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BackPoliteness in transition: How younger generations ask differently

Politeness in transition: How younger generations ask differently

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Die Welt2 days agoScience2 min readGermany

Politeness in transition: How younger generations ask differently

Quick Look

A study by the Free University of Berlin and Bielefeld University shows that younger people use the word “please” less often, but prefer other mitigating forms such as “maybe”.
Politeness is not a fixed standard, but a changing system of conventions that depends on age, form of address and perception.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The research project “Variant Pragmatics of German” (VariPrag) examines how people in German-speaking countries speak to one another, especially when making requests, salutations and complaints. For a current sub-study on salutation, over 3,000 people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland filled out an online questionnaire.

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What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The use of mitigating forms such as “maybe” will continue to increase in the next few years, especially in informal digital contexts.
Likely · Within years

Open Questions

How does eliminating the word “please” affect interpersonal relationships in the long term?
What role do digital forms of communication play in changing norms of politeness?
Are there regional differences within Germany in the use of mitigating forms of language?

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This article was originally published by Die Welt.