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Heinlein wrote "honorifics and formal politeness". I interpret this as things like saying "please", "thank you", and other straightforward ritualistic decorativ
by jlawson 8y ago
Heinlein wrote "honorifics and formal politeness". I interpret this as things like saying "please", "thank you", and other straightforward ritualistic decorative words - not as actually changing what you're actually saying to avoid hurting feelings.
There's a big difference between reformatting the message and changing the message.
- int_19h 8y agoWhat's described in the comment I responded to is exactly "reformatting the message" - you still communicate the same thing, ultimately, just in a way that allows the person on the receiving end to save face.
- skriticos2 8y agoThis reminds me of employee work reviews in Germany when they leave, that are mandated by law to be positive (not kidding). The result is that it spawned a new code language for HR people (there are dictionaries) that "translate" the review. Everybody is polite.. For instance the level of praise in with the various points indicates a scoring. Here are a few examples: He showed understanding for his work. -> He did not do anything. He did all the work with great diligence and interest. -> Eager, but not very efficient. He tried to do his job justice. -> The will was there, more unfortunately not. He has used his skills. -> He did what he could. That was not much. Here is a Google Translated page about it: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Farbeits-abc.de%2Fformulierungen-im-arbeitszeugnis-und-ihre-bedeutung%2F&edit-text=&act=url https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&pr...
- mmirate 8y agoAnd of course, things like this only erode language semantics over time by making more and more words and phrases seem sarcastic; we have "/s" but there is no reliable marker of non-sarcasm (cf Poe's Law).