May 27, 201114 yr Are Germans ruder than the British? Are Britons more dishonest than Germans? Fortunately, we don't have to rely on blind prejudice for answers. Serious academic research has been done on both sides of the North Sea. There are Britons in Berlin who get taken aback by the directness of Germans. And there are Germans who get really annoyed when Britons (and Americans), in an effort to appear friendly, say things they don't really mean. Some Germans call this "lying". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13545386 ------------ Some non-Americans I've known don't like the greeting "How's it going?" or any of its variations. They think it rude that we ask but don't really want to know. I try explaining that it's just a part of saying hello and not to read too much into it.
May 28, 201114 yr It's just the differences between the languages. e.g. in Chinese it is polite to ask a woman, "How old are you?", whereas in English, for an older woman at least, it is impolite. (I don't know any German, so I give an example from a language I do know something about) I also think we tend to be more direct when speaking a foreign language, e.g. a German speaking English. Greetings questions often don't require an answer, e.g Thai 'pai nai', Cantonese 'nei sik-tsoh faan mei' ("Have you had your rice yet?" ) Or the English, "How are you?"
May 28, 201114 yr Author In Russia, "How much do you earn?" was one of the first questions I'd get after meeting someone.
May 28, 201114 yr Thanks for posting the article. It's very informative and helpful. I have a number of German friends. They are great people and loads of fun (not to mention fantastic workers), but sometimes communications gets crossed--this article helps to explain a lot of it.
May 28, 201114 yr I work with Germans every day, also British, Irish, Indians and of course Vietnamese. Depends how you define rudeness - I am probably the most aggressive guy on the site when having conversations about work, although one of the Germans runs me close. Most of the Germans are very polite, but are lying bastards and I can prove it! The Thai sub-contractors (and the Japanese contractor with Thai staff) cannot distinguish truth from lies and constantly trip themselves up. The Vietnamese just look to see who is offering the most money. That's why I'm a rude bastard - but honest.
May 28, 201114 yr Thanks for this link, it brings to the point many things I had felt over the years. I agree, it's a cultural difference, not good or bad on either side, but important to know if you want to get along. Now, let's talk about the cultural differences between the German/British and the Thais... Worlds apart, I'm afraid. Lots of stuff to learn for the newly-arriving expat.
June 11, 201114 yr True story: When I was at sea we called in Hamburg to discharge some cargo. I decided to go ashore and have something to eat. Found a restaurant and sat down. The restaurant was very busy so I sat there reading a book. After 10 minutes a waitress came over and said 'You're English aren't you?'. I said yes and asked her how she knew and she said that if I'd been German I'd have been banging the table and bellowing for service rather than sitting reading my book
June 12, 201114 yr Apparently the world would be a more peaceful place if everyone sat down with a good book.
June 12, 201114 yr Here is a situation where some Brits should have been reading a book rather than drinking... ______________________________________________________ Mass brawl at 30,000 feet sees 76-year-old passenger arrested over 30-minute fight on Virgin flight to Barbados By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Last updated at 3:49 PM on 11th June 2011 'It was vicious. It was frightening. There were punches going off in all directions' A man aged 76 and two members of his family were arrested after a ‘vicious’ punch-up on a plane that took cabin crew 30 minutes to break up. Derek Edmond, his daughter Zoe King and her husband Martin were on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Gatwick to Barbados when a Danish family sitting nearby accused them of being too noisy. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002118/Derek-Edmond-arrested-Virgin-flight-Barbados.html#ixzz1P2FhxZlR
June 12, 201114 yr 76 years old, and still picking fights? That's just stupid, not rude. And if the Danes he picked a fight with were like most of the Danes I've known (2 metres tall, and broad in proportion), it was not just stupid, it was suicidal. There are fools in every country, and you can't judge their compatriots by them. By the way, I'm a mere 74... and way past picking fights even if I have been drinking! Now I will go and read a good book.
June 13, 201114 yr I work with Germans every day, also British, Irish, Indians and of course Vietnamese. Depends how you define rudeness - I am probably the most aggressive guy on the site when having conversations about work, although one of the Germans runs me close. Most of the Germans are very polite, but are lying bastards and I can prove it! The Thai sub-contractors (and the Japanese contractor with Thai staff) cannot distinguish truth from lies and constantly trip themselves up. The Vietnamese just look to see who is offering the most money. That's why I'm a rude bastard - but honest. interesting! that's what most Germans think about the Anglos on both sides of the Atlantic... and i can prove it
June 13, 201114 yr I work with Germans every day, also British, Irish, Indians and of course Vietnamese. Depends how you define rudeness - I am probably the most aggressive guy on the site when having conversations about work, although one of the Germans runs me close. Most of the Germans are very polite, but are lying bastards and I can prove it! The Thai sub-contractors (and the Japanese contractor with Thai staff) cannot distinguish truth from lies and constantly trip themselves up. The Vietnamese just look to see who is offering the most money. That's why I'm a rude bastard - but honest. interesting! that's what most Germans think about the Anglos on both sides of the Atlantic... and i can prove it Ha ha. I work for a German consultant - we have German suppliers / contractors on the site (no British ones) and they all tell porkies about how much things have cost them because the client asked them for this, that and the other. I spend my time defending the client's decisions (and his pocket) against this farrago of lies and half-truths that come out. On the last job I saved my client 50 million US dollars from one well-known German company - but he had been very polite in his arguments. And some of the guys who were on the management of that project are on the current one and we remain good friends (apart from my rudeness at times).
June 14, 201114 yr It's just the differences between the languages. e.g. in Chinese it is polite to ask a woman, "How old are you?", whereas in English, for an older woman at least, it is impolite. (I don't know any German, so I give an example from a language I do know something about) I also think we tend to be more direct when speaking a foreign language, e.g. a German speaking English. Greetings questions often don't require an answer, e.g Thai 'pai nai', Cantonese 'nei sik-tsoh faan mei' ("Have you had your rice yet?" ) Or the English, "How are you?" Or the more formal, "How do you do"? A logical retort might ache as, "How do I do what"?
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