One of the many things I like about learning a new language is the unexpected social and cultural insights. Japanese for example has
different levels of politeness: verbs and even nouns change their form depending on whether you're speaking to, say, your friend, a stranger or your boss.
A conversation from my intermediate Japanese class:
Japanese teacher:
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If you're talking to yourself, it's better to use the polite form. |
Fellow student:
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What! Why?? |
Japanese teacher:
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Because a senior person may overhear. |