Example 1: "De nada" in Spanish directly translated means "of nothing", and is used "thank you." I feel this has a deeper meaning in that it's like saying, "it was of no expense to me to do a favor for you."

Example 2: "M'ish abel" in Mayan means "how are your ways" and is as "hello" or "how are you." The deeper meaning here is that it's a more profound way of relating to another person.

Example 3: "You're welcome." The phrase to me means, "you're welcome to ask the same of me again because it was a pleasure helping you.

I think that it's very interesting how a phrase can be diluted to the point where we don't even consider what it means. Kind of like how we throw out "how are you" and don't really mean it.

briandmyers:

Similarly, "goodbye" was (I believe) originally a contraction of "God be with ye".


posted 4126 days ago