lazy too’
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Funny when people than can’t naturalize then list of the reasons why they don’t. What they should say is that they won’t naturalize when there is a renunciation requirement. I’ve had over a couple of decades of know it alls telling me non Chinese cannot become citizens here because they “know” the law.
All the things I was told I “can’t” do in Taiwan when I got here.
- Get a Taiwan drivers licence.
- Own a property
- Get a car loan
- Get a credit card
- Get a mortgage
- Naturalize
- Be allowed to get another citizenship as only "natural born’ Taiwanese are allowed that
- Have a phone contract in my own ARC name
- Start a company
- I can’t get ahead without a university degree.
Then people are asking wow how are you doing this? How have you done any of this? Surely you are telling porky pies we don’t believe you cause others told them it was impossible, can’t be done.
I didn’t just take no for an answer from some low level person in a bank or in a government office. I never wrote it was easy or that I was refused. I just wrote with determination it is possible.
When you tell people they then double down saying it’s impossible and that I am lying. Same when poster Llary from the UK told everyone in 2005 how to get credit cards mortgage own a business when he was single. At least he was smart enough to ask me how long could he use a TARC for as he was in his 20’s when he naturalized. He wrote a nice thread on how to start a business here as a forienger.
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And we’ve had dozens of posts on forumosa BY YOU telling us about all these awful people you keep meeting. It’s tiresome. We know!
Guy
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Yeah its tiresome to be told what one can and cannot do by the clueless numpties one may come across in Taiwan. So many of the threads here have people claiming incorrectly what cannot be done.
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Exactly!!!
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I mean, they still can. Nothing physically stopping them.
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I can’t understand half of the messages in this thread.
That is “I Can’t” as it is impossible. I also Won’t, as I Can’t be arsed.
Gordon Sumner speaks on the matter.
Guy
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This thread.
I can’t even.
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You could, you just don’t want to even.
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I’d like to sum up…
I can’t stand him. From Singing in the Rain.
