Chapter 10
Doing more than expected
Thanking recognizes another’s agency in providing
assistance
Jörg Zinken |
Leibniz-Institute for the German Language
In informal interaction, speakers rarely thank a person
who has complied with a request. Examining data from British English,
German, Italian, Polish, and Telugu, we ask when speakers
do thank after compliance. The results show that
thanking treats the other’s assistance as going beyond what could be taken
for granted in the circumstances. Coupled with the rareness of thanking
after requests, this suggests that cooperation is to a great extent governed
by expectations of helpfulness, which can be long-standing, or built over
the course of a particular interaction. The higher frequency of thanking in
some languages (such as English or Italian) suggests that cultures differ in
the importance they place on recognizing the other’s agency in doing as
requested.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Data
- Thanking in response to volunteered action
- Treating compliance with a request as not taken for granted
- Conclusion
-
Notes
-
Abbreviations used in glossing
-
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