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maplewood fan
Citizen
Username: Mplwfan
Post Number: 285
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 9:16 am: | 
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Does anyone else get annoyed when you say thank you to someone and they respond by saying "no problem"? It's like I thought it was a problem to begin with. I'm especially annoyed when I'm handing over MY MONEY to someone as payment for services or goods. Whatever happened to "Your Welcome"? Once again, I say the people in this country, especially its youth, are losing any sense of being polite (add talking on cell phones during a movie). |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1491
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 9:20 am: |
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I don't think that it's specific to this country that people respond with "no problem." I remember learning "de rien" as the appropriate response in French and "de nada" is a very common Spanish response (both, from what I understand, are the equivalent to "no problem"). (Pardon my spelling if it's off - it's been a long time since I studied any languages.) Often, languages have formal and informal terms - I consider that response an informal one, not a rude one. |
HOMMELL
Citizen
Username: Hommell
Post Number: 114
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 9:22 am: |
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I get annoyed when people say, "It's all good." It's never all good. End of rant. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1492
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 9:28 am: |
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There's also a generational difference in what's acceptable, I think. My father HATES it when he and my mother go out to a restaurant and the wait staff says Can I get "you guys" anything? How are "you guys" doing? He thinks it's disrespectful. I don't think anything of it. |
las
Citizen
Username: Las
Post Number: 1547
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 9:44 am: |
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I abhor "you guys" - it's a grammar thing. I am not a guy, use the correct descriptor. "Folks" or "you all" would be more appropriate. I agree with your dad. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 7228
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 10:15 am: |
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"De rein" and "de nada" mean "No bother" which is similar, but subtly different from "no problem". "Problem" intimates that there was, well, a problem; some inconvenience. "Bother" is so benign. "No big deal, it was no inconvenience and hardly worth thanking me over".
At the end of the day, "You're welcome" is still appropriate in most cases. |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11204
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 10:26 am: |
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My recollection of Spanish (vague) translates "de nada" as "it is nothing".
I will give you dollars to donuts that the current popularity of "no problem" goes back to the late 1980s or early 1990s TV show ALF. The title character was known by his punch line of "no problem" or "no problemo". Up until 911 I had a plastic image of Alf saying this stuck on my file cabinet.
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blackcat
Citizen
Username: Blackcat
Post Number: 563
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 11:11 am: |
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Does it annoy anyone else when you're speaking with someone and the person just goes "What happened?" At first I thought this annoying trend was just younger people, but I'm finding more adults doing this. Nothing happened. I was speaking to you and you weren't paying attention, that's "what happened." |
crossroads
Citizen
Username: Crossroads
Post Number: 140
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 11:19 am: |
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I like, really hate it when I hear, like, so he like goes "No way" and she's like "Really". |
Lou
Citizen
Username: Flf
Post Number: 106
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 11:30 am: |
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Bob is correct - "de nada" and "de rien" translates "for nothing", which means "oh, no need to thank me - it was nothing, really."
i have to admit that when i first came to US, one of the culture shocks that I noticed was that i realized how i did not like when people to whom I was a stranger would say "you welcome" to me. "How can I be welcome to them if they don't even know me?!" - i would think. At the time, that translated to me as people transmitting a misleading appearance and not being very truthful.
Of course, I have been in this country for 8 years now and understand the differences in culture and find "you welcome" being nicer and more polite to say then "no problem", however, I don't have a problem and don't be offended when people say "no problem" in response to my "Thank you".
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John Caffrey
Citizen
Username: Jerseyjack
Post Number: 176
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 11:50 am: |
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My fav. is when the waitress/waiter says "enjoy" after placing the hamburger or hotdog in front of me.
Enjoy implies a sense of permanance. Is it possible to eat it and enjoy it at the same time? |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 1718
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 12:24 pm: |
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I just need a quick clarification. How can "no problem" imply that there is a problem? They just said there wasn't one.
I agree that our world is getting more rude and that younger generations are learning that disrespect is acceptable because they don't understand respect. But why not complain about something a bit more serious and endmemic of this problem. For instance how people don't offer a seat on a train or bus to a pregnant woman. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1495
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 12:50 pm: |
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I guess it's just semantics, but "it's nothing" and "no problem" mean the same thing to me. Although it's a different literal translation, it just means that it was no trouble that whatever it is you're thanking me for was nothing, no problem, no trouble at all.... I guess I don't see the intention of those phrases as different, regardless of literal translation. |
Innisowen
Citizen
Username: Innisowen
Post Number: 1937
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2006 - 10:39 am: |
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When I order a burger or ribs at a Bennigans (for example), and the wait person (formerly known as waiter) says "excellent choice" because that's what the "training" requires.
Then I WANT to say, "Give me a break.I didn't order rognons de veau or terrine of pheasant. I just ordered a burger. Take your 'excellent choice' and stuff it where the sun never shines. I'm not "dining," I'm eating."
But I don't say that, even though I really want to. |
maplewood fan
Citizen
Username: Mplwfan
Post Number: 286
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2006 - 3:38 pm: |
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"But why not complain about something a bit more serious and endmemic of this problem"
I brought this particular issue up as an example of the changing social values in our country.
Maybe we shouldn't say thank you anymore?
As far as giving up a seat for the elderly, holding a door open for someone or respecting a queue - don't be so 1950's!
IMHO, the bottom line is Americans are becoming more selfish and socially dysfunctional. |
red
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 5316
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2006 - 4:55 pm: |
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personally, I am not bothered by "no problem", just a saying I think you are taking to literally |
delin wareham
Citizen
Username: Dwareham
Post Number: 53
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2006 - 8:48 pm: |
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Alleygator -- you are right on the money. Having been a pregnant commuter, I can tell you that there's nothing more kind than someone giving up their seat. Unfortunately, you need it the most during the first trimester when no one can see that you're expecting. That's when your body's giving everything it has to the baby. It just wipes you out. So for all you men out there who are wondering where the tradition began and why it's important, simply ask any mother what a struggle it was to keep up during the first 12 weeks. |
Ligeti Man Meat
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 642
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 8:34 am: |
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When saying 'No problem,' I think kids waiting tables believe they are being friendly. The real problem is that they don't know the meaning of the words and phrases they use or the appropriate context.
This should come as no surprise. Many young people today are completely absorbed by reality TV shows, rap music, idiotic celebrity interviews, music videos and outspoken, attention-starved superstar athletes of limited intelligence. Youth culture emphasizes HOW things are said, not WHAT is being said.
All the repulsive cellphone yakking and SUV driving just makes things worse.
Reject our dumb culture at every opportunity. |
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