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It should be noted that asking "How are you?" while not expecting an actual answer is largely limited to English speaking countries. Someone from outside the An
by rgblambda 7y ago
It should be noted that asking "How are you?" while not expecting an actual answer is largely limited to English speaking countries. Someone from outside the Anglosphere would see this ritual as being ridiculous, which to be fair, it is.
- stevekemp 7y agoIndeed, I moved to Finland. If you ask a Finnish person "How are you?" they will answer, and would expect you to do so too. If you don't care you don't ask.
- ptaipale 7y agoAnd misunderstandings like this can be awkward, but sometimes they also lead to very good discussions. When someone says "How are you?", I simply have it difficult to just say "very well thank you", if I'm just anticipating a root canal treatment, or whatever. We Finns can indeed appear a bit autistic; it's not meant to be rude, but may feel like it.
- stevekemp 7y agoI enjoy Finnish people, but I'd rather describe them as either terse or blunt.
- mlyle 7y agoIt's not universal, but it extends far beyond the Anglosphere. If one is in France and says "Ça va, Michel?" -- odds are one expects a little more diversity in the answer than "How are you?" expects in the US... but really, one still expects "Oui, ça va." or "Ça va bien" and not really "Ça va mal" or "Ça va pas."