The language in which there is no word for "please" (or for thank you) is Zulu which is an African language.

Don't feel silly: most people don't realise that Afrikaans is the language originally evolved and spoken by the (white) settlers (who then imposed it on everyone and made it a pre-requisite for employment)and is like a dialect of Dutch.

A lot of people assume "Afrikaans" means "African" and so think "Afrikaans language" (or people or food or whatever) is referring to African language/people/food/whatever. Its a very common error because its a bit confusing.

It also, back in the day, used to drive the Afrikaans (white) people mental to be mistaken for African (black).

ps. Also of interest: although Chinese languages have Please and Thank You they are only used very rarely - and never between family members or friends. (Or, I might add, teachers and students!)

“ps. Also of interest: although Chinese languages have Please and Thank You they are only used very rarely - and never between family members or friends. (Or, I might add, teachers and students!)”

Is this because the respect is assumed? Or is it something to do with it not being required as the closeness between a family group and a teaching group make it more along the lines of “of course I will help or give to one of my own” and a please or thank you would almost seem rude like a reminder of closeness forgotten?

In NZ the Maori wave is used (hello, goodbye, thanks, I see you). Err… quick and slight raise of the head along with eyebrows.

Big men do it often... a big guy will walk in to a pub or be out in public and will do it to another big fella. It is like a social acknowledgment saying “yeah we look about equal so lets agree to not scare anyone by facing off eh mate”.

I watched Hubby and a big black fella (looked Samoan to me) do it in the local mall the other day. It is so common in NZ that I hadn’t noticed that I hadn’t seen it for awhile.

Teenage boys in NZ, shake hands each time they meet, often do a quick hug and clasp hands and pat backs in a quick embrace. I think my son missed that, the local boys don’t have a close greeting. Quick hand shake when introduced for the first time here.

Females everywhere seem pretty much the same, women here seem to kiss a lot on each cheek for a greeting like English women do, freaked me out. My caseworker is an aboriginal lady and I love that she will park up on the playroom floor with me to talk while children play around us like a Maori woman would.

What language do you think in Romany?
OUG?
Everyone?

It is normally the topics that can't be proven scientifically or otherwise that produces the most intellectual snobbery. Man made climate change, evolution and abortion are good cases in point. Whenever academics know the public smell a rat they dress up their words in a language to exclude the common man. Jesus Himself was a carpenter and yet he revealed the corruption among the religous and academic giants of the day. His simple profound teachings to this day is not matched by anyone or anything. I am sure He would make the many god haters and deniers today look as silly as He did when He was on earth.

WOW!...

Thanks everyone for your comments. Very entertaining to read, as well as informative.

I wasn't trying to dig a sympathy hole for myself, just wanted to see what people thought about it this topic.

Thanks heaps though..

its quite revealing that the powers that be use words[or rather prefere US to use limited words]..having limited our ability to express or comprehend..[see how im even having trouble finding the right words to decribe the scam]

see that its a deliberated policy..de-liberated dumbing down..[im trying to paraphrase a guest on alex jones..[first hour today]basiclly he reveals the aim to to authenticate and validate into our minds buzz words..[in lue of giving us desriptive words]

thus we get words..that dont allow us to decribe anything but feelings or events[..emoting words]..we all know of the destractoion of we-pens of mass-destraction..[ooops sorry de-struction]

and buzz-words like natural selection..[or conspiricy theory]..words that emote but hardly explain[how genus evloves into a new genus..[or how bankers are controling govt via lending their own money to them

i guess its easier to explain how they do it..[by reading animal farm[or cantabury tales,..ie by imprinting word concepts that set up a preconditioned response..[like how many realise my brother jack directly sets us up for all the anzac mythology]via..sentiments/platitudes..that hide the real horror of millions of kids dying in war

anyhow i outlined the concept as best i am able..[its sad to see the topic close..[im also sad the origonal poster didnt have more to reveal..i would have loved for you to respond to the posts we posted

[mate you can talk here]..you cant just absorb everything we say..[make us explain..[make them explain,..you dont need to teach them..[you need to question them,..so they need to think about what they are saying..[help them to realise what they said..didnt sound logical or wasnt really saying anything

Jewely, Yeah, you're exactly right about why the Chinese don't say please and thank you to each other. Unfortunately for many Westerners, however, niether are terms used very much even in the community at large, and so the impression of rudeness is often mistakenly gained.

The Zulu also think along the same lines - and in a traditionally much less materialistic society its much easier to understand why.

I think these days in English, but for a while did so (and dreamed) in French and, as a small kid, in Arabic.

Although, like many families, we had a sort of family language with words and phrases that were a mixture of malapropisms, quotes, words from different languages and childhood mispronunciations (like a Supermarket is always a stupidmarket and a spider a pie-dew etc).

Once I grew up enough to realise not everyone understood this I learned to temper what I said for public consumption - but when I think I still do so in this sort of weird mixture so that if anyone were truly to read my mind they would probably think I was the village idiot!