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In less blatant cases, there's still a kind of negotiation that often goes on.
在不那么明顯的例子中，還是有一種磋商在進行著
In the workplace, for example,
比如說在工作場所
there's often a tension over whether an employee can socialize with the boss,
在員工是否能和老板套近乎這一點上都有一點緊張不安
or refer to him or her on a first-name basis.
或者是稱呼他或她首名（而不是叫XX先生或女士）
If two friends have a reciprocal transaction, like selling a car,
如果兩個朋友進行一筆交易，比如賣一輛車
it's well known that this can be a source of tension or awkwardness.
大家都知道這可能是緊張和尷尬的來源
In dating, the transition from friendship to sex
比如約會中從友誼到性關系的過度
can lead to, notoriously, various forms of awkwardness, and as can sex in the workplace,
眾所周知，可能導致各種各樣的尷尬局面，工作場所的性也是
in which we call the conflict between a dominant and a sexual relationship "sexual harassment."
我們把兩種關系類型--支配關系和性關系--間的沖突叫做“性騷擾”
Well, what does this have to do with language?
這個和語言有什么關系呢？
Well, language, as a social interaction, has to satisfy two conditions.
語言作為一種社會相互作用，必須滿足兩個條件
You have to convey the actual content -- here we get back to the container metaphor.
你得傳達內容--這里我們又回到容器的隱喻
You want to express the bribe, the command, the promise, the solicitation and so on,
你想表達賄賂、命令、許諾的意思，懇請以及其他
but you also have to negotiate and maintain the kind of relationship you have with the other person.
但是你還得磋商，并保持你和那個人的關系
The solution, I think, is that we use language at two levels:
我認為解決的答案是我們在兩個層面上使用語言
the literal form signals the safest relationship with the listener,
字面意思表達的是與聽者的最安全的關系
whereas the implicated content -- the reading between the lines that we count on the listener to perform
而引伸義，我們留給聽者自己去領會的言外之意
allows the listener to derive the interpretation which is most relevant in context,
則使他發掘出這個語境中最恰當的解釋
which possibly initiates a changed relationship.
而這有可能促成一種新的人際關系
