For those of you who have traveled, or those who socialise with people from around the world, what culture do you think is the most polite? I don't mean over-friendliness either, I mean prizing manners and etiquette.
I've never been, but isn't Japan supposed to be very polite and well mannered? That was the first country that came to mind.
I've been to East Asian countries, Singapore and Hong Kong. I went to Hong Kong more recently and hospitality is heavily valued. When you are a guest, the hosts will make a full meal for you even when you have just eaten. I'm not lying LOL
That is so true. My family vacationed in China about a month ago, and everyone we knew (and people we didn't know) pulled out all the stops--went shopping with us, arranged transportation, threw money at us (even though they needed it more than us ), gave gifts (or discounts/free things if they owned a store), treated us to meals and award-winning restaurants, etc, etc. They made me feel so awkward/humbled :tears: --I must have met over a hundred relatives/friends I didn't even know about!
first country that popped into my head was Japan. Everything there has to be done perfectly or you've made some bad omen and your dogs gonna die in a week or something.
I'd agree Canada seems a lot more polite than the US. Haven't travel much abroad, but I doubt the US is in line to win any politeness awards. Also, people I've met from New Zealand seem very polite.
This isn't true. I have been around many Japanese people (with no one knowing my ethnicity), and no one believes this. Being polite is merely tradition. But yes, of course Japan would be number one. I noticed someone mentioned China. I had heard they were quite rude on average.
I've been to Europe, Japan, and lived in the Mid East for 2 years. Met people from almost every corner of the globe, and loved it! In my opinion Japanese people always were the most polite. Although Koreans were right up there with courtesy, and their students were AMAZING to work with.
If we're going by the "not overly-friendly" thing, Canada's out. Canadian politeness is more like "human, I am also human, so therefore I will treat you like a human, because we have that in common!!! " My perspective on Japanese etiquette is pretty skewed because of that I think. I hate Japanese etiquette. You can tell when people are being polite because they have to, and often times it comes off feeling bitter. Yes, it is polite and hospitable, but it doesn't feel very natural.
Japanese etiquette can also be quite repressive in some ways, such as the conflict-averse preference to avoid saying "no". In any case, all cultures have etiquette. How it manifests itself differs. I've found Australians, particularly English-descended ones, have a reluctance to be morally and emotionally honest, while priding themselves on behavioural looseness and a sense of personal liberty. The former part is in some way an etiquette, while the latter is simply self-deception. Personally, I've found West Germans and Swiss to be quite fond of etiquette, which I quite like, but even ostensible politeness will be openly brusque when irritated, no matter how low the tone or civilised the words. It's really just a matter of comparing ordinary behaviour to alterations. I'll also mention that social class, as much as nationality, can define how a person interprets etiquette.
Definitely, France, with the exceptions being their lack of a rule for dog owners to pick up after their dogs and how they handle the butchering of their language. If you happen to speak the language too slow or mess up on a word, when speaking to a native - now this didn't happen to me, but I read that they don't take kindly to this and will abruptly leave the conversation, without so much of as an explanation.
This is definitely untrue. I am French and we really appreciate it when someone tries to speak our language, much more than when they stick to English. So if someone try hard to say something in French we will definitely get out of our way to understand what he or she is trying to say and help her get her point across by helping her with vocabulary and else. I agree about the dog owner things but not so much that we are in the most polite countries. I personally find people from my country quite rude even though we do appreciate politeness and manners when it comes to most things.
Italy and Spain. Of the various places I have been, these two countries treated me the best. Never been to Japan, but I'd say they take the cake, forced or not.
