[dmichulke]

I don't think so.

For your argument to hold, the Dutch (or Danish or Germans) should be perceived as more polite when speaking English, yet they aren't.

Either this or they all speak bad English (which is unlikely due to speaking other Germanic languages and getting 50% of their colloquial American English via Netflix and/or Hollywood)

[roenxi]

I spend a lot of time talking about engineering problems, the word 'failure' now means something very specific to me. It means 'didn't work as intended'. If my cup leaks a bit, that is failure. Often things fail for very good reasons.

That is really, really different from what failure means in everyday English, which is much closer to 'somebody didn't succeed due to a neglect of duty'. I usually regret the times I use the word failure in conversation, because in my head it has come to mean something that is really quite mild. I typically can't convey that to a normal listener if I reflexively slip it into a conversation.

Maybe a literal translation from another language loses subtlety and becomes harsher following a similar principle? Each word has a range of meanings, and the closest word in a different language won't ever quite cover the same ground.

[pwagland]

This is, of course, also true.

However, at least in the case of the Dutch, there is more to it than that. The Dutch have no problems saying "that's not right" whether they say that in Dutch or English, that particular phrase translates to the same thing (Dat klopt niet vs that's not right). And they have no problems (in general) saying that to a stranger, their boss, or their subordinate.

[mantas]

Who would have a problem stating "that's not right" if something is indeed wrong? Americans seem to have no problems to say this either.

The only case I could come up with is Indians. But maybe that's just my experience with cheap outsourcing...

[pwagland]

Well, the author of the article is assumedly from the UK. In general, this is not what they would say. They would say something like "respectfully, I'm not sure that's correct". One is a lot more "direct" than the other.

[mantas]

Do people actually say that in their daily lives? I thought that's only IT Crowd over-the-top joke :|

[Smaug123]

More like "Are you sure? I'm worried that <opposite of thing interlocutor just said>." or "Sorry, I think it's actually <opposite>". Both in an apologetic tone. The word "respectfully" sounds like it's trying too hard: it's a bit overtly subordinate and ingratiating.

[dmichulke]

Isn't this a (software?) engineer/developer problem?

I agree developers may use "failure" or just boolean predicates ("That statement is false!") in a very exact way that may be perceived rude.

But I believe that issue is orthogonal to the directness of the Dutch. Still, beware Dutch developers until we sorted this out ;-)

[clan]

Non-native speakers will either first construct sentences in their native tongue or be heavily influenced by native idioms.

Just because you speak another language does not mean you assimilate the culture. The word "please" is easy to translate - but I have to remember to be more cordial and remember to use it. It does not come naturally in my own tongue.

Things do get lost in translation.

I absolutely loathe the amount of "sorry for your inconvenience" in each and every communication with american support staff. To my ear it sounds insincere. But I do appreciate the fact that it would sound impolite to an american user if left out.

Being polite is not in the words themselves but how they're used. And to my mind that is predicated on culture.

[BrandoElFollito]

> I absolutely loathe the amount of "sorry for your inconvenience" in each and every communication with american support staff.

Same in France. As a French, I hate the "merci pour votre compréhension". It drives me crazy because this is such an empty sentence.

[jacquesm]

In the meantime, Dutch, Danish or Germans speaking English are doing a lot better in terms of communication in foreign tongues than their English counterparts in Dutch, Danish or German.

[mantas]

> For your argument to hold, the Dutch (or Danish or Germans) should be perceived as more polite when speaking English, yet they aren't.

That'd be true if they were just missing polite words in their languages. Yet the difference is in wording, not in politeness of wording.

I'm no Dutch, but in my native tongue "what do you want?" is perfectly fine and polite question. Where're less polite variations too. "What would you like to order" is not unheard of. But "what can I get you?" would sound totally out of place.

Meanwhile we have 2 different words for "you" - polite and not. Which is lost in translations.

[cr1895]

>they all speak bad English

I wouldn't say bad, but I would say it is often spoken without the nuance of a native speaker. In my experience Dutch peoples' English is strongly influenced by Dutch.