
Originally Posted by
machini
Yeah, something that people who have no experience with languages other than English might not understand is that, even when translated into English, there is such a thing as nuance. Sometimes, indirect statements are to be interpreted as direct statements of action.
What might be considered passive-aggressive speech in English could very well be proper, polite ways of making statements in other languages.
An example you might be familiar with: No work is to be done, by Jews, on the Sabbath. There is a great deal of argument about what constitutes 'work' in that context. There are also Jews who take it more seriously than others, to the point where they pre-tear pieces of toilet paper for use, for example, because the act of tearing a piece of toilet paper off the roll is considered "doing work".
Some Jews employ "shabbos goy", people whose entire job is to do things for the Jew that the Jew himself is not permitted to do on their Sabbath, as it constitutes 'work'. Such as turning on an air conditioner, turning the lights on in a room, etc, etc. However, in my experience as such, the person desiring the light switch flicked, the AC turned on, a phone call made, etc, must phrase it as a request, or otherwise indirectly. "It sure is hot in here" for "I would like the AC on" or "I can hardly see" for "Please turn on the lights."
As to why it's like that, don't ask me. Not everyone takes it to that extreme.
That's a very specific example, but such constructs can occur in other languages. For example, instead of saying, "I want to talk about the merger", one might say, "It's possible that later a discussion might occur wherein business arrangements could be discussed."
A friend who lives and works in Japan tells me that Japanese speech is often, when literally translated into English, indirect or nebulous. The language employs many set phrases for situations, and the language and the culture are inextricably bound up together in how they deal with politeness. For people who are raised or otherwise well educated on or in the culture these things require no explanation. When translating from one language into another language, wherein speakers of the new language have different cultural expectations on speech, action, and directness, nuance is often lost.
An example with languages I actually have direct knowledge of, in Latin, you never talk about the dead. If someone has died, you do not say, "Commodus has died". You instead say, "Commodus has gone to the ancestors" or "Commodus has gone to the majority", just as in English people sometimes will say, "My grandma has passed on" instead of "My grandma is dead."