On 6 November 2026, MDR reports on recent linguistic analyses which find that younger speakers in Germany use the conventional politeness word “please” less often and use more mitigating words such as “maybe”. The findings have been discussed in academic circles for some time and are given more detail by recent corpus analyses and poster presentations at the Free University of Berlin .
The main finding is that politeness strategies are shifting. “Please” remains a clear marker, but depending on the context it can be perceived as too direct or demanding. Phrases such as “could you perhaps …” or “perhaps it would be possible to …” soften the request and emphasise the other person’s freedom to choose. Linguists do not see this as a decline in politeness, but as an adjustment to situational expectations.
Regional data point to differences across the German-speaking world. In southern Germany and Switzerland certain indirect expressions are more common, while conventional markers remain more prevalent in northern Germany. Mixed forms are also found in Austria . Such variations are documented in studies of the German-speaking world, including research based on corpus data conducted at the Leibniz Institute for the German Language in Mannheim.
Researchers cite socialisation, changing attitudes to norms in schools and training, and media communication as contributing factors. The ubiquity of digital written communication and contact with English-language politeness conventions also play a part, although they do not explain straightforward one-to-one borrowings. In experimental assessments, lexical mitigators such as “maybe” often increase the perceived autonomy of the person being addressed, while a formal “please” can signal authority or obligation in some situations.
The implications differ across practical settings. In customer service and communication with public authorities, the question is when indirect requests are seen as considerate and when they are considered unclear. Schools and training providers that insist on traditional forms also observe that younger people tend to convey politeness through tone, context and their choice of mitigating expressions. The analyses encourage journalists and public relations professionals not to judge politeness by individual words, but by their function in the speech act.
Current media reports, including contributions from MDR and Deutschlandfunk Nova, draw on expert summaries and poster presentations from the Free University of Berlin, as well as corpus findings from the German-speaking world. Details of the data sources, age groups and regional differences are provided in the linked academic publications.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).