http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/scarequotes tag posts with scarequotes Sun, 04 May 2008 06:34:15 -0800 Sun, 04 May 2008 06:34:15 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/90484/How-can-congratulations-be-a-description-and-a-message I'd never put only "question" here. I don't call my dog "Dog" or write out a check "for <u>money</u> Dollars". When I call 911 and request a firetruck, they don't call me back and speak the words "a firetruck" and hang up. Why is it normal to congratulate someone by saying "congratulations"? It seems small and superficial to hand someone a <em>description</em> of what we want to do instead of actually doing it. I have a similar problem with the word "thanks" and even the unwieldy phrase "I thank you". It's like we push ourselves into a different reference frame, out of the immediacy of the instant, like wrapping everything in scare-quotes.<br> <br> While my question is sincere, I know I'm thinking about a social convention too much, as they rarely make sense. Most of what I want to explore is the linguistic effects, antecedents, et c. Do other languages than English have this (as I style it) problem?<br> <br> How does one congratulate or thank, or similar -- without handing them a noun and asking them to interpret it? tag:ask.metafilter.com,2008:site.90484 Sun, 04 May 2008 06:34:15 -0800 English thankyou congratulations reference scarequotes cmiller