westwind

Has anyone else noticed four words missing from the Australian vocabulary. Ok - I'm generalising here and maybe it's the same the world over, but the four missing words I refer to in Australia are: Please, Sorry, Excuse me and Thank you. Funnily enough, when I do occasionally here these words. they are spoken by the younger generation. Any other missing words you want to add - polite ones only please!!

dickchap

I have noticed that when speaking about a date they miss the nd, th, st etc and it just doesn't sound right saying "May one" instead of "May 1st". Drives me mad!!:curse:

quoll

I'm with you there! Just got back today and driving in from town the radio announcer did just that and I wanted to scream! The loss of the ordinal is a great shame I reckon.

Fleaflyfloflum

I have been back in UK 4 weeks now, and I cant tell you how polite people are. Before I left i never really noticed these things much, but after suffering the rudeness, arrogance and lack of manners of many Australians, its a breth of fresh air to go shopping in England and have staff treat you with respect. To have drivers use courtesy on the roads and give you a friendly wave if you let them through is another bonus.

I think the problem with Aussies is their me me me driven existence and their inbuilt need to win and beat everyone in every single area of life. It takes precidence over everything even manners. I have a fantastic friend in Sydney who is probably better mannered than most, but even she has this attitude.

hettie

OMG This is so true,even my 3 yr old daughter picks them up on it "that lady didnt say excuse me,sorry or thank you" She has quite a loud voice to make it worse

dickchap

I'm with you on that one. I brought my kids up to show respect and manners. When out shopping and an Ozzie adult knocks into my 8 year old son he gets quite upset when there is no "sorry" afterwards. It is pretty disgusting.

When eating out the other evening we were at a restaurant and when the waiter took our menu selection and gathered up the menus my 8 year old handed it to him and said "thank you". When the food came and was placed in front of him, again he said "thank you". I felt such pride that I didn't have to prompt him it just came naturally. It's called manners!!

Going back to the UK next week will be like a breath of fresh air!

brits1

Same with us...my youngest was 4 when we arrived in Aus and I can still remember after all this time when he "tried" to hold the door open in a shopping centre for an "older" lady...she just walked right past without a please,thank you or kiss my ....well you know the rest....my youngest said "could she not see me ver well as she is OLD"...this was said very innocently....my older son said "no she was just very rude"....manners here lack right across the board.....but as always there are exceptions to the rule.....small ones though lol!!!!!!

westwind

Well I'm glad it's not just me that has noticed the total lack of manners with most Australians. What prompted me to srtart this thread was an incident that happened in the supermarket. A woman dropped her open purse and coins went everywhere. I picked up as many as I could find and handed them back to her - guess what!! not even a thank you! And as for the rude drivers, well I could go on and on but what really annoys me is when you let some one in our out of traffic and there is no ackowledgement - not even a nod of their head. What has happened to basic manners here?

stm1971

There doesn't seem to be any that I can see.

I could think of loads of times when I have come across lack of manners in day to day life here. I think after a while you just let it go over your head.

One a few weeks ago really got my back up though. We were at the Chilli Festival here in Perth. My OH saw a guy struggling up some steps with a double pushchair with kids in and offered to help which he accepted. The Mum was walking up with another child. OH picked up one end and helped him up to the top. Once there the parents just turned around and walked off without a thanks or any acknowledgement at all.

We were flabbergasted.

Elaine B.

I think it's the opposite in Canada I always found people very polite in Toronto (not so much in Montreal) funny thing is when my Australian aunt came to visit a few years ago her biggest complain was that the staff in the hotel were too polite I guess she's just not used to people like that

tieve

Yeah I've had similar - a good friend here tells me to stop being so polite! I can't help it, I was brought up to be well mannered and if I do something wrong, I apologise.

An example: If I walked into someone by accident I would say sorry immediately without even thinking. My friend says that is rude, and that my manners are more of a reflex reaction and I'm not 'genuinely' sorry. But I feel I am 'genuine' even if I say it without thinking. Does that make sense?! I'm a clumsy fool and so things like this are a daily occurrence for me! I have to be sorry!

Officer Dibble

Youre absolutely right about "sorry".

Also, I only ever give way to people if Im having a good day.

I pulled up an old couple about about pushing into a queue at a restaurant the other day. They slunk off to the back of the line. Tough titties.

You have to give as good as you get.

kevin747

Damn colonials!