Timeline for What to say after someone sneezes

5 events

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Jul 9, 2011 at 12:58	comment	added	user458		@Alenanno, @Derek I think the comments here are correct, but they are European-centered or American-centered. you shouldn't think of it as Japanese vs. non-Japanese. It is rather the European or English speaking people with the habit of responding that is special. How can that habit be the world's norm?
Jun 7, 2011 at 19:56	comment	added	Derek Schaab		@Alenanno: Well put. For every non-Japanese in Japan wondering at the silent response to sneezing, there is a Japanese somewhere outside of Japan wondering at the storm of "bless you"s that result from a single sneeze. Culture is definitely huge.
Jun 7, 2011 at 19:48	comment	added	Alenanno		@Derek Thanks for the comments. I guess the best way to take is to avoid saying something. Or if we really wanna say something, we might use the "bless you" expression; but a language is not simply words and grammar, it's also, and maybe above all, culture. If we use a language without taking into account its symbiosis with the culture, we are ignoring an important part of the language itself. That's my opinion. :D
Jun 7, 2011 at 17:57	comment	added	Derek Schaab		My Googling of various Japanese blogs and Q&A sites concurs most with this answer. In Japan, there is no burden on nearby people to react to the sneezer. At most, you might hear a comment (from people you know) along the lines of the superstition Alennano quoted.
Jun 7, 2011 at 9:52	history	answered	Alenanno	CC BY-SA 3.0