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Directness of your country or your TL | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes  4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 25 of 49 24 June 2012 at 4:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6153 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 26 of 49 25 June 2012 at 3:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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With the exception of a certain polyglot, I think the Irish are quite indirect. In Irish culture, if you're offered something you generally refuse. The host will ask again, and the response is usually, "Well, if you insist" before accepting. The first time I was in Holland I learnt if you say no, they take is as no, and the offer is withdrawn. I ended up hungry as a result. However, this changes when your having the 'craic'. A euphemism for the consumption of huge quantities of alchohol. The 'craic' can be invoked if you win a match, or lose it, and by any number of small celebrations. At this point, we become very direct, and words like 'eejit' are liberally sprinkled into the conversation. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| QiuJP Triglot Senior Member Singapore Joined 5857 days ago 428 posts - 597 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, EnglishC2, French Studies: Czech, GermanB1, Russian, Japanese | Message 27 of 49 25 June 2012 at 3:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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I do not know if is it due to my Asperger's or due the culture here in Singapore, but I
prefer the directness of Russian over the indirectness of Japanese or Koreans( which I called "fake politeness") . If you want to say 'no", just say it! Don't let your listener guess what you meant! The Japanese are well known for doing this and it irritates me a lot. The Russian, on the other hand, will tell me exactly what they feel and what they meant, so that I can response appropriately. I felt that this sort of conversation is more constructive than those which emphasis "politeness", but led to communication breakdown. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| naomi94 Newbie United States thepolyglotexperienc Joined 4661 days ago 17 posts - 15 votes Studies: Swedish, French | Message 28 of 49 26 June 2012 at 8:06am | IP Logged | ||
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I really like the idea of this blog posting.
I lived in France for about one year. Comparing them to Americans, they are not nearly as direct. They have a round-about way of insulting people. Much like the British, their insults are more clever than Americans. As an incredibly direct person, who has no problem saying exactly what I think, it is very difficult for me to measure up other countries. From your posting, it looks like me and the Russians would get along very well. I like the idea of this post. I think I am going to reproduce it in my blog sometime in the future. http://thepolyglotexperience.blogspot.c om/ 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5209 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 29 of 49 26 June 2012 at 11:36am | IP Logged | ||
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I find the directness of French, Spanish and Italian people quite refreshing compared
to English speakers who often beat around the bush. I wouldn't say they are any more or less rude; rudeness and politeness is quite a different issue although I realise there's overlap as a direct statement or question may seem rude. I find that if, say, a French person wants to know something about you, even if it's fairly personal, they'll just ask straight away, which can seem abrupt and direct but actually makes it easier for you to share and connect with each other, whereas with Anglophones (Scottish, English, American, whatever) I often get the feeling that they're avoiding asking certain questions in the early stages of a relationship even though they're curious which can make it harder to get beyond polite small-talk. Similarly, Europeans often aren't afraid to say things about me that could seem negative, for example that I seem strange or quiet or nervous or am not speaking clearly, which can hurt a bit at first but are actually extremely helpful feedback regarding how I'm perceived by others and how I can improve it. For example, last week I was in France, the friend I was staying with, who is a living example of this directness, said to me "the American girl earlier said that she had difficulty with your accent; she didn't want me to tell you but I'm telling you anyway". Typical - the English speaker avoids telling me something that would be very helpful and useful to me out of fear that it might possibly offend me, then the French speaker just tells me straight up anyway because he knows that it's something I should know. Yes, I'm all for directness. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Марк Senior Member Russian Federation Joined 5058 days ago 2096 posts - 2972 votes Speaks: Russian* | Message 30 of 49 26 June 2012 at 1:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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When translated directly from one language to another a polite phrase can become
extremely rude. For example, Девушка! Вы не знаете, где...? is perfectly polite, while Girl! Don't you know where...? is just an insult. 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5833 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English* | Message 31 of 49 26 June 2012 at 3:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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I find it strange how different the Japanese and Chinese are when it comes to politeness.
The Chinese are the most direct people ever. They say what they think and the Chinese language has pretty much no inbuilt politeness structures. Everyone is addressed in the same blunt manner. For people unfamilar with Chinese culture, when you first visit the Chinese can come across as downright ignorant and arrogant. The Japanese are possibly the least direct people ever. They often don't say what they think, and leave it to the listener to work it out themselves. Likewise, the Japanese has about four different politness levels and one must be constantly assessing the status of who they are speaking to in order to choose the correct politeness level and not come across as either rude, or distant. Consideirng the influence China has had on Japan over the centuries, I am suprised they have such hugely different attitudes towards politeness. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| QiuJP Triglot Senior Member Singapore Joined 5857 days ago 428 posts - 597 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, EnglishC2, French Studies: Czech, GermanB1, Russian, Japanese | Message 32 of 49 26 June 2012 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | ||
I cam't imagine how a Japanese or Korean lady would react if I do it the "Russian" style... (although I likes it) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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