If someone say to you "thanks", you can reply in so many different ways, can't you? I've thought of:
- You're welcome
- Don't mention it
- No problem
I can confirm that "no worries" is popular here. You also here the even more casual "no probs"."No worries" is becoming very common here. I think it's an Australian import.
That reminds me of the Duke of Cambridge in the nineteenth century, who, it was said, used to turn up drunk at the Chapel Royal, and when the priest said 'Let us pray', the Duke would reply loudly: 'By all means.'An American gent held a door open for me at the Yosemite National Park gift shop.
I said "Thank you, sir."
He replied "Certainly".
Surely that's No wucking furries, Viv ... ? (i.e. a reverse portmanteau spoonerism???)EDIT: I just remembered the super-casual "no wuckers!" (an amalgamation of "no xxxx-ing worries".)
Your blood would then curdle regularly in the largest English-speaking country in the world (namely, the United States, whose native English speakers outnumber the native English speakers of Britain by something like 4 to 1), where what you dismiss as "condescenion" and "Northern English working-class patois" is considered standard, basic good manners, and is used by well-bred and well-educated persons of all social classes, including persons of ancestry, education, wealth, and public respect considerably greater than either yours or mine.My blood curdles when someone, often a polite oriental person, replies 'You're welcome' because it's such a strange mixture of condescension and Northern English working-class patois.
Your reaction beautifully illustrates the difference between good manners in AE and BE.Your blood would then curdle regularly in the largest English-speaking country in the world (namely, the United States, whose native English speakers outnumber the native English speakers of Britain by something like 4 to 1), where what you dismiss as "condescenion" and "Northern English working-class patois" is considered standard, basic good manners, and is used by well-bred and well-educated persons of all social classes, including persons of ancestry, education, wealth, and public respect considerably greater than either yours or mine.
I therefore suggest you stop telling your Chinese pupils to avoid using a phrase that the majority of native English speakers find quite polite. I will also point out that the alternative "not at all" is itself more than a little condescending.
I would not consider dismissing a common form of politeness of the larger part of the English-speaking world with the sneer that it is "working-class patois" (a comment that would be unjustified from the Duke of Norfolk, let alone from someone who is ... not) to be "good manners" on any continent.Your reaction beautifully illustrates the difference between good manners in AE and BE.
To say "You are welcome" in conversation would almost be perceived as unnecessarily formal. I cannot imagine myself saying this in preference to "You're welcome".According to a native, it's wrong to use "You're welcome" as a response to "Thanks". It should be "You are welcome". Is it really so?
Which is short for "no big deal."There is also, in American English, "no biggie."
A German colleague of mine who speaks English fairly well was surprised to learn that both "please" and "for nothing" are not accepted replies to "thank you". I told him that they were translations or non-native Englishisms, but then I began to wonder.
Does anyone know of region where native English speakers would reply "please" or "for nothing" to "thank you"
That would sound pretty rude, Silver. And strangeHow about "Never mind"?
-Thank you so much, Silver.
-Never mind.