[Ads-l] welcome and you're welcome

[Barretts Mail]

The first few times I saw “welcome” used as “you’re welcome" in texts and in conversation, I thought it was a clipping or my mishearing, but it seems to have become commonplace.

Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/welcome) claims it’s nonstandard and particularly in use in Southern US speech, but the uses I have been seeing are not Southern. It seems likely that “You’re welcome” is being raised to a formal level among those who use “welcome” to mean “you’re welcome” but I have no evidence of this.

Neither the OED nor Dictionary.com <http://dictionary.com/> have this usage.

Barry Popik (https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2007-May/070036.html) cites William Safire as saying that the expression “you’re welcome” is disappearing. Nobody in that thread gave a reason for using alternatives to “you’re welcome.” To me, “you’re welcome” implies that the interlocutor has received a favor whereas expresions like “no problem” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/you%27re_welcome) imply that no social obligation remains. 

1. Why You Shouldn't Say "You're Welcome” 
Adam Grant
12 Nov 2013

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20131112175357-69244073-why-you-shouldn-t-say-you-re-welcome

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When you do a favor, and someone says “thank you,” the automatic response is “you’re welcome.” It’s a basic rule of politeness, and it signals that you accept the expression of gratitude—or that you were happy to help.
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2. The role of ‘you’re welcome’ in polite society 
Melissa Mohr
29 Aug 2019
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2019/0829/The-role-of-you-re-welcome-in-polite-society

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Now, though, “you’re welcome” seems to be losing its minimizing role. A 2015 New York Times article calls the phrase “a gloat,” and many online commentators agree that it sounds arrogant, implying that the thanks is deserved. 
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3. Why So Many Assume "You're Welcome" Is Insincere
Valerie Fridland Ph.D.
10 July 2022
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/language-in-the-wild/202207/why-so-many-assume-youre-welcome-is-insincere

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In contrast, “you’re welcome,” which research suggests is sometimes perceived as more formal, carries the sense of expressing appreciation of the acknowledgement that a favor was done. This type of politeness—directed toward making people feel appreciated—is known as positive politeness.

The problem? In some contexts, like the example above, this can make one seem a bit snarky, braggy or gloating—especially since negative politeness, or the need to offset imposition or obligation, has become a more prominent cultural norm over the 20th century. Saying “you’re welcome” doesn't do much in this regard.
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Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
Formerly of Seattle, WA
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org