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Thu 13 Mar, 2008 12:28 am
Quote:responsibility, liability, accountability and obligation
Chinese speakers often confuse the use of these 4 words. Please give us a few illustrative sentences to shows how these words are used in different contexts. Chinese speakers get confused because in Chinese "responsibility" and "liability" have exactly the same word for their equivalent. And sometimes "accountability" and "obligation" may also cause some confusion. So ....
I'll try, fansy.
I am an employed adult. I am responsible for all my debts. (It is my obligation to pay them.)
If my minor child causes an accident, I may be held liable. If so, I will be obligated to pay for the damages, even though my child is responsible. (The "responsible" person caused the accident. The "liable" person pays for the repairs. You can see that sometimes the responsible person is also liable, but in other circumstances responsibility and liability are divided.)
Many mistakes were made, and my department was held accountable. We have the obligation to correct the process so that errors are caught quickly. If we do not do this, our company might be liable to our customers for any damages they suffer.
If you can tell me, fansy, what parts of these sentences are confusing to you I may be able to explain more clearly.
Thanks
Thank you very much, Wy. I think you have given me a very clear explanation by putting all the uses in one context. But I need to study more examples to beat all these minute differences into my head. Anyway, your help is highly appreciated.