Originally Posted by
SKRan
It’s probably not an attitude problem. When your English is over simplified, it sounds direct and that is often considered rude by a fluent speaker. This has been discussed elsewhere.
- put your bag here.
- please place your luggage here.
- go away.
- is there anything else I can do for you, sir?
- passport?
- may I have your passport please?
True, I remember to get a taste of that when I was a child. I was in an icehockey training camp in the french speaking part of Switzerland. I was about 10 years old probably. Everytime the kids have been told to do something, they have said it in French and in German since some kids were speaking French only and some German only. In French it has always being said in a very polite way like: "Allons à la patinoire s'il vous plaît" and in German they said: "Geht zur Halle!" so no "please" whatsoever.
It left the impression on the 10year old me, that they were intentionally trying to bully us. But it was probably just their German skill that didn't allow them to say it any differently.