Philippines Expat: I will talk with you later
Channel: Road Less Traveled
Date: 2015-10-18

I will talk to you later can mean different things in different cultures and scenario’s. Saying it in a work environment can mean I am busy I will talk to you later. But it could also be because you have done something someone wants to discuss privately out of earshot of people currently in the same room.
In the Philippines it can actually mean you want to literally talk to someone later that day. As such be aware of the context you put it in or even better use another phrase. I often find in the Philippines its much easier to just be straight with everyone and lot leave things out to perception. I do know however in the Philippines its unlikely people will do it the other way around. E.g. “in a while” is common in many stores or getting things repaired etc. But it also can mean multiple things normally “give me 5 minutes”. But it can also be an unspecified amount of time because they simply don’t know. E.g. waiting for a car part and someone else is looking for it. So they have no idea of time scale but never turn around and say still waiting for the guy to come back. They just say “in a while”.