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I feel like this article gets too caught up on the like specific examples: > A translated-example of conversation at a restaurant goes like this: > Server: Wh

I feel like this article gets too caught up on the like specific examples: > A translated-example of conversation at a restaurant goes like this: > Server: What would you like to order? > Customer: Me, eel. > This means the customer would like to order eel; it doesn’t mean he/she is an eel. This true in the USA as well, just with different punctuation. Is it fundamentally different than someone responding with "Me? Eel." ? Not really, in my opinion. The same is true where people everywhere say "it's difficult" when they mean impossible, or vice versa.. But what doesn't really get driven home is the (I'm assuming) much higher rate of people using indirect-speak in Japan as compared to other countries. It would be neat to see some kind of a breakdown/quantification of that across language/culture. It seems less like a language thing than it's being made out to be, and more of a cultural thing?

dkarl 2y ago
> It seems less like a language thing than it's being made out to be, and more of a cultural thing? Yes. I think when you're speaking English in the United States, the cultural lens comes from specific context that depends on the conversation. If you're talking with a coworker, it depends on the culture of the company you both work for. If you're talking with a stranger in a bar, it'll be different depending on whether you're gulping martinis at a hotel bar or beer at a punk show. If you're talking with your next-door neighbor, it will depend on whether you both live in a gated community in Plano or a condo in Miami or a co-op in Portland. I wonder if the article is missing something similar. Do Japanese teenagers who are best friends say, "That party was a little bit quiet, I'm not unhappy that we left" or do they say, "That party SUUUUUCKED! I'm so glad we got the fuck out of there!" Is it the whole language, or is it certain contexts in Japanese society?

dkarl 2y ago

> It seems less like a language thing than it's being made out to be, and more of a cultural thing? Yes. I think when you're speaking English in the United States, the cultural lens comes from specific context that depends on the conversation. If you're talking with a coworker, it depends on the culture of the company you both work for. If you're talking with a stranger in a bar, it'll be different depending on whether you're gulping martinis at a hotel bar or beer at a punk show. If you're talking with your next-door neighbor, it will depend on whether you both live in a gated community in Plano or a condo in Miami or a co-op in Portland. I wonder if the article is missing something similar. Do Japanese teenagers who are best friends say, "That party was a little bit quiet, I'm not unhappy that we left" or do they say, "That party SUUUUUCKED! I'm so glad we got the fuck out of there!" Is it the whole language, or is it certain contexts in Japanese society?