[net.nlang] Don't mention it

wkk5231@acf4.UUCP (12/05/84)

When Alan Turing was in the U.S. in the late thirties he wrote home
complaining of Americans' speech habits.  Among the things that annoyed
him was the reply "you're welcome" to "thank you."
What was he used to hearing instead?

jlg@lanl.ARPA (12/05/84)

> When Alan Turing was in the U.S. in the late thirties he wrote home
> complaining of Americans' speech habits.  Among the things that annoyed
> him was the reply "you're welcome" to "thank you."
> What was he used to hearing instead?

He was probably used to some variation on 'it was nothing' or 'don't 
mention it' (I don't remember the appropriate response in german). 
I recall a discussion about 'you're welcome' in a german class though.
It appears that it sounds egotistical or pompous to non-americans.  I
always thought 'it was nothing' sounded a bit pompous, but it's all 
a matter of upbringing I guess.

wkk5231@acf4.UUCP (12/06/84)

Why is the German response relevant?  Turing was English. What did they say in
England in the thirties?  What do they say today?

rjw@ptsfc.UUCP (Rod Williams) (12/08/84)

In article <11800001@acf4.UUCP> wkk5231@acf4.UUCP writes:
>When Alan Turing was in the U.S. in the late thirties he wrote home
>complaining of Americans' speech habits.  Among the things that annoyed
>him was the reply "you're welcome" to "thank you."
>What was he used to hearing instead?


"don't mention it!".....................you're welcome,
-- 
                               Rod Williams
                               dual!ptsfa!ptsfc!rjw

         "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"

kmo@ptsfa.UUCP (Ken Olsen) (12/08/84)

> > When Alan Turing was in the U.S. in the late thirties he wrote home
> > complaining of Americans' speech habits.  Among the things that annoyed
> > him was the reply "you're welcome" to "thank you."
> > What was he used to hearing instead?
> 
> He was probably used to some variation on 'it was nothing' or 'don't 
> mention it' (I don't remember the appropriate response in german). 
> I recall a discussion about 'you're welcome' in a german class though.
> It appears that it sounds egotistical or pompous to non-americans.  I
> always thought 'it was nothing' sounded a bit pompous, but it's all 
> a matter of upbringing I guess.

			(umlaut)
			   ^
Auf Deutsch:	"Danke [schon]." . . . . . ."Bitte [sehr]."

Ken Olsen
{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd70,fortune,zehntel}!dual!ptsfa!kmo

plw@mgweed.UUCP (Pete Wilson) (12/11/84)

	The phrase 'it was nothing' translates (auf Deutch) to:

	'Nichts zu danken' (sometimes shortened to 'nichts')