What is it about?
In the past, people had their own way of saying 'thanks.' This study looks at how the words 'Dank' (thanks), 'Dankbarkeit' (thankfulness), and 'danken' (to thank) were used to express gratitude in Old Saxon and Old High German languages. This study uses the idea of 'face,' which means how we present ourselves to others, to understand how people thanked each other back then. What I found is that people used these words to say thanks, but mostly when they were in a lower social position than the person they were thanking. This was also the case when these words were used to mean 'to reward' or 'to praise' someone. These discoveries tell us that the impact of saying thanks depended on the situation and the social hierarchy of the time. It wasn't just about being polite; it had a lot to do with social status. In societies like Old Saxon and Old High German, where social hierarchies were strict, saying thanks had different meanings depending on who you were and who you were thanking.
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Why is it important?
This study is important because it helps us understand how people in the past used language to express gratitude. By looking at the words they used for "thanks" and "to thank," we can learn about their social relationships and hierarchies. This information is valuable because it shows us that politeness and expressing gratitude weren't the same back then as they are today. Instead, it depended on who you were and who you were thanking. This gives us insights into the history of communication and social dynamics, which can help us appreciate how language and politeness have evolved over time.
Perspectives
In conducting this study, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring how people in the past expressed gratitude and the role of social status in these expressions. It's fascinating to think about how language and politeness norms have changed over time. This research allowed me to delve into the historical context of Old Saxon and Old High German societies, shedding light on the intricacies of their social dynamics. One of the most rewarding aspects of this study was uncovering the nuances of 'saying thanks' in these ancient languages and realizing that it wasn't just about being polite but deeply intertwined with the social hierarchy of the time. It reminded me that language is a dynamic reflection of society, always evolving. I hope that this study encourages others to explore language history and its connections to social structures. It's a reminder that language is not just a tool for communication but a mirror that reflects the values and norms of a society, and it can vary greatly across different cultures and time periods.
Dr. Valentina Concu
Universidad del Norte
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “Face” in retrospective: The use of “thanks” and “to thank” In Old Saxon and Old High German, Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, May 2023, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/lpp-2023-0009.
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