"This is my bus stop"

[sinikala]

Yesterday somebody said on TV that 93 % of communication is non-verbal.

And that's for the horse you rode in on

[Hank W.]

And here's the same in proper English:

[sammy]

Some more useful hand signals

[sinikala]

Some more useful hand signals

The first one is Matti N. speaking German

[mpz]

You could go a bit more colloquial and say "sori, mä jään täs" or just "sori".

[E Maya]

Topic: The Pub, Allowed to criticize Finland/Finnish culture??,
page 4

masao wrote:

Hi.
I was not talking about small talk at all. I was talking about saying "please, excuse me, thank you..." etc. There you are, two Finns sitting side by side. One of them wants to go to bath room. So he closes his book and unfastens his seat belt. Reading the body language, the other who is sitting on the aisle side unfastens his belt and stands up, letting the other go. No eye contact, no thank yous. It might have happened several times during the journey. But then, it is everyday occurrance in buses, trams, and metros here.

t, masao

You said it yourself! Reading body language means no words are necessary. Sometimes it may even be that you get angry because the other person does not understand your body language, everybody is supposed to know how to act in these situations.

There might be eye contact or there might not, doesn't matter. There's truly no reason to say anything it's a given. When this happens to me sometimes I still smile to thank the person who lets me past them, or in some cases say "(Kii)tos", but there is no need really.
When the other person doesn't get the hint and stays put, I say "anteeksi" while still sitting down or while I attempt to stand up. There are degrees in everything.

[snowcelt]

One rule I've learned when speaking finnish is to KEEP IT SIMPLE!

I just usually say, anteeks, saanks mennä ohi? and the person moves. A smile or maybe even a kiitos if i'm in the mood, a nod if not.
Doesn't even mean you want to get off the bus, you can just change seats and really confuse people


Kevin.

[Spectra]

I don't get why people have to ration words.

I mean, we are a species with many languages and words. We are *Meant* to talk, aren't we?

It sometimes just gets to me that even the simplest verbal courtesy is lacking here....

[Hank W.]

No, you're meaning to get off the bus, actually.

[muddymuddy1]

I totally agree............A language that doesn't have a word meaning "please" just about sums it up........

I use kiitos for "please" and "thank you" and end up sounding like a snivelling, grovelling idiot....... but it's better than feeling rude!!!

[Hank W.]

How liberating really to think there is *one* good thing about being Finnish. No compulsive need to open ones mouth. When a stare does the trick.

[Matula]

"Siirryppäs siitä että ihmiset pääsee liikkumaan".

[sinikala]

I totally agree............A language that doesn't have a word meaning "please" just about sums it up........

Of course Finnish has please it's "ole hyvä" it just happens to be two words, like in "kiitos" in English is represented by two words - "thank you".

[enk]

Actually the stare doesn't seem to work if you're a foreigner; I think
you have to have been born into it

But I've never had a problem getting off public transportation when
I've said: "Päästätkö mut menemään vai joudunko antamaan
suukon ensin?" Fortunately I'm not the kissable type

-enk

[Oombongo]

Yesterday somebody said on TV that 93 % of communication is non-verbal.

http://www.gdnctr.com/middle_finger.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_hand_syndrome