By: Daniel Oines
I’m just back from my travels in time to celebrate Thanksgiving today and I have a lot to be grateful for. But being a Brit, of course I’m reluctant to gush my gratitude too much.
In fact one of the things found I needed to do when I moved to the US was stop saying ‘sorry’ so much and start saying ‘thank you’ more. It’s tied up with the different weightings we give to positive and negative politeness. I wouldn’t like to ‘do a Gwyneth’ for example. She was torn apart by the British Press for this oscar acceptance speech. (http://youtu.be/NG9p1FFwxb0)
I think Americans might have felt she went on rather long, but I doubt they would have described it as “blubbering”, “wailing” or “a sob-fest”, as the British press did. The Daily Mirror commented the next morning: ‘The Bard as ever summed it up: The lady doth protest too much, methinks’.
So could Brits ever have a Thanksgiving day, I wonder? Probably not. It’s not that we don’t like to count our blessings, but something more understated would probably work better. A “Mustn’t grumble day”, or a “Could be worse day” perhaps?
Hi Vickie:
I assume you were on vacation(holiday). Hope all went well. I have only one comment on your posting; it’s really so English! My immediate reaction as an American living in New Jersey? Mustn’t grumble? why the hell not? I’ll grumble as much as I please! That may be my idiosyncratic reaction, but I think not. It’s shorthand for a very real difference in the national ethos of each culture.
Happy holidays,
Marc
marc1940@verizon.net
Ha! Well, why the hell not indeed, if you come from New Jersey.
Funny that that post sounded so English. I’m actually just back home after spending some time in England Marc, so maybe my British side has been resurfacing.
I missed your posts! I’m afraid I haven’t got anything interesting to add here, but glad to see you on the page.
K
she says blushing as I haven’t written much lately either, mustn’t grumble!
Oh great to see you Karenne! Do hope your course is going well. Spect it’s all go and you haven’t had a moment to spare. Still, could be worse, eh?