I spent a few months in Australia last year. In Queensland, I heard a lot of Aussies say "no drama's" in the same context.
I doubt they said "no drama's". Maybe they said "no dramas"?
How “no worries” infected American English
51–60 of 63 posts
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#52I live in Canada, and have started to use this almost exclusively as a substitute for "you're welcome". No idea where or when I picked it up, or why I've started using it. Would have never guessed it was a relatively new addition to North American English.
I'm reading this article, living in Toronto, and having recently lived with somebody who grew up in Malaysia - I have no idea where I picked it up either but I definitely say it.
I don't find small talk super easy - I'm usually deep in thought and so jarred by what's said that I miss the opportunity. Some phrases that have been super useful for me, even though I can remember times I didn't even like hearing them:
- "How's it going?" easiest hello
- "No Worries" easiest thank you
- "Have a good one" easiest goodbye
And armed with these phrases I can tackle almost any wild small talk that pops up in my day :)
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think his name is John Howard, he never called himself Johnnie. Unless you were calling him 'Johnnie' to make him sound small. Which would be a breathtakingly childish and hollow rhetorical device. Stick to the meaningful policy debate.
How'd this get a downvote?! Perfectly valid point. Australian here. John Howard has never, ever, by anyone, ever, been called "Johnnie". Ever.
> John Howard has never, ever, by anyone, ever, been called "Johnnie". Ever.
The actor John Howard doesn't (publicly) get called Johnnie, sure. The politician John Howard was frequently called 'Little Johnnie [Howard]' by detractors, and occasionally this was shortened to just 'Johnnie'; "Did you see what Johnnie did today?"-type stuff. Never used in a respectful context, though.
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#54Does it really mean "you're welcome"? I used it to let people know they needn't be concerned about some perceived imposition. I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be either. It's a great expression.
It doesn't literally mean "you're welcome", but it's used in the same context. It does mean what you think it means, which is also what "you're welcome" means: don't worry about that perceived imposition.
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#55Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#56Oh wow, I've said "no worries" for as long as I remember, I thought that was an English language thing rather than specific to my country. I was even starting to avoid saying it because the "no" sounded negative. Well, forget about that! I'll proudly say: No worries, mate from now on.
Nah, yeah.
Negations aren't rare in Aussie speech (see "litotes": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English#Vocabulary).
If you're not too fussed about the less than positive implications, you can even use it for emphasis.
No reason not to embrace it.
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
It matches perfectly with the country vibe to tell you the truth... Very relaxed place in the general sense. Lived there for 2 years (Perth) and I just use it now a lot too.
Yeah, that's more a state vibe. I can assure you, Sydney is nowhere near as laid back.
And Melbourne is somewhere in between. Probably has to do with number of big financial companies based in a city or something.
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#58I think saying "no problem" is kinda rude, but it's so ingrained in me / the people around me, that I've found it easier to replace with "no worries" instead of "You're welcome".
Why do you think no problem is rude?
yeah, "no problem" in this context is more like "no biggy" than "it's fine (go away now)".
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#59I don't really understand the use of the word "infected" here. It somehow paints the whole phenomenon with a pejorative brush. It's nice that languages and dialects evolve and influence each other like that. It's an especially important subject for me as a native speaker that has a very hard time taking steps away from its past (French).
It indicates distaste of the phrase, in eyes of the author I assume. I personally don't like "no worries" either, mostly because I'm a very literal person and words that unnecessarily imply things bother me (ie someone who's thanking you is rarely worried about the matter).
Re: How “no worries” infected American English
#60I don't really understand the use of the word "infected" here. It somehow paints the whole phenomenon with a pejorative brush. It's nice that languages and dialects evolve and influence each other like that. It's an especially important subject for me as a native speaker that has a very hard time taking steps away from its past (French).
It indicates distaste of the phrase, in eyes of the author I assume. I personally don't like "no worries" either, mostly because I'm a very literal person and words that unnecessarily imply things bother me (ie someone who's thanking you is rarely worried about the matter).
I took to "no worries" fast when I was in Canada because the intensity of the thanks you get for minor actions in North America was overwhelming for me at first (before I realized it was a nice façade that helps smoothing the social rapport).
I remember my first few days working at a tech shop in the suburbs of Vancouver, I made a pot of fresh coffee and told one of my colleagues so that he could get a cup had he wanted to.
The way he thanked me, you could have sworn I had cured cancer or something. It made me feel like it was WAY too much for just being a decent person (I want coffee, I make a pot for everyone) that "no worries" was very handy, a way of saying "You don't need to put too much heart in your thanks, it's nothing really, I feel it's bordering on praise and I don't think it deserves it".