Unspoken cooperation more important than saying ’thank you’
New research from the University of Sydney has found people around the world usually don't say 'thank you' when someone fulfils a simple request. The findings suggest there is an unspoken willingness by most people to cooperate with others. The research, published in Royal Society Open Science , examined almost 1000 examples from informal, everyday conversations between friends, families and neighbours in eight different languages. "Our findings indicate a widespread assumption that saying 'thank you' is not necessary in the everyday contexts of our lives," said Professor Nick Enfield from the Department of Linguistics , who led the research. Professor Enfield and seven international collaborators provided source material from Cha'palaa in Ecuador, English in the UK, Italian in Italy, Lao from Laos, Murrinhpatha in Northern Australia, Polish from Poland, Russian from Russia and Siwu from Ghana. The research is part of a larger investigation of language and social interaction featuring collaboration from eight international academics. "When people think of social norms around gratitude, they naturally think about our interactions in formal settings, where it seems standard to say 'please' and 'thank you'," said Professor Enfield.
