Comment by pbhjpbhj
8 years ago
>you could tell them to stop and they would say "yes" and then carry on anyway... //
This was discussed/commented on at length a couple of weeks ago. In Indian culture, apparently, the "yes" is like a verbal tick - kinda - and just acknowledges you've spoken without giving any commitment to doing anything (nor indeed indicating any level of understanding).
Not exactly. If you ask "do you understand ?" and "will you do it?" they will tell you yes as well. It's not a verbal tick. It's just not socially acceptable to say no.
I wonder if western culture has similiar quirks that we don't even realise.
“How are you?”
“Good”
Tons of people have this exchange out of politeness. The person asking “How are you?” doesn’t really want to know details. The person answering is expected to be brief and positive. It’s only among friends that the same question is expected to get an honest and detailed answer.
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I bet you could ask “was that a lie?” and get the answer “yes” too...