Is Spanish inherently more polite and self-effacing?
It appears so to me - with its seeming fondness for reflexive verbs, contrasted with the English language fondness for action verbs.
Plus using the pronoun yo (usually) only for emphasis.
My experiences when in nearby Sonora confirm this. The people I casually meet are invariably polite and less ego-centric.
When I visit my southern neighbors, I find myself minding my manners more. When seeking a service of any kind, I've learned to begin - always - with a personal greeting that includes "¿Como estás?"
Which always prompts warm smiles from both sides of the conversation. And, often, a handshake when it ends.
At any rate, the sometimes arrogant American habit of using active verbs to demand a service of some kind is definitely out of place there.
3 Respuestas
This is an interesting question, although I am not so sure about "self-effacing", (I'll have to take a moment to look that expression up in a special dictionary),
Spanish makes far greater use of the subjunctive, which is indirect in nature....or? ... There are even two forms for the imperfect. By the way, I don't have a good idea yet how these are used and will learn after the fact, I am sure....once I can better speak the language.
And perhaps, too, you can comment on whether or not Spanish speakers make greater use of the conditional?
However, even in English we are taught to ask "I would like" rather than "I want", and certainly I heard my Mom say "If you would be so kind as to...."
Now...about self-effacing. I am going to doubt that one can apply that description...but I'll keep an open mind and in the meantime also try to learn more about the phrase's connotations.
Thank you so much. You have been terribly kind in attending to me. I hope that I have the pleasure of visiting this establishment again in the not too distant future. Toodle Pip old chap!
That was an upper-class Brit who had just bought a bar of chocolate in Harrods.
I think it is going to boil down to culture. Even English can be very polite. And, I'm sure there are seriously impolite people whose mother tongue is Spanish. However, I think politeness is more and more rare in American society.
comentarios - Los comentarios son para añadir observaciónes cortos a una consulta.