I promised you a link to the preliminary investigation report on the Potomac midair collision. Here it is.

I want you to listen to tense radio comms ("I’m right, you're wrong and I need you to know it") which is endemic to JFK.

As usual, English native pilots and controllers use extraneous wording. So, before you start listening, I’ll give you some lexical tips.

To cut someone off – to drive aggressively into path of another vehicle (plane) while overtaking (подрезать).

To hang back – to hesitate usually because you are nervous about doing something (замешкаться).

A merge point = a junction = an intersection – the place where two or more roads (in aviation context taxiways or runways) meet.

You can see such a merge point at JFK aerodrome layout diagram. In the lower left corner of the chart, find the intersection of taxiways J and Z.

As you listen to the recording, imagine two lines of aircraft waiting for their turn to line up runway 31L and take off. The controller handles the sequence at this merge point.
The call signs of the planes on the frequency: Ethiopian 513, Cargolux 43X, JetBlue 815, Virgin 138M, Connie 615, Endeavor 5170

Here you can watch the reconstruction and check your listening comprehension: https://youtu.be/mf6s9S4wHlI

Or here:

I’m not going to ask you who’s in the wrong here. I agree with one of the comments “The pilot's concern was legitimate in the sense that it's better to be safe than sorry.”

My question is: Why were the Ethiopian pilots confused at the merge point? Could a very fast speech tempo and a not very clear enunciation of ATC be the reason? Or were there other reasons? What do you think about it?

The following link to the analysis of a similar case, which is in Russian only, sorry)
Для русскоговорящих подписчиков ссылка на анализ радиообмена, когда на пустом месте возникает недоразумение из-за нежелания носителей языка соблюдать правила ведения радиосвязи и придерживаться стандартной фразеологии ИКАО https://aviasafety.ru/48959/

About six months ago, I listened to radio comms between our air traffic controller and a Chinese pilot somewhere in Siberia. There were a lot of “interesting” things, but I only remembered one phrase: “… SIGMET in progress”.
Listen to ATIS and remember how it sounds in English: