Thanks

[Charles Doyle]

Recently I have attended numerous ceremonial occasions (academic and other) in which spreakers rise to express their gratitude to a particular individual or group. Almost invariably, they stop short of actually THANKING; rather, they declare that they "wish to thank" or (even more obliquely) "would like to thank" the benefactor. What is the stylistic purpose of mincing the matter thus? Why not just say, "I thank . . ."?

--Charlie

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org