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<html><head></head><body>Mike Salovesh wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:39A6C53E.92C2B32C@corn.cso.niu.edu">
<div class="text-plain"><pre wrap>Thomas Paikeday wrote:
>
> In many cultures, asking the price of something not offered for sale is
> taboo. It's a foreboding of bad luck.
The anthropologist in me can't resist what Lewis Carroll would have
called a contrariwise:
...</pre></div>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:39A6C53E.92C2B32C@corn.cso.niu.edu">
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<pre wrap>It took a very long time for us to accept questions expressed in terms
we simply can't imagine happening in similar circles in the U.S. A
typical example of a statement that would be taken as appropriately
gracious would be something like:
"Thank you very much for this beautiful gift. It's exactly what I
wanted. How much did it cost you?"</pre>
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I've had similar experiences. Certain Asian friends would tut-tut about overfamiliarity
if I asked someone on brief acquaintance "Are you married?" but persons
from the same group had no trouble asking on similar brief acquaintance
"How much did you make last year?" ....<br>
<br>
-- Doug Wilson<br>
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