S2E3 Danish etiquette: "ignoring people is polite here"
Danish culture is premised on various values such as trust, equality and respect for privacy.
Whilst this has many virtues, from an outsider perspective, this can also appear to play out in scenarios where Danes come across as... well, a bit rude.
For example, it's not natural for Danish people to hold the door open for each other, or to offer help for someone struggling to take a baby stroller off a train.
In this episode Sam and Josefine are joined by Danish anthropologist Dennis Nørmark.
We talk about a whole range of scenarios in Danish culture that can seem perplexing to outsiders, but begin to make sense when viewed through the Danish prism (for example, buying your own birthday cake on your birthday?!)
We discuss various other things such as:
How whether cultures seem cold/ rude is linked to the sense of privacy
How Denmark (and Scandinavian countries) are in fact living a sort of extreme individualism
Why Danish people won't instinctively help people struggling in public
How Danes view specific reciprocity vs generalised reciprocity in other cultures
How the trust in Denmark means there's not the need to "get to know" people you do business with
How the smiley face is the Danish word for please
Giving and receiving gifts
The fear (or not) of being laughed at
You can learn more about Dennis' work at: dennisnormark.dk/
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Пікірлер: 6
About the rude thingy and trolley. We danes are not rude but direct. If you need help, say so and people will help at once. No problem. We care little for suttle communication. Be direct and to the point. No problem and all is fine. If you need help everybody will help. Its just very important to be direkt.
You can laugh at the queen. Its normal. She visited a komedian playing her for many years at his anniversary. We laugh at Daysi all the time. Her smoking, how she talks, how she dress. All of it. And she is it a good sport and laughs along. It would be strange for Danes if she behaved otherwise.
We DO tip outside Copenhagen. 2kr here, 5 kroner there. As bartender I have an average of 10 kr per hour. That's neat 🥰🥰 and it's tax free 😉😉
Also many things in Denmark is done not by the state but by registered civil communities. Its very orderly and regulated. People are expected to participate. If not, you have to have some other really important things to do. Otherwise you will be seen as a social piraha.
LOL. I think they are wrong. But I understand why, its a culture think. Its not that when people have paid their taxes they think their work is done. We have a very strong civil community sense. Its how we view time! Fx. My children are scouts, so I help the scouts out with voluntere work, where I help maintain one of their buildings in the woods. This sort of thing is expected for most people. Voluntere community work is very highly regarded and expected. I raise my children to do the same. With this sort of work, I give back with the most important thing I have, my time. I expect other people to do the same. So they also offer their time to the community.
@JRBendixen
Жыл бұрын
Thus all is fine. I trust they do what is right.