Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-03-2015, 10:56 AM
 
1,051 posts, read 1,695,918 times
Reputation: 1333

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Midessan View Post
To me sorry seems more polite because you are apologizing for being in the way. Saying excuse me or pardon me sounds like you're commanding the other person to move.
It's just regional customs. To my northern ear it sounds excessive. Why would you be sorry for inhabiting space? You have every right to be there!

I agree that excuse me, with a commanding tone, can be aggressive, which is why it should be said with a polite tone. If someone is simply being inconsiderate, then adjust accordingly!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-03-2015, 09:08 PM
 
448 posts, read 812,814 times
Reputation: 808
Quote:
Originally Posted by Campeador View Post
It's just regional customs. To my northern ear it sounds excessive. Why would you be sorry for inhabiting space? You have every right to be there!

I agree that excuse me, with a commanding tone, can be aggressive, which is why it should be said with a polite tone. If someone is simply being inconsiderate, then adjust accordingly!
I think it's because we have so much space here. If two people want to occupy the same space, then obviously someone messed up along the way.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-04-2015, 06:50 AM
 
1,051 posts, read 1,695,918 times
Reputation: 1333
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadoAngel View Post
I think it's because we have so much space here. If two people want to occupy the same space, then obviously someone messed up along the way.
Funny.

I actually posed this question to a linguist originally from Chicago (also lives in North TX now) yesterday. His impression was that the Midwest is actually the anomaly in saying "excuse me". He thought he started using "sorry" instead while living in the UK and later in Germany and other parts of continental Europe. His impression was that "sorry" would also be the norm in the NE of the US. I'll close my subtopic of this thread's original question now!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top