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Maybe it's a cultural thing but here if you said 'uh huh' it would be like saying 'yeah yeah, I don't care/you're boring me' when saying 'I understand you.' I also noticed the rudeness to be more prevalent among certain racial groups in the States, but my sample was not large so I am not going to make judgements about those groups as a whole, just what i observed.
This is also true in Canada. That's one of the reasons people think are so polite. Please,thank-you,your welcome and sorry are all automatic…for most people here.
" Got the time? " sounds a bit abrupt. " Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but do you have the time? " is not.
This is also true in Canada. That's one of the reasons people think are so polite. Please,thank-you,your welcome and sorry are all automatic…for most people here.
" Got the time? " sounds a bit abrupt. " Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but do you have the time? " is not.
Well tone of voice also comes into it.
Well in that case Australians are pretty polite too.
Hehe, a Dutch person would have no problem fitting in with my family.
Funny that you use that word how do you know this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Postman
Maybe it's a cultural thing but here if you said 'uh huh' it would be like saying 'yeah yeah, I don't care/you're boring me' when saying 'I understand you.'
We use hehe in two ways. If some one is stating the obvious, we say "hehe" Like (don't say such stupid things).
But we also use it when you had a long walk, or done a lot of work, and when you finally can sit down you say "hehe that's done". Like you say it's all in the tone. One is a sign of being anoyed and one is a sign of being satisfied.
Japan and Korea have honorific in their languages to show respect to older people, superiors and customers. There is different ways to bow and greet people depending on their status. There is a stricter social hierarchy than the West, China and Vietnam. As such, they regard westerners, chinese, vietnamese and others being more rude than them.
American are well-known to be loud, arrogant, having a higher tendency for not showing respect to locals in another country.
Funny that you use that word how do you know this?
We use hehe in two ways. If some one is stating the obvious, we say "hehe" Like (don't say such stupid things).
But we also use it when you had a long walk, or done a lot of work, and when you finally can sit down you say "hehe that's done". Like you say it's all in the tone. One is a sign of being anoyed and one is a sign of being satisfied.
Interesting, I did not know that. I used it to indicate humor, in this case coincidental humor, because that trait is also found in my family - the brutal truth lovingly conveyed with unfettered bluntness. So, "hehe" is used similarly to "Ha,ha" or "funny" or "LOL".
Interesting, I did not know that. I used it to indicate humor, in this case coincidental humor, because that trait is also found in my family - the brutal truth lovingly conveyed with unfettered bluntness. So, "hehe" is used similarly to "Ha,ha" or "funny" or "LOL".
Thanks for explaing that, and yeah that can be funny sometimes. It differs from region to region out here, im originally from the east and actually we're little less blunt but i live in the west for more than twenty years now and got used to it. my wife grew up here and she can be so blunt it makes my cheeks go red always good for a good laugh
But here's another thing: talking to strangers in public.
We don't really talk to strangers in Holland. And if we do, at the most, it is about the dog you're walking or something that just happens. But it seems in the states it's perfectly normal?
This happend when i was in Wyoming (the only time i've been in the states). On my way back i took the plain from Casper to Denver and a guy next to me just starts talking to me, and ask me all kinds of questions:
were i've been, were i'm from, were did i go, wich city i lived, what i do for a living, married, children, etc. etc.
I feld more and more uncomfortable and i remember thinking "is this guy CIA or something?" (i mean with 9/11 in mind..) I found it pretty rude, also because i wasn't very generous with my answers and he just kept goin'. I finally, totally ignored him and than he stopped. I found out later that this is pretty normal in the states, is that right?
Anyways, we both went our ways. Me thinking i met the rudest guy, for him asking me all these questions. And he, probably thinking he met the rudest guy, for not responding to his attempts to make confersation
For me personally, this was the best example of two different cultures, thinking they're oh so polite and well mannered, and not understanding the other ones............
Mexicans are very polite. They call it educación down there, and a common EN-ES false friend is ineducado. Many Americans would look at the word and translate it as "uneducated", but it's actually more like "poorly-raised" or "poor in manners".
I've also noticed this trait among Colombians, Puerto Ricans, etc. It makes the girls come off as super sweet and lovable.
Midwestern Americans and Southerners are similar to Mexicans in this respect, although with the Americans there is another "feel". I can't quite put my finger on it. Most other Americans are polite compared to some nationalities.
But here's another thing: talking to strangers in public.
We don't really talk to strangers in Holland. And if we do, at the most, it is about the dog you're walking or something that just happens. But it seems in the states it's perfectly normal?
This happend when i was in Wyoming (the only time i've been in the states). On my way back i took the plain from Casper to Denver and a guy next to me just starts talking to me, and ask me all kinds of questions:
were i've been, were i'm from, were did i go, wich city i lived, what i do for a living, married, children, etc. etc.
I feld more and more uncomfortable and i remember thinking "is this guy CIA or something?" (i mean with 9/11 in mind..) I found it pretty rude, also because i wasn't very generous with my answers and he just kept goin'. I finally, totally ignored him and than he stopped. I found out later that this is pretty normal in the states, is that right?
Anyways, we both went our ways. Me thinking i met the rudest guy, for him asking me all these questions. And he, probably thinking he met the rudest guy, for not responding to his attempts to make confersation
For me personally, this was the best example of two different cultures, thinking they're oh so polite and well mannered, and not understanding the other ones............
Well, yes and no. Some people when squeezed into a small space with another person, like on an airplane, deal with it by getting very friendly and talkative. Fortunately, I've never run into this on plane travel. It's also not normal to walk up to people in the street and just start chattering away. However, when in the store at the cashier stand, or the line at the post office, it's ok to start a brief, casual chat with the person near you in line. It's considered being "neighborly". This is an outgrowth of when people lived in small towns and greeted each other when passing in the street, and that sort of thing. Some cities maintain that type of neighborly friendliness, others don't.
But it's generally a little rude to ask a lot of personal questions of a complete stranger. If your seat mate on the plane could somehow see that you were a foreigner, he was just being curious.
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(don't say such stupid things).
always good for a good laugh 
I found it pretty rude, also because i wasn't very generous with my answers and he just kept goin'. I finally, totally ignored him and than he stopped. I found out later that this is pretty normal in the states, is that right?
